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On the play, Zadorov made contact with Anaheim’s Frank Vatrano. On replay, Zadorov didn’t appear to land an elbow, though Vatrano went down and the referee’s arm went up. Zadorov then turned to Vatrano, who had gotten up, and knocked him down again.

Zadorov wouldn’t confirm that it was Vatrano’s reaction that got him steamed, but he did offer an emotional response to the question, while defending his physical style.

“Listen, we are Boston Bruins and we play that brand of hockey, and I’m fitting this brand really well. And I believe it fits me pretty well, as well,” said the 6-foot-7-inch, 244-pound Zadorov. “And I’ve been playing my whole life that way. I’m a big, physical D. I’m an emotional person on and off the ice, and I’m emotionally invested on and off the ice. So, when I go out there, I will die for any of my teammates and this logo that’s on my chest. That’s what I play for, I play for the pride. So, when I go out there, I’ll leave everything on the ice.

“Sometimes emotions can get ahead of you. It happens. But at the end of the day, that’s why they brought me here, to play that brand of the hockey.”

Zadorov, who has a team-high 29 penalty minutes on a club that entered Monday leading the league with 119 PIMs, bristled at the notion that his actions Friday were selfish.

“So maybe some people can say some penalties are selfish. I can say, ‘Talk to any of my teammates, present or past, and ask them if I’ve ever been selfish in my life on the ice,’ ” said Zadorov, who led the NHL in PIMs in each of the last two seasons. “I will do anything for those guys and for this team. Let’s just leave it that way.”

While disappointed in the short term, Zadorov said he wasn’t sure how he’d feel about the benching long term. He was passionate in talking about the support he’s received in the locker room.

“I don’t know. We’ll see. I mean, it’s hard to judge right now, obviously,” he said. “I want to go up there and play with those guys. Obviously, our team is winning. It’s great to be here right now. The energy is unbelievable. I’m glad I have the teammates I have. They’ve been unbelievable for me the past couple days. They were shoulder to shoulder with me, and I know I can trust them with everything. So that was probably the biggest help, for sure.”

Zadorov skated with Connor Clifton, a healthy scratch the last three games, at Monday’s practice, but Sturm said not to read anything into the pairings at practice.

The coach stopped short of saying Zadorov would return Tuesday night against the Stars, but that feels probable.

“[Monday’s] lines don’t mean anything for [Tuesday]. We’ll see. We’ll talk about it [and] sleep through it,” said Sturm. “[Zadorov’s] good. He’s a competitor. He wants to be on the ice all the time. He wants to help the team. I know that. And I really believe he’s going to be even better when he comes back. So, I’m pretty confident that he will do that.”

When asked if he planned on being in the lineup, Zadorov turned the question around: “You asked [Sturm] the question, what did he say?”

Informed Sturm said not to pay attention to Monday’s pairings, Zadorov smiled and said, “Exactly.”

***

Pavel Zacha was a full participant in practice after the first-line center missed the game against the Kings with an upper-body injury. Sturm said a decision will be made on Zacha’s status after Tuesday’s morning skate … Sturm ended practice by having players line up at the far blue line and shoot at an open net. Anyone who missed had to take a lap. There were more than a few shots off target. “Hopefully we don’t get any empty-netters,” said Sturm. “[There were] a lot of missed shots.” Most every player took a lap regardless, much to the dismay of Morgan Geekie, who cashed in on his slapper.

Jim McBride can be reached at james.mcbride@globe.com. Follow him @globejimmcbride.