A Rash of Injuries to Test Bruins

After the injuries sustained in the Bruins vs. Penguins game on Saturday, the list only grew against the Maple Leafs the next night.

Here's a compilation video highlighting the major incidents in the brutal first period of the Penguins game.



Less than twenty seconds into the game against the Penguins, Bruins’ winger Loui Eriksson was on the receiving end of a crushing hit by Brooks Orpik.  Whether the Orpik hit on Eriksson was a dirty hit or not could be argued either way.  On one hand, you could say that Eriksson did not have the puck when the hit was delivered, making it a clear interference call.  The dirty hit argument would also claim that Orpik finished high, contacting the head.  On the other hand, it looks as though the puck was passing just under Eriksson’s stick just as contact was made and it is hard to tell whether Eriksson’s head was the primary point of contact.  Either way, the hit has put Eriksson out with his second concussion of the season.

As if losing a second line winger wasn’t enough, word of injury to Chris Kelly came after the game. A broken fibula is reportedly the result of this slash by Pascal Dupuis late in the second period.  Looking at the video, it’s hard to tell whether the slash was intentional.  While Dupuis was swinging at a bouncing puck around Kelly’s skates, it also came right after Kelly finished a hit on Dupuis.  Intent aside, Kelly was placed on Long-term IR and is set to miss 4-6 weeks.

The most notable event however, was the retaliatory actions of Shawn Thornton on Brooks Orpik following his hit on Eriksson.  Of course, right after I write a post about how Shawn Thornton isn't a goon, he goes out and performs the most goonish act of his career.  Thornton approached Orpik from behind, slew-footing him down to the ice and then proceeded to deliver two shots to his face as he was laying on his back, the second knocking him out.

Now I’m a big fan of Shawn Thornton, but his actions in this case are completely unjustifiable.  While Orpik may have had it coming to him after the Eriksson hit and his previous refusal to drop gloves with Thornton, this type of incident has no place in today’s game.  However, I still stand by my statement that this is not the type of player Shawn Thornton is.

He was clearly shaken in his postgame press conference addressing the incident.




Facing what will most likely be a pretty lengthy suspension, Thornton is the third Bruins forward who will be missing some time as a result of the events of this game.

The Bruins didn’t have much time to let the dust settle and figure out what their new forward lines would look like, seeing as they were scheduled to face the Toronto Maple Leafs the very next night.

This game only brought more bad news.  Dougie Hamilton left the game in the first period with what is being reported as a lower-body injury and has flown back to Boston.  It is likely that he will miss the rest of the road trip as the Bruins are set to face off against Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.

The Bruins depth will continued to be tested, even more so now that Hamilton will be missing some time and McQuaid has been placed on the IR.  With three Boston forwards slated to miss time, Ryan Spooner and Matt Fraser have been recalled from Providence to join Jordan Caron as fill-ins. Thankfully, the Bruin’s depth at the blue line has come up huge recently in the absence of McQuaid, and Johnny Boychuck.  Kevan Miller continued his strong play against the Leafs notching his first NHL goal last night.  Bruins coach Claude Julien is optimistic Boychuck will be returning to face Calgary on Tuesday.

This Canadian road trip and the games following will be a huge test for the Bruins.  At this point in the season, sitting atop the Atlantic Conference, the Bruins cannot afford to slip in the absence of these players.  However, if the Bruins can continue to get wins (as they did against Toronto last night) with a patchwork offense and a depleted defensive core, it bodes well for them moving forward.

If the Bruins can continue to play well in their absence, getting these players back will only provide them a boost in the New Year.  How the team responds in the face of this mounting adversity will speak volumes about the Bruins institutional depth and, more importantly, their heart.

Shawn Thornton: Always the Enforcer, Never the Goon

Today’s NHL is a league dominated by speedy, skilled players.  With so much quickness and skill at all positions, especially the forward spot, it is increasingly difficult for managers and coaches to justify the use of a roster spot on a goon.

There is an important distinction to be made between an enforcer and a goon.  A goon is a player who, with their lack of skill, is unable to contribute much to a team other than their fighting ability.  A goon is usually a large, physically imposing player with limited skating ability and even worse puck skills.  An enforcer, however, is a player who cannot only throw hands with the best of them, but can also contribute to the team in other ways.

John Scott, of the Buffalo Sabres, is not only the definition of a goon, but one of the few true goons remaining in the NHL.  At 6’8” and weighing in at 258 lbs, it is clear that Scott has the physically imposing part locked up.  Take a closer look at his career statistics and it becomes clear that Scott has absolutely zero value to his team aside from his fighting ability.  In 194 games over the course of five seasons, he has 343 penalty minutes to compliment a whopping five points (1 G, 4 A) and is -12.

Let Mike Milbury and Keith Jones give you a better idea of the type of player Scott is after his dirty hit on Loui Eriksson, which earned him a seven game suspension.



On the other hand, we have Shawn Thornton.  Now Thornton isn’t a scorer, nor could you really call him a playmaker, but as an enforcer, he is second to none.  You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who wouldn’t agree that Thornton is also the most honorable fighter in the league.  You’ll never see him sucker punch someone or punch a guy when he’s down because that’s not the type of player he is.

While Thornton is easily one of, if not the best fighter in the league, he has the ability to contribute to his team on the score sheet as well.  In his 10 seasons in the NHL, Thornton has 83 points (36 G, 47 A) to go along with his 856 penalty minutes.  Not to mention he also averages about double Scott’s ice time per season.  Check out this penalty shot goal and try to tell me he doesn’t have skill.



An enforcer such as Shawn Thornton brings so much to a team like the Bruins.  He is always ready to answer the bell and never shies away from a fight if that’s what it takes to defend his teammates.  The best part about his play though is that he is far from a liability when he’s on the ice.  The Merlot line, consisting of Thornton, Gregory Campbell and Daniel Paille, is often cited as the best fourth line in the league, which speaks volumes about the Bruins’ depth.

The part many people don’t realize is how Shawn Thornton and other tough guys on the Bruins are able to indirectly elevate the game of their teammates.  Knowing you have so many guys behind you who are more than ready to drop gloves and stick up for you, gives you so much more confidence in your game.  Players are less worried about taking cheap shots because their opponent knows as well as they do that any such act will be answered by the fists of guys like Thornton, Milan Lucic, Adam McQuaid and Gregory Campbell among others.

As the game of hockey evolves, the role of the goon will continue to fade into the past, while fans will continue to appreciate the numerous contributions of enforcers like Shawn Thornton.


BONUS VIDEO:
This is possibly my favorite Thornton moment as he and Mike Felger shut down Vancouver journalist, Tony Gallagher.  It comes after the Vancouver game in which he was jumped by seven Canucks and then, in the most embarrassing moment in NHL history, baited into dropping his gloves by Dale Weise, who proceeded to immediately back down in hopes of drawing a penalty.



Seriously, how can you not like this guy?

Shawn Thornton Steps Up and Takes Zac Rinaldo Down with Some Heavy Punches

There wasn't much that went the Flyers way in Saturday afternoon's 3-0 blanking by the Bruins.

All three goals were scored within 2:18 seconds of each other.  Tyler Seguin got it started with a power play goal, then Chris Kelly netted the second with assists coming from his third line mates, Jordan Caron and Rich Peverley.  To cap the scoring, Daniel Paille slipped one under the pads of Ilya Bryzgalov assisted by the other two Merlot liners, Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton.

The Bruins played a complete team game, pressuring the Flyers right down to the last second with a late energy that has been lacking the past few contests.  Playing as a team also means stepping up for your guys when called upon, and today, Thornton answered the bell against tough guy Zac Rinaldo.  Rinaldo went down to the corner to put a heavy hit on Bruins D-man Johnny Boychuk, and while it was a little high, it was clean. 

Still, Thornton took exception to the hit and challenged Rinaldo right away.  The Flyers energy liner is a pretty tough customer, and usually leads off his bouts with some wild hooks, but when you're fighting Thornton you have to be better than that. 

Decision - Thornton.