Maple Leafs HC Craig Berube doesn't hold back on Nikita Zadorov's controversial hit on Scott Laughton

Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube did not hide his thoughts after a controversial hit during Saturday’s game against the Boston Bruins. Defenseman Nikita Zadorov’s heavy check on forward Scott Laughton in the second period sent Laughton out of the game with an upper-body injury.

The play led to an immediate fight between Toronto’s Bobby McMann and Zadorov. After the game, Berube praised McMann for standing up for his teammate.

"It is a great response by Bobby, sticking up for his teammate," Berube said. [1:01 onwards] "I thought it was a headshot. I’ve got to take a closer look at it, but I will."

Laughton’s return to the Maple Leafs' roster was brief. The 31-year-old centre was playing in just his second game of the season after missing time with a lower-body injury. He logged just over six minutes of ice time before leaving the game.

After the game, Berube said Laughton will also miss Sunday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes.

"Upper boday right now, I don’t know yet. He won’t be playing tomorrow." Berube said.

Laughton's absence could open the door for Calle Jarnkrok or Sammy Blais to rejoin the lineup.

Players in the locker room also reacted to the hit. McMann said he didn’t like the hit and wanted to make sure Zadorov knew it.

"I didn’t really see the whole thing," McMann said, about fighting for his teammate. "Just kind of caught it out of the corner of my eye. Didn’t really love the hit from what I saw and wanted to make sure he knew I didn’t like it."

Laughton joined Toronto from Philadelphia at last season’s trade deadline and played 20 games with the team. If healthy, he is expected to be a steady part of the Leafs’ bottom six.

Maple Leafs' John Tavares spoke about hit on Scott Laughton

Former Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares said he did not clearly see the hit on Scott Laughton. He also praised Bobby McMann for standing up for Laughton after the play.

"I didn’t see it, to be honest, super clean," Tavares said. "But don’t like anything high that’s for sure and I know our bench didn’t like it. Not an easy thing by Bobby to get in there and step up for Laughty so that was a hell of a job by him."

The Maple Leafs bench was clearly unhappy, and it will be interesting to see if it develops further in their next meeting. The Leafs will get a rematch with the Boston Bruins on Tuesday in a road game at TD Garden.