Injuries have been a big issue for the Boston Bruins this season. The defense has been hit hard, and it may have been a devastating loss on Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens at the TD Garden.
Nikita Zadorov left for a bit in the first period with appeared to be an injury. He returned to finish the period and was back out for the second period. Then, near the end of the period, the 6-foot-7, 255-pound blueliner was injured in the defensive zone, and it didn't look good at all.
Zadorov took a hit along the boards, and when he landed, his knee buckled when his skate got caught on the ice, which didn't look good. He was down on the ice for several seconds before the play was stopped. When the play stopped, he was helped off the ice after being tended to for a minute, not putting any weight on his right leg. It didn't look good at all.
Nikita Zadorov heads down the tunnel after an awkward landing following a hit from Zachary Bolduc.#NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/bEtuTjxWjE
— NESN (@NESN) January 25, 2026
Bruins Nikita Zadorov returns for the third period
This would have been the second defenseman Boston has lost this season against Montreal. Back in November, Charlie McAvoy took a puck to the face off a deflected shot, which caused him to miss a significant amount of time.
Zadorov is the latest defenseman to suffer an injury on defense this season. First, it was Hampus Lindholm in the second game of the year against the Chicago Blackhawks at home, and then he was lost earlier this month again. However, he was out to begin the third period, which is a great sign.
Jordan Harris has been out since October, but appears to be working his way back at some point. This would have been less than ideal, six days after not acquiring defenseman Rasmus Andersson, who was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights, if Zadorov was not able to return.