Jarred Tinordi making the call to fight Tom Wilson was just a natural reaction.
After Wilson sent Brandon Carlo to the hospital with a reckless hit in the first period, Tinordi responded the next period by fighting the Washington Capitals goon.
Tinordi, as he saw it, was just fitting into the mold of the Bruins.
“I think that’s what I noticed about this team as soon as I got here is that the boys are playing for each other night in and night out,” Tinordi said after the game. “How close this group is, I’m not surprised to see the boys respond in a big way after one of our guys goes down like that.”
The end result for the Bruins was a 5-1 victory, with a monster, three-goal second period putting the game quickly out of reach.
By the sound of it, Tinordi, who had been a member of the Bruins for less than a week, was more impressed by the deluge of goals than his willingness to drop the gloves.
“You can’t have guys taking liberties with our players out there, I think that’s the way I’ve always played. That’s the way a lot of guys on the team play, you’ve got to recognize that. It was a little bit of a cheap shot and our guy goes down and we responded in a big way,” Tinordi said. “But the fight aside, the boys came out there with four goals, three goals or whatever we scored after, I think everyone banded together, played hard and got it done.”
Tinordi wasn’t on the ice when Carlo took the hit from Wilson. But like everyone else, he is hoping the NHL will look at the play.
“I just saw it briefly,” Tinordi said of the hit. “He’s pressed up against the glass and you’re coming in to make a hit like that, you got to let up there. The only thing that’s going to happen is you’re going to hurt the guy. I think it’s dangerous, it’s risky. I’m sure the league will take a look at it and see what they see. If not, it is what it is. We wish Brando well and hope he comes back soon.”
The Bruins and Capitals won’t play again until April. Hard to imagine the bad blood won’t linger.
