Darnell Nurse leaves Sharks game with injury after heavyweight fight with Nikita Zadorov

Darnell Nurse's night ended early in San Jose, and nobody knows how bad it is yet.

The Sharks defenseman went down hard during a third period fight with Boston's Nikita Zadorov on Tuesday and never came back, as the Bruins skated away with a 6-3 win to close out the NHL's Frozen Frenzy.

Head coach Ryan Warsofsky had no update after the game and wouldn't speculate on whether Nurse will miss time.

Early reports say Nurse may have hit his head when Zadorov took him down near the boards.

Zadorov is listed at 6-foot-7 and 244 pounds and has a reputation as one of the league's better fighters.

Nurse dropped the gloves anyway.

Zadorov landed several right hands, the two drifted toward the boards, and Nurse was thrown awkwardly to the ice.

He headed down the tunnel, skated to the penalty box briefly during a TV timeout before heading back to the locker room.

Fraser Minten scored twice for Boston, which moved into first place in the Atlantic Division at 5-2-0.

San Jose slipped to 3-3-0.

The timing is rough. The Sharks hit the road for a six-game trip that opens in Nashville on Thursday, and Nurse's availability for that opener is undetermined.

If he can't go, Nolan Allan is expected to slide back into the lineup.

Nurse came over from Edmonton in the offseason and scored his first goal as a Shark in overtime in St. Louis last Thursday.

Teammate Luca Cagnoni said missing him would sting and that he hopes Nurse is healthy for the next game.

No official word on Nurse has come from the Sharks yet.

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