Pastrnak scored a power play goal just before Domi's penalty expired, giving the Bruins a 5-3 lead midway through the third.
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Max Domi threw his gloves off in the third period of a close 4-3 hockey game in an attempt to fight Boston Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov, who took Auston Matthews out of the game with a hit during the middle frame.
Instead of dropping his gloves, Zadorov, who is nine inches taller and 47 pounds heavier than Domi, used his body to force the Maple Leafs forward to the ground, avoiding any punishment.
Domi skated straight to the penalty box because he was given a roughing penalty. Zadorov coasted to the Bruins' bench, where he was saluted by his teammates for not getting involved at a crucial part of the game.
Almost 1:50 later, Domi exited the penalty box because David Pastrnak beat Dennis Hildeby on the man advantage, putting the Bruins up 5-3. Despite some pushback, Toronto left another two points on the board with its third straight loss.
"I mean, listen, it's part of the game. You don't want to go to the box in the third period, but at the same time, we're not going to take a step back," Domi said after the loss. "That's part of the game. We finished the way we wanted to finish and I think we just got to build on it."
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Domi necessarily isn't wrong. He was fighting for his teammates (including Scott Laughton, who Zadorov injured on Saturday), and that's what you want from a player. However, if Domi had noticed Zadorov wasn't going to fight him, he could've kept his gloves on, potentially avoiding a penalty.
"I don't know why he gave Domi the roughing on it, to be honest with you," said Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube. "Because I was watching the referee and he didn't have his hand up or nothing. I thought it was just going to be five each for fighting. But he thought that he did a little more than (Zadorov)."
Had the Maple Leafs been leading the game by a large margin, then it would've made sense for Domi to go after Zadorov. Even then, the Bruins' defenseman wasn't going to fight Domi, given the two were former London Knights teammates.
"I’m not going to fight my friends. We won a championship together in OHL, I have respect for Max," Zadorov told reporters after the game. "And he’s so much smaller than me. It’s a lose-lose for me if I fight him."
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What Domi made clear after the game, though, was that the Maple Leafs don't want to be a team that's pushed around. If teammates are going down with injuries because of their opponent, Toronto's players will step up. And you like to see that — but at the right time.
"We're not going to take a step back to anyone. No one in this locker room is, and we showed that tonight," he added.
"I think you do got to give Boston credit. They played well and they capitalized on their opportunities. But like I keep saying, we finished the way we wanted to finish and we just got to focus on that."
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