Nikita Zadorov is The Peterson School’s Hardest Working Player of the Week
The Bruins may have gone into the break on a down note, but Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov went in on a personal high with one of his best weeks of the season, which was enough to earn him the nod as The Peterson School’s Hardest Working Player of the Week.
In what was a three-game week for the Black and Gold, Zadorov finished with a team-leading three points, headlined by an absolute bomb of a goal in last Saturday’s loss to the Golden Knights.
For Zadorov, it was the 6-foot-6 defenseman’s first goal scored for the B’s since Dec. 3 against Detroit, and with an assist on Boston’s first goal of the afternoon, it was Zadorov’s first multi-point effort for the Bruins since a two-point outing against the Islanders back on Nov. 27.
The Bruins also leaned on Zadorov for 25:55 of time on ice in last Saturday’s head-to-head with the Golden Knights, which was his second-highest deployment for the season, trailing only his 26:01 of ice-time in a Feb. 1 win over the Rangers at TD Garden.
In addition to the point production, Zadorov also finished the week with a team-leading six blocked shots, while his three takeaways ranked fourth among all Boston skaters.
With Hampus Lindholm expected to return to action when the Bruins get back from the 4 Nations Face-Off break, it’s entirely possible that the Bruins will see more of Zadorov’s nastiness, as Lindholm will certainly take some of the offensive pressure off of the left side of Boston’d defensive depth chart.
Zadorov enters the break with an NHL-leading 117 minutes in penalties, but also paces all Boston defensemen with 140 hits while his 81 blocked shots are second-most on the B’s.
The Hardest Working Player of the Week is sponsored by The Peterson School. The Peterson School is now enrolling for their spring semester in Woburn, Westwood, Worcester, and Haverhill. To learn more, visit petersonschool.com.
