In the third period, Sean Avery blasted Lucic from behind, touching off a melee in which Marc Savard initiated a pig pile on Avery. As the Bruins jumped Avery, Dallas defenseman Matt Niskanen came flying into the fray. Hnidy intercepted the visor-wearing Niskanen (36 PIMs as a rookie in 2007-08) and proceeded to pound him with a flurry of eight unanswered rights.
Afterward, Hnidy sounded nearly apologetic for pummeling Niskanen, which would never have taken place under normal circumstances.
"I didn't even know who it was. I had no idea," Hnidy said. "At the time, you're in such a heat. Emotions are running high. It's different after a dirty hit, where there are cheap shots and guys are jumping in."
As Hnidy learned during his beatdown of Niskanen, emotions can pop through the roof when the gloves come off. Neely, whose pummeling years ago of Claude Lemieux has taken on legendary status, said he'd experienced "pure anger" in the instant leading up to a fight. Thornton's awareness has become so keen he puts himself in a different frame of mind just before he sheds the gloves.
"When I know it's going to happen, I'm pretty nervous," Thornton said. "Sometimes you can just look at a guy. Sometimes you ask. Sometimes you go right after him. It depends on the situation. It's different every time. But my head's in such a different space at that point, I don't know that I can actually tell you what I've said."
Thornton is the Bruins leader with six fights. He racked up 354 penalty minutes as a second-year pro in St. John's (AHL), throwing down 36 times. He won a ring with Anaheim in 2006-07, when he fought 12 times.
Delivering and taking punches might look like second nature to Thornton, but he describes himself as laid-back, not the type to pick a fight in a bar. And there is the ultimate paradox in fighting: Tough guys like Thornton would prefer not to do it, but they acknowledge it's why they've made it to the NHL.
"Let's face it. Nobody likes getting punched in the face. That's a true statement," said Thornton. "But it's a job and I'll do it for the rest of my career. However long it is."
And with that, Thornton leaned back in his stall at Ristuccia Arena in Wilmington, where he sits in front of a whiteboard featuring the lineup of the next opponent. Inevitably, Thornton's eyes fix on the names of the heavyweights, reminders that his next fight is awaiting his acceptance.
Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com.
