Nikita Zadorov left it all on the ice in the Boston Bruins' first-round loss to the Buffalo Sabres.
After Boston's Game 6 loss on Friday, Zadorov revealed to reporters that he played through a fully torn MCL after suffering the injury in Game 3.
The 31-year-old entered Friday averaging 19:08 of ice time per game in the series before skating 21:52 in Game 6. Zadorov managed one assist and a minus-1 rating over the six games, racking up 37 penalty minutes.
It followed a regular season in which Zadorov suited up in 81 of Boston's 82 games and led the league with 152 penalty minutes.
The 2025-26 season marked the left-shot D-man's second year with the Bruins after inking a six-year deal with the team in the 2024 off-season.
Despite the early exit, the 13-year NHL veteran said he's excited about what Boston's return to the playoffs can do for the Bruins going forward.
"It's exciting, we have a lot of young players. We have a lot of things going on: the draft picks, the young kids, where the team is at, the core," he said. "So, I think there are a lot of ways to improve this team, and I think we definitely want to push even harder next year to go even deeper."
