Bruins Starting D-Man Reveals He Played Through Fully Torn MCL

Bruins Starting D-Man Reveals He Played Through Fully Torn MCL originally appeared on NESN . Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

Boston Bruins fans might take some solace in the news that arrived a few hours after the team was eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Buffalo Sabres .

Top defenseman Nikita Zadorov reportedly played a majority of the series on a fully torn MCL.

"I tore my MCL in Game 3. Fully torn off the bone," Zadorov told reporters after the Game 6 loss. "I played on it a little bit."

The injury did not keep the defender off the ice, however. He logged more than 20 minutes on ice in three out of the six games, averaging 21 and a half minutes per game after the Game 3 injury.

Overall, Zadorov was just -1 in the series in which the Bruins were outscored 20-10.

Fans knew the defense would be a problem going into the series, but even they could not have expected some of the sometimes hard-to-watch struggles that took place on their home ice.

Zadorov also spoke on the team's struggles at TD Garden, as quoted by Boston.com's Conor Ryan.

"I think the margin of [error] is so high in the playoffs," Zadorov said. "Our system is created to play as a five-man unit all the time. And I think at home, we got away from that little bit. …  At home, we just got away from it, and that cost us three games at home."

It's too soon to discuss what needs to change for next year, but knowing that one of the top defenders was playing through a severe injury helps take some of the sting out of a first-round exit.

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