Just moments after he fell on the back of Fernando Pisani's skate blade, ripping open his forehead above the right eye, Shawn Thornton said Blackhawks players were taunting him from their bench. Thornton sustained a nasty gash that required 40 stitches on the inside and outside of his skull. He did not return following the injury in the second period.
"If I ever find who it was, I'll deal with it my own way," Thornton said.
Cameras showed Thornton shoving and nearly punching referee Don Van Massenhoven, who was actually trying to stand between Thornton and the Chicago bench.
"He was [ticked], too," Thornton said. "He yelled at their bench. I really appreciated that."
Thornton said he was prepared to return to the game with a visor but because the medical staff was concerned about a concussion and the 40 stitches opening up, he was held back and not permitted to return. For more, including video of Thornton, visit the Bruins team page at weei.com/bruins [1] and the Big Bad Blog [2].
Links:
[1] http://www.weei.com/bruins
[2] http://www.bigbadblog.weei.com
[3] http://www.weei.com/category/boston/bruins