The Bruins were not the first team, nor will they be the last, whose strategy with Matthew Schaefer seemed to revolve around physical intimidation.
All the conversation about Nikita Zadorov’s shove that sent Schaefer to the ice in the second period of the eventual 4-3 shootout win for Boston on Tuesday night, though, seemed to overlook the actual purpose of the act itself.
Zadorov was trying to find a way to blunt Schaefer’s impact on the game. In that, he failed miserably.
Forget how many penalties the defenseman committed in a 10-second span — two, though coach Patrick Roy wanted a few more.