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With 15-game ban served, Thornton wants to get ‘back to the way I played’

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On Saturday, Shawn Thornton will be eligible for his first game in over five weeks -- and he’s already established how he wants to play in his return to action.

“I’ll be back to the way I played 500-plus regular-season and however many playoff games,” Thornton said, per the Boston Herald. “I crossed the line; it wasn’t the norm for me, and I’ll try not to ever do that again.”

Thornton, handed the NHL’s longest suspension of this season for attacking Pittsburgh defenseman Brooks Orpik on Dec. 7, served the final game of his punishment last night as the Bruins lost in Los Angeles, 4-2. He’ll be eligible to return this weekend when the B’s take on the Sharks in San Jose, a return that could coincide with Loui Eriksson -- who was hit by Orpik in the same December game -- coming back from a concussion.

It’s unclear if the Bruins will utilize Thornton immediately, however. The club could benefit from his veteran presence with the likes of Chris Kelly and Dennis Seidenberg out of the lineup, but the B’s did get some quality production from fill-in forwards Justin Florek and Matt Fraser on Thursday, as both scored in the loss to the Kings.

That said, Thornton sounds like a guy that’s ready to get back in.

“[I’ll] play within the lines, protect my teammates, fight when I have to, hopefully provide some productive minutes,” he said. “Create some energy and some chances, play physical and hard.”