ESPN

BOSTON -- Bruins forward Shawn Thornton won his first Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks in 2007, playing for a head coach, Randy Carlyle, who expected hard work and physical play from his players. The Ducks delivered on both fronts, playing with a lunch-pail mentality and leading the league in penalty minutes.

On Wednesday, Thornton and his Bruins teammates will play a similar team coached by Carlyle. In about six months as head coach of the Maple Leafs, Carlyle has transformed the Leafs into a physical, hard-working team whose young stars are finally realizing their potential. The result so far is a fifth-place finish in the Eastern Conference and the organization's first playoff appearance since 2004.

Carlyle was hired by the Leafs on March 3, 2012. Toronto faced the Bruins in his second game as head coach.

"I remember running into him in the lobby of the Westin," Thornton recalled. "I knew right away he would help them. I didn't know their former coach [Ron Wilson] that much. But I knew Randy, from playing for him, that he would get the most out of his players."

Carlyle has done just that, but Thornton also was familiar with the man who helped construct the roster Carlyle inherited. Former Leafs general manager Brian Burke was the GM of that Cup-winning team in Anaheim. Thornton sees Burke's fingerprints all over this current Leafs squad.

"A lot of the pieces that Burkie put in place are there now and they're playing the way he wanted them to play," Thornton said. "He deserves a lot of credit."

Thornton is happy for his ex-coach and knows that he and his Bruins teammates are in for a physical, hard series against this rejuvenated team.

"I'm sure he's a big part of it," Thornton said of his former bench boss. "He's an extremely smart coach. He demands a solid work ethic. I think he'll have them going at the top of their ability, that's for sure. They're a skilled team that plays big and tough. They're built a certain way, and they play that way and to their style."

BOSTON -- The Bruins host the Eastern Conference’s last-place team, the Florida Panthers, tonight at TD Garden.

The Panthers are 1-3-1 in their last five games and are trying to hang on for a playoff spot, trailing the eighth-place New York Rangers by eight points. Florida has been riddled by injuries this season with a total of seven players out of the lineup, including forward Stephen Weiss, who is out for the remainder of the season with a broken wrist.

So, Bruins coach Claude Julien’s message to his team after Thursday’s morning skate was a simple one: Don’t take the Panthers for granted.

When asked what he expected from the struggling Panthers, Julien said he’s focused only on his team.

"To be honest, it’s what I expect from our team more than theirs right now,” Julien said. “Not to say anything about their team, we know they’re banged up, we know they’ve had a lot of injuries and they’ve had their fair share of struggles, but in this league there’s no such thing as an easy game and we should know that by now.”

The Bruins have uncharacteristically surrendered three third-period leads in three of the last six games, including a 3-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday in Pittsburgh.

Julien is looking for a complete effort against the Panthers.

“It’s more of how we’re going to bounce back from a real disappointing loss. Our decision-making [Tuesday] wasn’t as strong as it should have been,” said the coach.

“We need to bounce back with a strong outing, a 60-minute effort we keep talking about, and hopefully that will get us back on track,” added Julien.

Forward Shawn Thornton agreed that the Bruins need to play smarter hockey and finish games stronger.

"We need not to sit back as much,” he said. “Our decision-making with the puck needs to be better. We’ve made some mistakes that are uncharacteristic of us, as far as giving away pucks in areas that we usually don’t. If we played the same brand of hockey for the whole game then we’ll be fine, but it’s when we start to switch things up a little and ad-lib is when we get ourselves in trouble.

“There’s no panic button. Yes, it’s happened a few times lately, but there’s no hitting the panic button, we just know we need to be better for 60 minutes instead of 54,” he added.

Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask, who missed Tuesday’s game with the flu, was the first goalie off the ice this morning and is expected to make his 19th start of the season. He’s 13-2-3 with a 1.96 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage. The Panthers’ Scott Clemmensen (2-3-2/4.28/8.52) will start for Florida.

BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins are 9-3-1 this season when the team is assessed a fighting major, and Saturday Bruins pugilist Shawn Thornton was more than willing to drop the gloves.

With Boston holding a 3-0 led in the second period, the Flyers’ Zac Rinaldo demolished Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk with a clean body check. Thornton jumped in and went toe-to-toe with Rinaldo. Thornton connected on a few good punches before the Flyers’ forward fell to the ice.

“I was just reacting to the hit,” Thornton said. “I thought they were running around a little bit and I thought I’d address it. I don’t think it was a dirty hit by any means, but it was probably the third or fourth [hit] by him, so I tried to address it.”

In the last two seasons, the Bruins are 39-15-2 when they fight.

“It was a good job by him to step up and do that,” Boychuk said. “He did a good job on that. Their whole line played extremely well tonight, and they were ready and Shawn did a good job there.”

WILMINGTON, Mass. -- Just as the Bruins' matinee game against Tampa Bay on Saturday at TD Garden is becoming questionable due to the impending snowstorm, Bruins winger Brad Marchand (undisclosed injury) is listed as questionable for Saturday as well as Sunday at Buffalo.

After not playing in his team's 2-1 win at Montreal on Wednesday night, Marchand was not on the ice for practice Thursday. But coach Claude Julien didn't rule him out for the weekend.

"He's definitely not a write-off for Saturday. A lot can happen in two days, and we'll see how all that works out," Julien said.

Daniel Paille (upper body) and Shawn Thornton (concussion) both skated and are cleared for contact but also are question marks for the weekend.

WILMINGTON, Mass. -- Shawn Thornton, who met with the media for the first time since suffering a concussion in a fight with Sabres enforcer John Scott in a 7-4 Bruins loss Jan. 30, said he is now cleared for contact and practice but unsure whether he will play in either of the Bruins’ back-to-back games Saturday (vs. Tampa Bay) and Sunday (vs. Scott and the Sabres).

“I feel good and I’ve felt good all week,” Thornton said. “I’m happy to be around. I was a little bit tired on Friday but I might’ve been anyway because there was a lot of hockey going into that game last Thursday. Saturday I was out walking around, Sunday I rode the bike and have been back skating ever since.”

After discussing his condition at length, the conversation naturally turned to the debate about whether fighting belongs in the game and if maybe he’s thought twice about the line of work he finds himself in. Thornton hasn’t lost many fights the way he did to Scott, and while this was what he believes to be his third concussion, he defended his profession.

“I don’t like when people like to take advantage of situations to further their agenda,” Thornton said. “There’s fighting in hockey; it’s in the game, and I think it’s a necessary part of the game. I don’t think it’s going anywhere, and there’s no point in really dwelling on it. But listen, I’m a big boy and I know what I’m getting into.”

Thornton then was asked about whether staged fights occur more than fights that break out spontaneously or to avenge a wrong.

“There’s usually some rhyme or reason to when I’m doing it,” Thornton said. “Some may look staged, but there’s usually something that happened that led to it. Sometimes momentum and all the stuff that happens can lead to it. I like the fights in the heat of the battle and those are definitely part of the game, and people appreciate them more. But there are times that it’s necessary at other points in the game, too. But just two guys going out and doing it for no apparent reason, you don’t see me doing that too often.”

As for the fight with Scott, Thornton said he has no regrets.

“Obviously with Buffalo they brought him in because of our team, and 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,” Thornton said. “That’s part of my role, and I accept it fully. Like I said, I wish it went differently but I knew it was going to happen and it was better to get it out of the way early. I mean, would you rather that or wait until he does something stupid and I have to deal with it? So the other way it was a nonfactor after that.”

Thornton dismissed suggestions that 6-foot-9 Zdeno Chara should have retaliated against the 6-foot-8 Scott.

“I don’t even know where that [expletive] comes from,” Thornton said. “Listen, Zee’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. Listen, if I knocked him out, I wasn’t expecting somebody to come grab me the next shift. It’s part of it. We’re both men, and it happens.”

BOSTON -- Bruins forwards Daniel Paille (upper body) and Shawn Thornton (concussion) will not make the trip to Montreal for tomorrow's big Northeast Division tilt between the two rivals, according to coach Claude Julien.

Brad Marchand, who missed practice Monday after apparently injuring his shoulder in the team's 1-0 win at Toronto on Saturday, will travel with the team and practice with them at the Bell Centre on Tuesday afternoon. If it's decided that he can't go on Wednesday, recent call-up Ryan Spooner will play in his first NHL game.

“He might be a game-time decision,” Julien said of Marchand. “He’s going to practice with us today and then we’ll make a decision probably tomorrow on his situation.”

Julien reiterated that he and his staff are "optimistic" about Paille and Thornton moving forward.

WILMINGTON, Mass. -- Boston Bruins forwards Shawn Thornton (concussion) and Brad Marchand (upper body) are making progress and aren't expected to miss an extended amount of time due to their respective injuries, according to coach Claude Julien.

Thornton, who suffered the concussion during a first-period fight against the Buffalo Sabres’ John Scott last Thursday, was scheduled to miss seven to 10 days but he’s been symptom-free for the last couple of days.

“He’s doing really well,” said Julien. “There’s no issues there.”

Even though Thornton was able to ride the stationary bike on Sunday before taking a solo twirl on the ice Monday morning, the team will remain cautious.

“He’s feeling really good,” added Julien. “He’s been great. He’s been symptom-free for a few days now. Things are going well, but obviously there’s a protocol to follow and we’re certainly going to follow that to the letter.”

Marchand missed the third period of Saturday’s 1-0 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs after he appeared to have suffered a shoulder injury when he slammed into the end boards late in the second period. He did not practice on Monday.

“He’s also progressing very well,” Julien said.

Bruins forward Daniel Paille participated in the full practice Monday morning, but has not been cleared by the medical staff for game action. He’s hoping he’ll be back in the lineup Wednesday.

“I’m feeling good,” he said. “A couple of days off, I want to get the legs going again and I don’t feel too bad after a couple days, so it’s good.”

Paille took a high stick to the face late in the game against the Sabres and needed stitches below his left eye. There are no broken bones and no problems with his vision, but the team wanted him to remain in Boston over the weekend and not travel to Toronto for precautionary reasons.

"Luckily it’s not serious and I’m able to come back right away,” he said.

Bruins forward David Krejci did not practice on Monday and was given another maintenance day, but he's expected to practice with the team on Tuesday before it leaves for Montreal to face the Canadiens on Wednesday night at Bell Centre.

Julien explained it’s been a combination of the medical staff, the coaching staff and the players as to when they’re given a day off to rest.

“If they can benefit from a day off, that’s part of the [plan] I’ve been using about being more cautious. If they can benefit from it, give it to them,” Julien said. “Could [Krejci have] been on the ice today? Absolutely. So that’s why I wouldn’t read too much into David missing two days of practice. It’s so we can get rid of what’s bugging him right now totally, and it’s minor.”

Julien said he's hoping Marchand, Paille and Krejci will be in the lineup against the Canadiens.

“Right now there’s nobody that’s a definite ‘no’ moving forward here for the next game,” Julien said. “We’ll obviously make those decisions tomorrow. Before we leave, we should know who can and who can’t play on Wednesday.”

WILMINGTON, Mass. -- Longtime minor leaguer Jamie Tardif was informed late Thursday night that he would have an opportunity to make his NHL debut for the Boston Bruins on Saturday night in his hometown of Toronto.

With the injuries to Bruins’ forwards Shawn Thornton (concussion) and Daniel Paille (upper body) during Boston’s 7-4 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, the Bruins decided to recall Tardif from their AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins. The 28-year-old forward practiced with the team on Friday and traveled to Toronto in preparation for Saturday’s Northeast Division game at Air Canada Centre.

“He’s good. I liked him a lot,” said Bruins coach Claude Julien. “He can shoot the puck. He’s second in the league in goals scored and it doesn’t surprise me because he has a really good shot. Not only that, he’s a hard worker and he works hard both ways, he’s a good forechecker, a good backchecker, he competes hard all the time. It’s nice to see those guys get rewarded for putting all those years in the minors and finally getting a chance to play in the NHL. For him, there’s no doubt in my mind he’s earned it. Certainly, he was the right choice to bring in for us.”

When asked if Tardif would be in the lineup Saturday, Julien said: “More than probably. There’s a good chance he’ll be in.”

At the time of his recall, Tardif was the leading scorer for the P-Bruins with 21 goals and nine assists for 30 points in 39 games. His 21 goals also ranks second overall in the AHL. He also participated in the AHL All-Star festivities last weekend at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Providence.

Tardif is a veteran of 415 career games in the AHL with Manitoba, Iowa, Grand Rapids and Providence. He spent the majority of his career in Grand Rapids from 2006 to 2011. He signed with the Bruins as an unrestricted free agent in July of 2011 and has played the last two seasons in Providence.

Now he’s on the verge of playing in the NHL.

“I think it’s a great opportunity,” Tardif said. “I’ve been waiting for a chance like this for a while. I’m going into my eighth year of being a pro, so I’m just fortunate and at the same time excited to go back to my hometown of Toronto. It’s definitely exciting.”

Even though he’ll be playing in front of family and friends, he’s hoping to keep his mindset and game plan as normal as possible.

“I just need to stay focused, be relaxed and take it all in,” he said. “I’m sure going back to Toronto is going to add a lot of excitement, but at the same time if I get in the lineup, just play my game and do what I’ve done all year to have some success down in Providence and carry that up here to Boston.”

WILMINGTON, Mass. -- Boston Bruins forward Shawn Thornton will miss the next seven to 10 days due to a concussion he suffered in a first-period fight with the Buffalo Sabres’ John Scott on Thursday, the team announced.

The 6-foot-8, 258-pound Scott and 6-2, 217-pound Thornton dropped the gloves just 2:53 into the first period of Thursday's 7-4 Bruins loss. Thornton took a number of fast and furious punches to the head and appeared to be dazed and wobbly as he headed to the penalty box.

After serving his 5-minute major for fighting, Thornton immediately headed to the Bruins' dressing room and did not return.

"It is tough," coach Claude Julien said. "Here's a guy who does everything for his teammates and his team, and has done it very well. Unfortunately, there's always a risk in that job. He took on a pretty big man, as we all know, 6-foot-8 and around 280 pounds. [Thornton] handled himself as best as he could, but those things are going to happen. At the end of the day, he was still willing to do it for his team."

Also missing from Friday's practice were Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci and Daniel Paille. Julien explained Bergeron and Krejci were given "maintenance days," but both would be in the lineup Saturday in Toronto against the Maple Leafs.

Paille, however, suffered an upper-body injury when he took a high stick in the face late in the third period Thursday; he will remain in Boston this weekend.

"Obviously, we're going to deem it an upper-body injury, only for the reason right now we don't have all the details," Julien said. "We know he got the high stick, but once we get clarification on his injury, we'll let you know."

The Bruins recalled forward Jamie Tardif on Friday from AHL Providence to take Thornton's place. Tardif, 28, participated in the Bruins' practice at Ristuccia Arena and will make the trip with the team.

With Thornton and Paille out of the lineup, Julien said Tardif -- who leads the P-Bruins with 21 goals and nine assists in 39 games -- likely will make his NHL debut Saturday.

BOSTON -- Bruins coach Claude Julien said that Shawn Thornton would be re-evaluated Friday after getting knocked out of Thursday's loss by Sabres enforcer John Scott.

Scott and Thornton dropped the gloves just 2:53 into the first period. Thornton took numerous fast and furious punches to the head from Scott and appeared to be dazed and wobbly as he headed to the penalty box. After serving his 5:00 major for fighting, Thornton immediately headed to the Bruins dressing room. He did not return.

Tyler Seguin said, "I saw him after and he looked OK. We know he is a tough guy and he did his job."

BOSTON -- Without the relentless style of play by the Boston Bruins' fourth line during Friday's 4-2 win over the New York Islanders at TD Garden, the game could have had an entirely different outcome.

The efforts of Shawn Thornton, Gregory Campbell and Daniel Paille kept the Bruins in the game even though the rest of the team struggled through two sloppy periods. From a team standpoint, Boston recuperated in the final period en route to the win.

Thornton had a goal in the first period, and Campbell added the game-tying tally in the second period before teammates Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron added a goal each in the third period.

"Right now, our fourth line is our best line," Chara said. "They're getting rewarded because they're playing exactly the way we need from them, so they're our best line right now."

Whether you call it the merlot line (for the color of their practice jerseys) or the energy line, the trio has made a major impact for the Bruins ever since the team won the Stanley Cup in 2011.

"We've always said that they've been huge and they give us some momentum on the ice with great plays, but also with big goals, and again [Friday] was the same perfect example," Chara said.

All three have contributed individually and, more importantly, collectively.

"We have been playing together for the last two years, which is a rare thing in hockey," explained Campbell. "We get along off the ice, which is good because it transfers on the ice. We accept our role and know our role. Sometimes, it is not an easy job, but we are willing to help the team. It's a role that we take pride in."

Four games in to the lockout-shortened, 48-game schedule, the Bruins are 3-0-1. Campbell is tied for the team lead in points (three) with one goal and two assists.

"I'm just trying to contribute," Campbell said after Friday's game. "I felt like I worked hard in the lockout in the last four months, and I feel good right now. As I said, I am just trying to contribute, whether it's goals or assists, it really doesn't matter. It's about helping the team win."

During the first period of Friday's game, the Islanders' Matt Martin tried to get Paille to fight after his clean hit on New York's Brian Strait. Paille dropped the gloves, but Thornton quickly jumped in to protect his linemate. For his actions, Thornton received a 10-minute misconduct.

"Everyone is used to seeing that from Thorty," Campbell said. "He has a tough job, and everyone in here respects him tremendously. I think it goes without say on this team to have each other's back. Paille's hit was clean. I guess team toughness is an important aspect of a hockey team."

Even though Thornton didn't officially throw a punch in the scrum, the Bruins generally have success when their enforcer drops the gloves. In fact, Boston is 45-16-9 when he receives a fighting major. Even more impressive, the Bruins are 21-4 when Thornton has scored a goal during his career in Boston.

Paille's contributions may seem to go unnoticed at times, but his teammates know exactly how important his play is for the success of the team. When he plays with confidence, he's a dangerously good player.

When all three hop the boards, something good usually happens, especially in the first four games this season.

"They've always taken pride in doing that for our team in the past. And again, [Friday] they're the ones that were doing the right things," said Bruins coach Claude Julien. "And both goals that they scored they had somebody in front of the net. So you know, Thorty on the first one, and Soupy on the second goal. So things that our other lines weren't doing for two periods, and you know once we got ourselves going we were a lot better. They set the example I guess for the rest of the team for the third period."

BOSTON -- Bruins veteran forward Shawn Thornton is ready to go.

With news that the NHL has resolved its lockout and a shortened season will begin soon, Thornton is satisfied that the 2012-2013 campaign has been saved, but he wishes it never went this long.

“I’m happy it’s finally resolved,” Thornton said. “It’s been too long and I don’t think it should have gone this long. But it’s here and I’m excited to get going as soon as possible. I don’t have any details when we’ll get started or how many games, but whatever it is I’m ready to go and I’ve been ready to go for a while.”

Bruins owner Jeremy Jacobs was seen as one of the hard-liners on the owners' side of negotiations. Asked what he thinks of Jacobs in the wake of the 100-plus day lockout, Thornton said, “Can't get emotional. It's a business.

“The business side of the game sucks and I'm happy to be playing again.”

Whether there’s a 50- or 48-game scheduled has yet to be determined, but either way the hockey will be fast and furious.

“It’s going to be a sprint,” Thornton said. “It’ll be a grind too. There’s going to be a lot of games, but guys usually practice like it’s a game anyway. Timing will take a little bit the first few games, but guys get it back pretty quickly, so I think it’ll be back to being exciting hockey as always.”

Thornton knows the league will have to win back some of its fans.

“Fans will be pissed and I don't blame them but I know we're lucky to have the best in Boston,” he said.

The Bruins are in a good situation since the majority of their roster hasn’t changed the last few seasons, especially with the core group from the 2011 Stanley Cup team still intact. Thornton believes that will help moving forward in 2013.

“You hope that’s going to help us out in the shortened season, that we’re very familiar with each other and most of our lines will stay the same,” Thornton said. “Things on paper and things on ice are two different things, but I’m optimistic with the fact that we’ve been pretty much all together for the last couple of years. That will definitely help our chemistry at the start.”

Will Tuesday’s players-and-owners-only meeting result in any progress in the NHL lockout?

"I honestly don't know what I am feeling," Bruins forward Shawn Thornton told ESPNBoston.com on Tuesday. "At this point it can't hurt right? And I am always trying to be optimistic but it's really hard based on the way things are going. (The owners) don't seem to want to budge or give in on anything and it's really frustrating. But I am trying to keep my hopes up. I'll tell you one thing though. At this point if it doesn't work today, we could really be looking at a canceled season."

A group of 18 NHL players (none of them Bruins) and six owners (including the Bruins’ Jeremy Jacobs) were scheduled to meet in New York Tuesday in the latest attempt to jumpstart the stalemated talks between the two sides.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman proposed the idea of a player-and-owners-only meeting after mediation talks broke off late last week.

"(The owners) basically just keep saying 'thanks but no thanks' and don't really give our proposals and ideas a chance," Thornton said. "At this point what more can we do?"

In other Bruins news, winger Daniel Paille has become the 12th Bruins player to sign overseas. He inked a deal to play for Ilves Tampere in Finland’s SM-Liiga league. Goalie Tuukka Rask, meanwhile, has return from the Czech Republic, where he was playing for Plzen HC. Rask finished his stint in the Czech League with a 6-2-0 record, 1.85 GAA and .936 save percentage.

When news broke Thursday that the NHL had canceled the first two weeks of the 2012-13 regular-season schedule, it did not come as a surprise for those following what is becoming an acrimonious lockout.

Even so, the actual cancellation of games stings, especially to players who feel the NHLPA has made a sincere effort in making concessions and trying to find a common ground with the NHL and the owners. That was the case for Bruins veteran Shawn Thornton.

“I just can’t fathom why they are so adamant about the 24 percent cutback and so much more, and their way of negotiating is through a lockout,” Thornton said. “We have made numerous proposals to their first offer and offered to talk and get nothing back from them. To them, it’s their first offer and lockout or nothing. I just don’t see how not negotiating achieves anything and how coming in with your mind made up on a lockout already and from what I hear and see now, canceling games -- possibly a season -- gets anything done.”

Thornton went on to express frustration at what he perceives as posturing and delaying by the NHL and a lack of communication.

“We put a lot of thought into that first counterproposal and they basically just laughed it off,” Thornton said. “Both sides need to see it from the other point of view and I feel we the union are doing that, but they are just stuck on the rollback. It’s frustrating and to tell you the truth as a guy who cares deeply about this game, it’s sad. There is a deal to be made and we need to find it quick.”

For now, Thornton will try to ease his frustration by taking his normal offseason boxing classes in the fall to stay in shape. He has had discussions to play for the Belfast Giants in Northern Ireland, but insurance issues have put those talks on hold.

(Editor's note: The fourth in our end-of-season report card series on the 2011-2012 Bruins.)