Nikita Zadorov went after the Islanders’ fans who went after him after he went after No. 1 overall pick Matthew Schaefer on Tuesday night at UBS Arena.
“Get out of my DMs and go to the rink to cheer for your team,” the burly Bruins defenseman posted on his verified Instagram account. “That place was a library tonight.”
Zadorov took a screen shot of direct messages sent to his account immediately after the game and posted that message over it as a story.
Midway through the second period of the Islanders’ 4-3 shootout loss, Zadorov gave a two-handed whack with his stick to the 18-year-old Schaefer behind the Bruins’ net. Zadorov pushed him again to the ice as Schaefer tried to regain his skates. That prompted captain Anders Lee and Anthony Duclair to lead a charge of Islanders confronting Zadorov, setting off a wild scrum.
Zadorov received a double-minor penalty for roughing and an additional two minutes for interference and continued a heated conversation with Lee as the two sat in the penalty box. The crowd of 15,585 expressed their displeasure with Zadorov for the remainder of the game.
Tuesday’s attendance at the 17,255-capacity UBS Arena ranked fourth among the season’s seven home games, with one sellout so far. The Islanders declined to comment on Zadorov’s social media post and did not practice on Wednesday.
The crowd did make noise by repeatedly chanting for Schaefer and for goalie Ilya Sorokin.
“There’s going to be battles every night,” Schaefer said after the game. “We want to win in here, they want to win in there so there’s going to be battles like that every game.”
Schaefer, who sported a cut above his right cheek as the result of Zadorov’s hits, added the Islanders were a family and he trusts his teammates will always have his back.
“I love these guys.”
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
