Be sure to 'like' Hockeybuzz on Facebook!
I suppose it was only fitting that Shawn Thornton, a man Boston fell in love with on and off the ice during his seven-year tenure with the Black and Gold, made his return to the Hub on Election Day.
Thornton, a 37-year-old enforcer that left the Bruins for a high-priced contract with the Florida Panthers after the B’s informed him that they would be ‘moving on’, was the neighbor everybody wanted.
A self-described full-time resident of Charlestown, Mass. (even after he moved on life with the ‘Cats, mind you), a tight-knit neighborhood and quick stroll from the TD Garden, Thornton had an undeniable mayoral-type impact throughout his tenure in Boston. He spent so much of his time dedicating his celebrity to causes greater than hockey (Thornton created or led so many different charitable ventures here in Boston), and was never one to act above anybody that stopped him for a chat or picture. And that’s just off the ice.
On the ice, Thornton was a fan favorite from the moment he arrived. He was a throwback to the days of Terry O’Reilly and John Wensink. He hit everything he could, talked his trash, and dropped the gloves. He even recorded a career-high 20 points on the Bruins’ beloved Merlot Line in the Cup-winning 2010-11 season.
But when the puck dropped, Thornton knew it was time to get to work… for the Panthers. Even with a TD Garden video tribute in the first period doing its best to throw the veteran off his normally rugged demeanor.
“It’s pretty touching you know. Very, very kind, very gentle. Gentle? That’s not the word I was looking for,… an honest Thornton said after the game, a 2-1 overtime loss for Florida. “ To get a standing ovation in a visiting arena is pretty special and I appreciate it. The fans have always been great to me here. It’s pretty nice.
“I enjoyed it, I embraced it. Listen, I’m really appreciative of the way I was treated when I came in here,… added Thornton. “I had a great seven years and tonight was very nice of them to give me that tribute and get that standing ovation. They didn’t have to do that. I just wish we would have won but as far as getting it over with, I enjoyed it, I was looking forward to it and it was everything and more.…
Following a rather listless opening period, Jussi Jokinen opened up the scoring for Florida by way of his first goal as a Panther, striking off a great feed from Brad Boyes.
The Bruins countered just three minutes later, as Patrice Bergeron ended an 11-game goalless drought with his second goal of the year (and first since Oct. 9), beating Roberto Luongo up high. It was a goal that saw all three members of the Bergeron line get involved, as well, with Brad Marchand picking up the primary helper, with Reilly Smith adding a secondary assist.
And deep down, this is what the B’s have been waiting for: Contributions from all three parts of this line.
“I still think they can play even better. We’re talking about one guy here right now that’s really scoring goals, and that’s not to discredit the other two because Bergy [Patrice Bergeron] is arguably our best player on most nights,… Boston coach Claude Julien said of his second line. “He still works hard and stuff like that. But I think, again, not the chemistry, but I think the puck movement between them still isn’t quite where we’ve seen it before. There’s still room for improvement and they just gotta keep working at it.…
Tied at 1-1 through 40 minutes, that score would hold through 60 in spite of a third period that favored the Bruins in shots, 8-4, but it would be the Bergeron line that went back to work in overtime.
After staving off close calls with an overtime loss by way of an impressive Rocco Grimaldi solo effort, and Aaron Ekblad startling a tired Chris Kelly in the B’s end, Marchand found the puck on his stick. And instead of hanging onto the puck for too long before ditching it for the safe play, No. 63 made his move, going at and around Dylan Olsen, and then beating old friend Roberto Luongo blocker side, sealing the deal on a hardfought-though-rather-boring 2-1 victory.
I think tonight was a real big step forward for us. We played with a lot more confidence than we have in the past number of games, and it seems like were able to make plays now and hold on,… Marchand, now with four goals in his last three games, said of his line’s success on the night. “I think that’s one thing we weren’t doing very well early on. We were throwing it away a lot, and weren’t supporting each other very well. But our legs seemed to be under us, we seemed to be more comfortable with the puck, and we felt really good tonight.…
Goaltender Tuukka Rask made 18 saves in the victory, improving to 6-4-0 this season.
Notes
- Jokinen’s goal in the first period was the 150th of his NHL career.
- With the victory, Rask improved to a stellar 11-1-0 against Florida in his career.
- Boston has now won nine straight games against the ‘Cats.
- The Bruins are now 4-1-0 with Zdeno Chara out of the lineup, outscoring their opponents 16-to-10 over that five-game span. (But hey, more on that in a bit.)
- The Bruins’ sellout streak was extended to 221 games with another 17,565 in the crowd tonight.
Chara update
There was an unusual sight in the hall during the B’s morning skate on Tuesday. Zdeno Chara, the 6-foot-9 captain expected to miss 4-6 weeks with a torn PCL in his knee, was working with a stick. Despite the encouraging sight, the captain and the club confirmed that there’s still no timetable for his return.
“He’s having fun. The best way he can. His situation hasn’t changed,… Julien noted. “It is four to six weeks. So, that hasn’t changed. I really don’t know guys. I can’t tell you more than what we see.…
The 37-year-old captain still hasn’t ruled out the possibility of surgery, either, creating an undeniably large (think like, the size of oh, I don’t know, the Stanley Cup, just for an example) looming mushroom cloud.
“I think it drives any player crazy that you’re not able to go out there and help your team, just like it drives players crazy to sit out and watch games when they’re healthy. Everybody that’s here wants to play. I know we consider, you know, him more than others,… Julien said of Chara, the team’s captain since arriving to Boston back in 2006. “I would like to think that everybody wants to play badly. It’s tough when you’re not used to it. As of right now, in my opinion, he’s handling it as well as he can under the circumstances. Like I said, he’s shooting pucks against the wall trying to make the best of the situation and have a little bit of fun.…
As much as it hurts to be without a defenseman of Chara’s caliber for a month (almost two), the last thing the Bruins want to do is rush somebody so large and so important back from an injury involving the ligament of a knee. It’s gonna be a long process, with the Bruins crossing every T and dotting every I, you’d think.
Up next
The Bruins get another visit from an old friend. Well, sort of. Andrew Ference and the Edmonton Oilers are in town. Again, well, sort of. Suspended three games for his hit on Vancouver’s Zach Kassian, the former Bruin and current Edmonton captain will not be in the lineup for an Oil squad that’s 0-3-1 away from their home rink, but another familiar face will be. Benoit Pouliot. You remember him, right? Of course you do. The Bruins won both meetings against the Oilers last year.
Ty Anderson has been covering the Boston Bruins for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, is a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter, and can be contacted on Twitter, or emailed at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com