Zadorov and Berube Share Their Sentiments on the Hit That Injured Auston Matthews

If losing to the Boston Bruins wasn't bad enough, the Toronto Maple Leafs were dealt with a tougher hand after both Auston Matthews and Anthony Stolarz departed the game due to injury.

For Matthews, he was leading the forwards in ice-time at the time of his collision with defensemen Nikita Zadorov. However, he went straight to the locker room near the 9 minute mark of the second period, and never returned.

The play in question stemmed from Zadorov hitting Matthews from behind. Matthews fell just short of the boards as he dumped the puck in deep, but the hit was as textbook a dirty hit as it gets, and it was a little surprising that no penalty was called on the play.

When asked about the hit after the game, Zadorov called it a "normal hit" and felt it was a legal check since he used his shoulder and there was no incidental contact to his head.

On the flip side, head coach Craig Berube thought it was a blatant penalty with Matthews being hit from behind from a vulnerable position. Two officials were also in plain view of the hit, from both sides, which made it all that much more frustrating.

Leafs forward Max Domi attempted to make amends for his fallen captain by going after Zadorov in the third. Unfortunately, it led to a penalty that Boston used to quell Toronto's comeback and take a decisive 2-goal lead that they never squandered.

Zadorov has a mean streak to his game, and considering he injured Scott Laughton with a thunderous check in their previous matchup on Saturday, it might have fired up the rivalry by a couple of notches.

Matthews' status is unknown until Berube can dish out an official update, so until then, we can label him as questionable for Thursday's game against Los Angeles at best.