12 years after he left, Bruins’ Nikita Zadorov looking forward to Buffalo playoff atmosphere

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12 years after he left, Bruins’ Nikita Zadorov looking forward to Buffalo playoff atmosphere

Matt Vautour · MassLive

Sat, Apr 18, 2026 ·

2 min read

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BOSTON — Nikita Zadorov once wanted to be part of ending the Sabres' playoff drought, back before that drought was long enough to draw much attention.

Buffalo had missed the playoffs just two years in a row when they drafted Zadorov 16th overall in the first round of the 2013 NHL Draft.

"I thought I would spend my whole life there," said Zadorov, now in his second year with Boston. said. "When you're drafted in the first round you kind of think about those things. Now I'm playing in the first playoff series there."

As it turned out, he played parts of just two seasons in Western New York. Zadorov bounced around from Colorado to Chicago to Calgary to Vancouver before signing in Boston.

He has fond memories of his NHL roots.

"I have nothing but good things to say about the city and people who gave me a chance to play in this league," he said.

To the fans of Buffalo, Zadorov will be a bad guy in this series, but he's looking forward to seeing the city unleash 14 years of unused playoff excitement.

"I think it's going to be nuts," he said. "I played in Vancouver and they hadn't played playoff hockey at home in seven years. That was one of the loudest buildings I had ever been to and these guys have been waiting for 14 years. I'm expecting a great atmosphere. I'm going to enjoy it for sure. If you don't enjoy it, you're in the wrong place."

But mostly, he's glad to be playing his first playoff series as a Bruin.

"Boston is a unique city. Fans want us to compete every night and every year in April and May," Zadorov said. "They expected us to make the postseason and play our hearts out. It's been a long wait, but now we are here and we're excited about it."

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