Brandon Bollig was just doing what came naturally. Someone went after one of the Blackhawks stars, so he went after that someone.
The Blackhawks rookie went after Phoenix forward Raffi Torres not long after Torres leveled Marian Hossa in Game 3 on Tuesday night. Bollig was the only one to get penalized on the whole situation; but the bruising forward said he was just doing his job.
That is my role here; its to make sure stuff like that doesnt happen and if it does, then address it, Bollig said as the Blackhawks prepared for a Torres-free Game 4 on Thursday night. Im here to make sure the other guys feel safe out there. If I didnt do anything, that would look bad on me.
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Bollig was given a two-minute roughing and a 10-minute misconduct for going after Torres, who didnt appear too ready to challenge Bollig.
I dont know what his thought process was. It didnt seem like he was (trying to fight), Bollig said. I dont know what his intentions were, but I know what mine were.
Despite the fact that Torres stayed in the game after his hit, Bollig was the only one to go afterchallenge him to anything physically. Bolligs shown before that hes an enforcer first, and his fight card was pretty full during the few regular-season games he had.
But fisticuffs and vengeance aside, Bollig knows the Blackhawks have to be smart against the Coyotes from here on out.
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I think it could be a key point in our motivation tonight, Bollig said. You see with who it happened to. Hes one of the best guys in hockey and obviously one of the key players on our team. And that could be a key motivation point for us to go out there and win this game for ourselves and for him, especially. Obviously, its an important game that we need to take care of.