Having cooled off lately, the Bruins can at least be satisfied to have the NHL’s Toughest Man on their team, Milan Lucic. But what about Shawn Thornton? Does that mean they have the TWO toughest players in the NHL? I mean I wouldn’t want to go up against either but if you had to choose one, who would you rather drop the gloves with? Lucic or Thornton?
Lucic
Thornton
If Shawn Thornton is not one of your favorite Bruins players then you probably are not a big fan of hockey. This guy is laying his ass on the line night in and night out. In terms of skill he is limited. But he is willing to out-work, out-hussle, and out-physical other players. I’m glad Claude brought the fourth line (Campbell, Paille, Thornton) back together against the Wild, because they bring an energy this team has clearly lacked since the calendar flipped to 2012.
Check out Shawn’s fight against a much bigger Matt Kassian (6’4” 232 lbs) who keeps his helmet on for the whole fight. Thornton hangs in after a quick start by Kassian and gets a few shots in. He is literally not afraid of any player in the NHL, but he knows the right time to get involved. Claude trusts his judgement and usually Thornton rewards him with a well-timed fight that raises the energy of the rest of the team to where it needs to be. He is a throwback hockey player that is fun to watch. Next time you are watching a B’s game, pay attention when the fourth line comes out and you will see constantly these guys out working the other team.
I know the Canucks won, but honestly, you have to feel bad for them. Vancouver is just so pathetic. Looking back to last year, I don’t think there was one team in the NHL that wanted the Canucks to win the Stanley Cup. The only city that did, Vancouver, showed how well they could hold it together after losing as they tore their own city to shreds.
You would think after that the team would want to show they’ve grown as they come back into Boston to face the team that stole the Cup from them, but nope. First, Luongo “handed over” the game to Schneider for sentimental reasons. Yeah right, because when it comes to intense and bitter rivalries, hockey players are always sentimental. I’m calling the bluff, along with everyone else. Robby was scared and wimped out of playing in Boston. Moving along to the game, how did the fact that Thornton got jumped by six Canucks not get discussed more? Granted he egged one of them on, all six proceeded to clobber him. Then after jumping to his defense, we end up on the bad end of a 5 on 3 power play. Ridiculous, but expected out of a team like Vancouver. Then to top it off, Thornton called out Weise after the two exchanged words in the box, and Weise completely backed down like a coward, without hesitation. Speaking to a Canadian reporter he stated, “But at the end of the day, that’s not really the type of guy I want to fight.” That’s the only thing I’ll give Weise credit for, knowing Thornton would have pounded his face in, deservingly so. But to sum it all up, the Canucks just proved how much of a joke they are and how clearly the better, more deserving team won the game that mattered in June, not in January.
Boston Sports Blog 