Vancouver Canucks’ defenseman Nikita Zadorov was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct for boarding Vegas Golden Knights’ forward Brett Howden in their game on Tuesday night.
The incident occurred with 10 seconds to go in the first period. With the score 1-1, Howden gained possession behind the Canucks net and Zadorov delivered a check-from-behind on the Golden Knights’ forward.
Vegas received a five-minute power play, which Noah Hanafin scored on early in the second period. As of the end of the second period, the Golden Knights were up 5-2.
Going into the night, the 28-year-old Zadorov has six goals and 12 assists for 18 points and 100 penalty minutes in 67 games this season, split between Vancouver and the Calgary Flames.
Zadorov was taken No. 16 overall by the Flames in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. Through 11 NHL seasons, Zadorov has 47 goals and 97 assists for 144 points in 634 games with the Canucks, Flames, Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche and Buffalo Sabres.
Meanwhile, the 26-year-old Howden has seven goals and nine assists for 16 points in 64 games this season with the Golden Knights. In 343 career games across six seasons with the Golden Knights and New York Rangers, he had 38 goals and 60 assists for 98 points.
Going into the night, the Canucks are 46-20-8 with 100 points, first in the Pacific Division. They’re 6-3-1 in their last 10 and will likely play one of the two Wild Card teams that come out of the Western Conference.
As for the Golden Knights, they’re 41-25-8 with 90 points, third in the Pacific Division and just three points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings, one of two teams holding onto those Wild Card spots. If the playoffs started today, the Golden Knights would be playing the Edmonton Oilers in the first-round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
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