Throughout their century-long history, the Boston Bruins have forged an identity as an NHL club armed with a propensity to land welts on every single shift.
From Eddie Shore to Shawn Thornton, Boston has rarely suffered through a drought of black-and-gold skaters willing to dole out punishment during a shift.
But if one was to compartmentalize the Bruins’ trademark grit and sandpaper style of play into a single grouping, it’s hard to look anywhere else but the “Lunch Pail Athletic Club”.
Handed the unenviable task of following up Bobby Orr and the “Big Bad Bruins” era, Boston’s squads from 1977-85 built upon the foundation laid by those star-studded rosters by way of hard-nosed hockey, bone-shattering checks against the glass and a few right hooks (and a shoe, for good measure).