Trailing the Western Conference-leading Anaheim Ducks 3-0 late in the second period Tuesday night, the Boston Bruins were desperately in need of a kick in the butt.
Defenseman Adam McQuaid, Boston’s top brawler in Shawn Thornton‘s absence, took it upon himself to provide that spark when he squared off against Ducks winger Patrick Maroon with just under a minute left in the frame.
Neither player won the fight decisively, but the scrap seemed to light a fire under McQuaid’s teammates. Daniel Paille scored just 22 seconds later to get the Bruins on the board, and Brad Marchand followed with another goal midway through the third to cut the deficit to one.
Anaheim eventually regained its composure, though. Nick Bonino scored on the power play with just over five minutes to play to make it a two-goal game, and Mathieu Perreault added an insurance goal to seal the 5-2 win.
Check out McQuaid’s bout with Maroon in the video below.
