May 10, 2013; Boston, MA USA; Boston Bruins left wing
Milan Lucic(17) checks Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman
Carl Gunnarsson(36) into the boards during the first period in game five of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
The Boston Bruins has one of the most balanced skill sets when it comes to a team in all of professional hockey. It’s two-way, three-zone, defensive minded hockey. The Bruins are a team where you can literally rip apart the lines, put odd combinations together, and expect them to score. What truly sets the Bruins apart from most teams in the NHL is there intense physical style of play. Any member of the Bruins has no problem dropping the gloves at any time.
It’s part of the whole Black and Gold package. These gentlemen will stand up for their team and absolutely pound the stuffing out another player. I’d like to take a quick look at the Bruins who (in my opinion) will be leading the team (and quite possibly the league) in fighting majors this season.
Shawn Thornton – What’s not to say about Thorty? He led the Bruins for fighting majors in the last two seasons. He led the league in 2011 (and was 10th last season). Thornton is just a power house player. While some could call him just a pure grinder, he’s got a skill set that would find himself playing higher on the lines, if it was any other team but the talent-rich Bruins. Thornton has his piece of NHL immortality. He was the first player to get involved in a fight during a Winter Classic. Remember and Enjoy all.
He is one of those players that will hand out those ‘unofficial rulings’. After Matt Cooke had ended Marc Savard‘s career. Thornton made sure Cooke had a few moments of public humiliation. It’s not an argument that Thornton is a beast on the ice, but he’s not just a brawler folks. He has the skill to pull these kinds of shots off as well.
Milan Lucic – The leader of Loochy Looch and the Punchy Bunch. ( I guess we’ll need to find a new back up player since Andrew Ference went back home to Edmonton in an effort to change the name of the team from the Oilers to the Tree Huggers.) Before we get into the Looch’s fighting skills, let’s remember THIS HIT!
What’s not to like about Lucic? He spent the last few seasons with David Krejci and Nathan Horton (now off to Columbus). He has been chosen as by his peers in the NHL as the best fighter in the league. That’s high praise considering who his peers are. There is no one like Lucic for giving a beat down to an opposing team. He just obliterates people. But never let it be said that Milan Lucic is a bad guy. While in the sin bin, he took a few moments to give a little love to his hometown unofficial mascots, the Vancouver Canucks ‘Green Men’.
Zdeno Chara – While Lucic is feared by most of the NHL for his scrapping skills, this is the player that Lucic wants no part of tangling with on the ice. Zdeno Chara, the Bruins captain, and the biggest man in the NHL. When one of his teammates gets hit, Chara stands up for his squad. I’m sure Alexei Emelin will never spear another Bruin again. The captain stands up for his team. Why anyone in the NHL would be willing to go after a guy who has his own zip code is beyond me.
Then there is Adam McQuaid. This guy is such a fighter. He loses a rib to a life threatening blood clot, comes back into the league, and gets so riled up he fights in a scrimmage against a Providence Bruin. Even Pierre McGuire took time off his unabashed love for Sidney Crosby to call McQuaid ‘one tough hombre’. Here’s a quick selection of McQuaid’s best.
Let’s wrap it up with a little stick tap to the Bruins alternate captain, Patrice Bergeron. Bergeron will likely have very few fights next season (or the rest of his career for that matter). But when someone disrespects his squad, the polite French Canadian will drop the gloves and the Quebecois to become Paddy Cleary.
The Bruins will bring the same attitude and drive that won them the Eastern Conference last year. Let’s hope the other squads brought their insurance cards.
On a final note… The first testicular guard, the “Cup,” was used in Hockey in 1874 and the first helmet was used in 1974. That means it only took 100 years for men to realize that their brain is also important.