Sabres vs. Bruins: Holy crap, John Scott destroyed Shawn Thornton

John Scott was picked up by Sabres general manager Darcy Regier over the offseason in Buffalo's continued attempt to become a tougher team to play against.

The Sabres were embarrassed multiple times last year by their lack of any sort of physical presence, and that was no more evident than back in Nov. 2011 when Bruins forward Milan Lucic ran goalie Ryan Miller. He avoided suspension, the Sabres were furious, and they pledged to not let it happen again.

It was no surprise, then, when Scott went toe-to-toe with Bruins tough guy Shawn Thornton in the first meeting between the two teams this season. And man, did Scott ever get the better of Thornton.

That last punch was particularly devastating, and Thornton was definitely feeling the effects of it on his way over to the penalty box. Thornton never returned to the game and we should expect an update on his condition from the Bruins on Friday morning.

It's not surprising that 96.1 percent of voters over at HockeyFights.com gave Scott the victory. It is surprising that 2.1 percent gave it to Thornton and that 1.7 percent thought this was somehow a draw. Thornton doesn't lose many fights, but this one was a big one. Let's hope he's okay.