GLENDALE, AZ.It appears the bloody beating he was given by Adam McQuaid was punishment enough for Raffi Torres.
The Phoenix Coyotes winger was slapped with two-minute elbowing penalty when he targeted the head of Andrew Ference while both players veered into the corner for a puck battle Wednesday nght in the Bruins' 2-1 overtime win over the Coyotes. Then he was slapped to a bloody pulp by McQuaid when the Bruins defenseman stepped in his defense partner and engaged the Phoenix winger in a bloody fight.
Some wondered if Torres might be hearing from Brendan Shanahan and the hockey ops department. But according to a league source, there will be no hearing or further supplemental discipline for Torres about the elbowshoulder thrown at Ference. It seems this was more a case of the players handling their own business on the ice without a need for the Shanahan to intervene.There was also no injury to Ference on the play, which has become a fairly important factor in the league's recentdisciplinary decisions.I think its one of those unwritten rules in hockey and we have a very tight-knit group of guys, said McQuaid. Youre reacting when you see a friend or a teammate take a questionable hitor whatever the case may be. Its more a reaction to stick up for somebody that you feel close to.Claude Julien is much more of an old school hockey mind when it comes to judging whether hits come down on the "clean" or "dirty" side of things. It appears he didn't have much problem with the original Torres hit, or with McQuaid coming in to Ference's defense.
Its one of those things. McQuaid saw a shoulder to the head and he reacted, said Bruins coach Claude Julien. Its hard to get upset with players that go to the defense of their teammates and he did a good job of it. Its what this league has turned into: if its a good hit or a bad hit the gloves are off and were fighting away.