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Nikita Zadorov clarifies comments following Jeremy Swayman’s attempted fight Monday
"Whatever I said — it wasn’t towards Sway."
The Bruins’ sustained slide since the NHL trade deadline hit a new low on Monday, with Boston falling to the Kings, 7-2, their sixth-straight loss.
Beyond the lopsided score on display at Crypto.com Arena, an already miserable Bruins campaign drew more negative headlines postgame following a blunt answer from defenseman Nikita Zadorov.
During Boston’s setback against the Kings, a scrum between Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper and Bruins winger Marat Khusnutdinov in the second period prompted Jeremy Swayman to leave his crease and challenge the opposing netminder.
While the refs on the ice prevented both Swayman and Kuemper from trading punches, Swayman stressed after the game that his decision to leave the crease was to stand up for his teammate.
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“He touched one of my guys, and I think that was something that I’m not going to accept,” Swayman said postgame of challenging Kuemper. “And kudos to him. He stepped up. Just got broken up. … I think it just comes down to sticking up for my teammates.
“I don’t care who it is. It’s a guy in black and gold. You’re not going to touch him without getting contested.”
During the same postgame media availability, Zadorov raised a few eyebrows with his own comments about the game and Swayman’s actions.
“Did you guys appreciate that Jeremy stuck up for Khusnutdinov,” The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa asked Zadorov.
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“Is that what it is,” Zadorov replied. “Okay. I don’t know. No comment.”
While Zadorov’s comments could have been interpreted as a dig against Swayman and his decision to try to fight Kuemper in an eventual blowout loss, the Bruins defenseman pushed back against those narratives in his next media scrum on Wednesday.
“When you ask a question like [that] after a 7-2 loss, the players are frustrated,” Zadorov said. “Obviously, at the time, I was frustrated. Whatever I said — it wasn’t towards Sway. I didn’t expect that question from you — you’ve got to understand the situation we’re at. You’re pissed after the game.
“I was basically saying, try to stay away from finding positives, there were a lot of negatives in our game. … Obviously, we appreciate guys in the room stepping in for each other. That’s the culture that was here before I came here and I’m trying to follow it. … Anybody who is here while I’m here is gonna step up for each other. That’s the main part for us.”
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Zadorov added that he’s talked with Swayman since Monday’s game, adding that both he and the Bruins’ netminder are still on the same page.
“It wasn’t even thinking it was a comment towards Sway or anything like this,” Zadorov said. “It was just taken out of context. He’s a huge part of our team.
“He’s signed for the next eight years. I’m here for the next five years. We’re gonna be together for a long time and gonna be a lot of success with this team and back in playoff hockey and hopefully win the Cup here. That’s where we’re gonna leave it.”
The Bruins will look to snap their losing streak on Wednesday when they take on the Ducks in Anaheim. Puck drop is set for 10 p.m.
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