Shortly after practice ended on Friday, Matt Bradley was in the Washington Capitals dressing room going over his fight from the previous night with the team’s expert on pugilism, Donald Brashear.
Without Brashear in the lineup, Bradley decided to take on Pittsburgh’s Paul Bissonnette, a journeyman who dropped the gloves 28 times in the minors last season. Bradley let Bissonnette get back up after he slipped, but then the Penguins forward rocked him with a clean shot to the mouth that forced Bradley to the dressing room for stitches.
“I got caught with a good punch,” Bradley said. “There’s not really much … obviously you try not to get hit with punches like that, but it is going to happen. I wasn’t a good-looking guy before the fight, and I’m even uglier now. I’m not really worried about it.”
Other Caps players took note of Bradley’s willingness to fight an enforcer, but his later actions helped Washington rebound from a 3-0 deficit for an 4-3 victory. Bradley, with stitches both on the inside and outside of his mouth, returned to the contest in the third period, and his inspired teammates played one of their best periods of the young season.
“Doing what he did, and then coming back to the game - we all kind of rallied around him and had a sense of urgency to play for him because he stuck up for us,” defenseman Mike Green said. “Bruce mentioned it in the dressing room before the third, and we went out and played for him.”
Added center David Steckel: “He put his butt on the line. He plays with a lot of heart, and he doesn’t care who he fights. We know what it takes to go out there and do that. From a teammate standpoint, you can’t ask anything more. He’s what the definition of a teammate is.”
Bradley tried to downplay his impact on the team’s comeback, but it was another example of his value to this franchise. Rarely will he steal the spotlight from the young stars on the team, but the win against the Penguins was one night where he earned it.
Last offseason, general manager George McPhee thought enough of Bradley’s value to offer him a three-year contract. A player who is likely resigned to third- or fourth-line duty is precisely the guy who often lives year to year in the NHL as teams cycle through career grinders or break in young talent on those lines.
“My last contract was two years, but before that since my entry level I’ve been on one-year [deals],” said Bradley, who also got married this offseason. “I would say it is nice to be a on a three-year, but by no means does it give me security. You see a lot of guys with three-year contracts not make it to the end of them. It is nice to have the three years, but on the other hand I can’t let it up. I have to play every year like it is a one-year contract.”
The numbers don’t necessarily show it, but Bradley’s play has improved with Boudreau behind the bench. While media members raved about the improved scoring numbers from such players as Alex Ovechkin, Mike Green and Nicklas Backstrom, Bradley’s ability to impact the game also increased considerably with the coaching change.
“I wasn’t playing as much when Glen [Hanlon] was here, so when Bruce came I got to play more minutes which for anyone - the more time you play, usually the better you play,” Bradley said. “Bruce has given me some confidence and shown he has confidence in me.”
Bradley has been given the freedom to do more with the extra playing time he has earned. Boudreau’s aggressive philosophy leads to more goals for Ovechkin and Green, among others, but it also makes it easier for Bradley - who loves to get in on the forecheck and hit people - to be a disruptive force.
There are games when Bradley’s unit has it going so well that it spends more time playing offense than defense despite being designated as the team’s “checking” or “energy” line.
“Bruce’s style of hockey is a very fun style to play,” Bradley said. “We have a set system, but he also lets you kind of go, especially if you are the first guy [in the zone] you can really get in there and make the hit. I think that is a real good way to play, and it obviously works for our team.”
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