McQuaid sorry about hit on Foligno

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KANATA, OntarioJudging by his words, and his sheepish expression, Adam McQuaid felt badly about his actions in Wednesday nights 5-2 win over the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place.

In the final minutes of the second period, with the Bruins holding tightly to a 2-1 lead on the road, McQuaid saw Nick Foligno squeezing past him along the sideboards with the puck, speeding into the offensive zone and perhaps readying for the game-tying chance against Tim Thomas.

So McQuaid kicked his leg out to impedeFoligno'smomentum out of the neutral zoneand ended up making knee-on-knee contract that immediately sent the Senators forward to the ice in obvious pain.

It broke up the offensive rush Foligno was about to make, but it also earned McQuaid a five-minute major and a game misconduct -- and a whole helping of guilty feelings for a Bruins defenseman that's as honest as they come.If I could take it back, I definitely would, said McQuaid, who blocked a pair of shots and registered three hits in. It was one of those things where you go, Oh, crap, right after it happened.

"The penalty was deserved. Thats not me at all. I think thats actually my first major penalty in my career outside of the fighting calls, and I dont plan on getting any more.

McQuaid has a long history with Foligno -- the two skated together in juniors -- and the personal connection made his actions hit that much closer to home for both players during the postgame breakdown."He was just trying to slow down my progress. It was a hockey play and I don't think there was any attempt to injure," said Foligno. "I've known Quaider a long time and I know he's not that type of player."One might expect McQuaid to hear from the league about a potential fine or suspension immediately after the incident transpired, but the likelihood is he won't be penalized beyond the major penalty. There is no past history with McQuaid when it comes to the world ofsupplemental discipline, and Foligno wasn't seriously injured; he only missed one shift.

If the NHL's chief disciplinarian, Brendan Shanahan, does contact McQuaid, itll be the third Bruin he's contacted in the last month. Milan Lucic was talked to, but not fined or suspended, for his hit on Sabres goalie Ryan Miller, and Brad Marchand was fined for his slew-foot last week. McQuaid's actions willprobably will be more in line with the Lucic approach rather than the Marchand route when Shanahan reviews the video.

As one would expect, Claude Julien came to McQuaid's defense after the game.

Its hits that happen within fractions of a second," said the Bruins coach. "Certainly McQuaid isnt a dirty player and it certainly wasnt intentional. How theyre going to look at it? I dont know.

It was nice to see Foligno come back and not be injured. One guy certainly didnt do it on purpose and the other guy was okay . . .

"I wont say it harmless. But things happen with competitive players that end up getting guys injured.McQuaid already paid his price with the major penalty in a tight hockey game that could have gone either way, and the Bruins can ill afford to lose him while still waiting for Zdeno Chara to return from a lower body injury.

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