Shawn Thornton understood the risks when he dropped the gloves with big John Scott last Thursday in Boston.
Sure, the fight -- which left the Bruins’ forward with a concussion -- could’ve gone better. But hey, that’s the gig.
So to those observers who suggested Thornton should’ve skated away from Scott’s challenge, that’s not how he operates.
“Obviously with Buffalo, they brought [Scott] in probably because of our team,” said Thornton yesterday, per CSNNE.com. “It’s my job to make sure that I’m available for that, so it’s not one of our star players that has to do it. That’s part of my role. And I accept it fully.
“I wish it went differently. I knew it was going to happen, and it was better to get it out of the way early. Would you rather that, or wait until he does something stupid and I have to deal with it? It was out of the way and it was a non-factor after that, I think.”
As for the notion that Boston defenseman Zdeno Chara (6'9, 255 lbs), was a better match physically for Scott (6'8, 258 lbs)?
“I don’t even know where that [bleep] comes from,” said Thornton (6'2, 217 lbs).
"[Chara]'s our best player and arguably the best defenseman in the league. There’s no reason for him to have to fight my battles. I’ve done this for a long time, and it’s on me.”