The National Hockey League’s Department of Player Safety announced Sunday that Boston Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov has been fined $5,000 for roughing Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Alex Vlasic during the Bruins’ 5-4 overtime win against the Blackhawks Saturday.
The incident occurred late in the second period. Vlasic and Bruins forward Casey Mittelstadt went back and forth, which led to everyone on the ice getting into a heated scrum.
Zadorov went after Vlasic and threw a punch at him while he was on the ice with his head down.
Zadorov finished the night with 14 penalty minutes and 15:02 of ice time. Meanwhile, Vlasic had six penalty minutes and 23:15 of ice time.
Zadorov, 31, has four assists and 47 penalty minutes while averaging 19:19 of ice time in 14 games this season. Now in his 14th NHL season, he has 53 goals and 141 assists for 191 points in 818 career NHL games with the Bruins, Blackhawks, Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche and Buffalo Sabres.
Vlasic, 25, has two assists while averaging 20:30 of ice time this season. Now in his fourth season as a full-time NHLer with the Blackhawks, he has nine goals and 63 assists for 72 points in 274 career games.
The Bruins are 10-4-1 with 21 points in 15 games this season. Meanwhile, the Blackhawks are 4-9-1 with nine points in 14 games in 2026-27.
