At 6'2, Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Brooks Orpik is normally perfectly capable of defending himself.

But when he was confronted by Boston Bruins forward Shawn Thornton on Saturday night, Orpik didn't stand a chance and wound up being wheeled off on a stretcher. 

At 11:06 of the first period, Thornton skated over to a scrum that Orpik was involved in, grabbed the 219-pound Penguins blue-liner from behind and flung him to the ice, pummelling him as the defenceless blue-liner lay on his back.

The Penguins later announced Orpik was released from the hospital and will travel with the team to Pittsburgh, while Thornton was assessed a match penalty for the infraction. Prior to Thornton's actions, Boston's Brad Marchand was kneed in the head by James Neal. Earlier in the game, Orpik nailed Bruins forward Loui Eriksson, forcing him to leave the contest.

Watch the incident above. What do you think will be the repercussions?