Bruins Thornton Cleared, Unsure Of Weekend Status
BOSTON (CBS) –Bruins forward Shawn Thornton has been cleared for contact, and was back on the ice for Boston Thursday afternoon.
It's been a week since he was knocked out by Buffalo Sabres forward John Scott, and was expected to take 7-10 days to return. He says he feels good and is ready for game action – whenever that may come.
"They haven't given any word on what's going on this weekend," said Thornton. "But I feel good. I've felt good all week. I'm happy to be where I'm at right now."
The Bruins have a Saturday afternoon game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Garden –weather permitting – and will then head to Buffalo for a rematch against the Sabres.
Thornton got a little miffed at a reporter when asked if he was considering a rematch with Scott on Sunday.
"I don't know. You (expletive) always like setting up fights. You think this is UFC?" asked an angry Thornton. "I don't even know if I'm playing. I'd appreciate it if you stopped setting them up for me maybe."
Thornton On Recovery, Fights:
Podcast
Thornton is never afraid to throw down the gloves, but he did take offense to those questioning why none of his teammates retaliated after Scott's KO last week – especially captain Zdeno Chara.
"Z's our best player and arguably the best defenseman in the league. There's no reason for him to have to fight my battles," said Thornton. "It's on me. If I knocked him out I didn't expect someone to grab me the next shift. It's part of it, we're both men and it happens."
"I've probably fought 300, 400 times. I've won my share, lost a few, and most of them are pretty even. It happens," he said. "I'm just happy it happened with someone who is 6-8 and not 5-8; that would have looked pretty bad."
Thornton said this is his third concussion, suffering one after his first NHL fight and another in juniors.
"I guess I got a thick head and not much in it," he joked. "I'm definitely lucky, but I said that even before this happened. Maybe I'm lucky, or just OK at what I do."
