And that name is “Coward.”
In a real classic tough-guy move, fighter Neil singled out Bruins unfighter Dennis Seidenberg in the final minutes of the Bruins’ 4-0 shutout win over the Senators on Oct. 30 in Ottawa. Not only did he attack Seidenberg, who had three fights in the previous seven seasons combined heading into this season, he did so with other B’s “tough guys” Matt Hunwick, Michael Ryder, Blake Wheeler and Tyler Seguin on the ice.
And as you can see in the video, Neil snuck in a few cheap shots with his glove still on.
“That’s typical Chris Neil,” former Sens teammate and current B’s winger Brian McGrattan said. “I had to protect that guy for three years when I was there. He’d do that and I’d have to fight all his battles for him the next time we’d play a team after he’d do something stupid like that. It doesn’t surprise me.”
McGrattan has yet to take the ice for the Black and Gold. He’s been a healthy scratch, put on waivers and sent to Providence thus far, but there’s a good chance B’s head coach Claude Julien will give the engorcer a chance to show Neil how he really feels when the Sens take on the B’s at the TD Garden on Saturday night.
Even if McGrattan, who had 14 fights in 34 games last season in Calgary, doesn’t suit up on Saturday, there are plenty of other B’s capable of teaching Neil a lesson or two.
Shawn Thornton makes the most sense to take on Neil. The two have squared off twice already, as seen below.
Milan Lucic, also an obvious candidate whose willing throw down any night of the week, has a history with Neil, including a complete masacre in the preseason last year, as seen in the second video.
Some B’s fans may like to see Gregory Campbell or Mark Stuart throw down — both of which are tied for the team-lead with three fighting majors each — but in the back of some of fans’ minds, it would be nice to see a shocking upset victory by Seidenberg, looking to take care of business himself. Who knows, maybe he joined Peter Welch’s newly renovated gym in Southie since the scuffle?
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