Bruins' Nikita Zadorov & Maple Leafs' Joshua Have Big Fight

During the second period of the Boston Bruins' matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Nikita Zadorov received a five-minute major for boarding after a hit on John Tavares. The big Bruins defenseman did not receive a game misconduct for the hit, though With Zadorov staying in the game, Maple Leafs forward Dakota Joshua stood up for Tavares by dropping the gloves with the Bruins' blueliner during the third period. As expected, this ended up being an entertaining scrap.

However, Zadorov ended up being the clear winner, as he threw multiple punches and landed the takedown on the big Maple Leafs winger. Interestingly, Zadorov and Joshua were teammates with each other during the 2023-24 season with the Vancouver Canucks. However, with Zadorov throwing that hit on Tavares earlier in the contest, it is not surprising that Joshua stood up for the Maple Leafs star and dropped the gloves with his former teammate.

Dakota Joshua drops the gloves with Nikita Zadorov for his hit earlier on John Tavares 🥊🥊 pic. twitter. com/vapF5BCehH — Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) March 25, 2026 Entering this contest, Zadorov had two goals, 17 assists, 19 points, and 134 penalty minutes in 69 games.

So far, in this contest against the Maple Leafs, he has added 10 more penalty minutes to his season totals.