Does it though? I mean, lots of guys say lots of things all game long, and I don't think a stare from any player is going to matter that much. They'll keep talking, and hitting, etc. Perhaps Bordeleau standing there would keep a guy like Shawn Thornton from going with a more part-time fighter like, say, Wilson or something. That I can see. But those moments don't come terribly often, do they?
I do understand the rationale behind it, and part of me believes it perhaps means something. But in today's game, line matchups really dictate that Bordeleau is going to largely be playing against other teams' 4th lines, and that means in large part, the other enforcer will be on the ice. So that's who he's going to go with. I mean, just look at all of those videos you put up there. How many of Bordeleau's opponents are not 4th line tough guys?
In addition, if you look at who really takes runs at top players, it's largely a handful of good but punkish guys (who are good enough to play on the first two lines) you see all of the time - Marchand, Dustin Brown, Clutterbuck, Laperriere, etc. It's not really the fighters so much. They're largely not out there when the Avs 1st line guys are. When's the last time you saw any of them - the punkish guys, I mean - take on Parros, or Bordeleau, or McGratton, or Thornton, etc? And when's the last time you saw them appreciably change their play? They play the way they play.
