"With his previous employer, Joe Corvo was often deployed in a shutdown role, matched against opposing top lines. The Bruins' puck-moving defenseman acknowledges it wasn't his favorite calling.

"I don't really like that,'' said the former Carolina Hurricane. "The fun part of the game for me is the offensive part, to be in the offensive zone. When you're playing shutdown, you're spending a lot of time in the neutral zone or your own zone. It wasn't my favorite thing to do.''

Corvo's skills weren't the primary reason ex-coach Paul Maurice used him in a matchup role. It was because of the game of Tim Gleason, Corvo's former partner."