Buffalo at Boston 1/31/13

[Boston Garden]

Figured it's about time to to get this started.

[cookie monster]

[rondo]

Lets face it This is the main reason Scott was brought in. Who he fights is in question. Buffalo probably wants it to be Lucic . Boston wants it to be Thornton, as that is his job after all , enforce and stick up for teammates.

Personally, I think Thornton may have issues with Scott's size & reach and for that matter I don't think Lucic is a good match up either. He's very strong but isn't a real fast puncher. Factor in the 4 inches and 40 lbs it could be trouble. As for Thornton what a tough match up. Six inches and 50 lbs could give him a lot of trouble. I know he did well against boogey but I don't think boogey was at his best . Take nothing from Thornton he's a great tactical fighter and usually finds a way to hang in or upset big guys.

This leads to Chara who obviously matches up best size wise. Will Scott beat Thornton or Lucic and force a battle of the giants. It's kind of what I want to see and think may happen! Probably wishful thinking.

[pesadillamal]

Tough call here. Buffalo has been quick to respond this year from what I have seen (A lot of the Flyer game and a lot of the early parts of the Toronto games) but I haven't seen them be very proactive when it comes to the physical play. They are on a four game losing streak so hopefully Ruff doesn't tell them to ignore the extra stuff and play the game. Hopefully McCormick is healthy enough to play and scrap and I recently watched a clip of Ott driving Boston crazy so hopefully he gets the game going, though he may not have to as Boston may come looking for him.

A lot of hoping but not as much expecting going on here. Still, if it is televised or there is still a free preview I would probably watch more of this game early than the Ranger game.

[dtb1381]

Judgement day is almost upon us gentlemen, there's so much possibility in this game it's hard to see who fights who. it blows that Kaletas not playing but I hope Cody takes his spot and is ready. Bourque is playing god awful and macdermid has not played yet so I hope the bruins give him a shot tomorrow night. It remains to be seen who Scott fights, I'm sure he will fight thornton but if Thornton gets his ass handed to him, will chara step up and go after him? Will Scott force the issue with lucic? If Cody's in I'm sure mcquaid or macdermid will challenge. So many other possibilities with foligno, ott, Brennan, weber, regher all expected to play against the bruins. Tomorrow we will see if it was just all talk or are sabres ready to challenge the bruins brass.

Ott-Campbell
Macdermid-McCormick
Mcquaid-foligno
Thornton-Scott

[djaye]

Scott - Thorts is the only fight I see happening.

Kaleta might not be playing ( Injured ), McCormic still isnt game ready.

Have to see whom Ruff has on the roster.

[srehm1]

I'm interested to see what happens in this game. I know a lot of people believe that Scott is going to go after Lucic, but I'm not sure. Scott never struck me as the type to really force the issue. Kind of typical with the superHW's in that he seems more or less like an appointment fighter. I remember a few years back when he was talking to the chicago media and called out Thornton. Thornton challenged him the next time they met and Scott seemed disinterested. I don't know why. He's obviously a monster and a good fighter and he has all kinds of height and weight advantages over Thorts. who knows?

I can easily see him lay down the challenge to lucic and lucic just saying no and that be the end of the story right there. However, if Scott really wants to jam, he can always take liberties with Krejci or say Dougie hamilton or something like that and force Lucic or someone on the Bruins to step up. I have never cared about a fighter declining a challenge. it happens all the time and every big name fighter has done it. BUT if you are really looking for a fight then the next logical step is to go after one of the opposing teams star players. If Lucic watches while Scott swats at Rask or Krejci etc. then he's got some explaining to do. If he refuses a challenge off the faceoff-I could really care less.

Scott may just be an insurance policy serving as a deterrent. Basically making sure that the Bruins don't try to rough up Miller or their star players without him having his say. I was really surprised to see him let orr off scott free (no pun intended but I might use that in the future!). There is still time in the season to avenge that loss so it's nothing really major for now. But with the criticism of him not taking on the elite fighters and how he never took on any top-10 guys yadda yadda kind of makes you wonder. maybe he's just saving himself for tomorrow night.

Thornton may try a bit of a pre-emptive measure by challenging Scott. get the fight out of the way and let the game begin in earnest. i can see Chara doing this as well. Stepping up to take on the other big man in the league! Of course it would most likely be a sh!tty fight with chara falling all over the place.

What is intriguing is Ott. Ott is a rabble rouser of the highest order who has had some run ins with the Bruins before. i can definitely see him trying to get some sort of rumble going. The Sabres have to be careful with that. The Bruins have toughness throughout the lineup-the sabres do not. So it's a double edged sword. Scott can't fight all of them. i'd love to see McCormick in the lineup. Is he playing? I like him as a fighter and he can surprise a McQuaid or even a thornton if he's on his game.

Another thing is Lane macdermid. will the Bruins give him a call? Have him come into take on Scott? I like the kid but I'm not sure if the Bruins will go that route. you never know.

Why do I have a feeling we'll see one quickie fight and then no rough stuff after that? These games that get all the hype usually turn out to be major disappointments. We'll know tomorrow night I guess.

[FistofFury]

Scott should throw that lil shi7 at Chara to get 'er all going.
My guess is Scott vs Thornton although a Chara matchup would be more of an interesting fight.

[slashtrey]

First time Scott gets on the ice the refs will eject him for thinking about the hypothetical idea of fighting someone.

[FistofFury]

I know they wouldn't bring in Macdermid just to get beat up.

[Sugden Flu]

Some good posts in this thread. I'd be shocked if MacDermid is in the lineup. Bourque is going to get every chance, to be a part of this team, as possible. Papa earned that right for him. I say about 20 games in, if he's still doing nothing, they might sit him.

Looking forward to this game. If Scott challenges Looch and he obliges this site might just crash...

[gdameo]

Bruins got No reason to bring up macdermid. No reason.

If Scott n Thornton fight....it could be boring. Thornton is a smart fighter and might just hold onto Scott. Well see though.

[shaud19]

I'll be disappointed if this is a just a normal game. This should have a rivalry type feel. Buffalo need to snap their 4 game losing streak. Big game all the way around. Scott needs to fight Lucic once and for all to settle things.

[Bruins29]

So what's up...is Buffalo going to look for some payback tonight or what? I want to see blood on the ice (Scott's blood)!

[BOSTONMASSACRE]

Originally Posted by gdameo

Bruins got No reason to bring up macdermid. No reason.

Lane MacDermid doesn't have to be brought up, he's on The Bruins roster and has been with the team since the start of the season.