Kalman: Bruins' McQuaid Makes Case For Top-Four Minutes By Shutting Down Jagr In Win

BOSTON (CBS) -- Luckily for Adam McQuaid they don't base a player's salary on ego size or he'd have to turn back his $2.75 million salary he earns on the contract extension he signed with the Bruins last summer.

Nothing seems to shake his humbleness.

McQuaid played tons of 5-on-5 shifts against future Hall of Famer Jaromir Jagr in the Bruins' 3-1 win against Florida on Saturday at TD Garden. Not only did McQuaid play a huge part in keeping Jagr from taking over sole possession of fourth place on the NHL all-time goals list, the 6-foot-4 defenseman kept Jagr without a shot on net. It was the fifth time this season Jagr didn't record a shot.

When informed of his accomplishment against a guy with nine goals this season and 731 in his career, McQuaid refused to hog the credit.

"Oh yeah? Well it's not just me," he replied. "I didn't know that but anyway. It was a good challenge with him so I guess that's good, yeah."

In a crucial home game against a divisional opponent, McQuaid was cast in his biggest role of the season. He responded with his best game of 2015-16. He used his size and strength to lean on Jagr and used his long stick in the passing lanes and on Jagr's stick and hands when necessary. After the game, Jagr declined to speak to the media – that's how well McQuaid silenced him.

Jagr wasn't always quite. He showed his frustration early, as he was seen yammering at McQuaid and the officials when the first period ended.

"He was actually kind of carrying on about a crosscheck. And just kind of went back and forth a little bit. But I don't know, he seemed to be chuckling the whole time. So he was kind of joking around," said McQuaid, who's plus-6 with four assists in 28 games this season.

McQuaid vs. Jagr was a matchup by design by coach Claude Julien. Although Jagr plays right wing, he likes to come down his off side. Julien knew he'd have Zdeno Chara as one of his matchups for Jagr, but might've surprised even himself by casting usual third-pair defenseman McQuaid as Chara's partner.

Over the years the 29-year-old McQuaid has struggled when injuries or coach's curiosity forced him to play bigger minutes against stiff competition. That's why most gasped when the Bruins decided to not only give McQuaid $2.75 million before he reached free agency but also locked him until the end of the 2018-19 season. As it turned out, there were better options, who signed for less money, on the open market.

This season he's endured the same roller-coaster season as the rest of the Bruins' defensemen. But if McQuaid can somehow come up with performances like the one he produced Saturday, he could make his contract less controversial. He definitely doesn't have to convince his coach he's worth his deal.

"We needed somebody there that was going to be playing well, and I think Adam McQuaid has been extremely good defensively for us for quite a while now, so we thought he was a good matchup for Jags and that line," Julien said.

In addition to having Chara, a Norris Trophy winner and still one of the better possession-driving defenseman at his side, McQuaid said it helped to have a little past knowledge of Jagr's tendencies. In addition to facing Jagr as an opponent over the years, there were those practices in 2013 when they were Boston teammates and McQuaid got an up-close look at the forward's abilities.

With Jagr conquered, McQuaid might get the chance to square off against some more big-time forwards. Maybe he'll be tasked with facing Taylor Hall when Edmonton visits Boston on Monday. Then he could play a big role in slowing down Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and/or Phil Kessel – depending on how the matchups pan out – against Pittsburgh on Wednesday. This could be the stretch where McQuaid gets the opportunity he talked about when he re-signed and makes it so the Bruins will have a hard time removing him from their top pair. With the Bruins' defense corps in flux, auditions are still open and McQuaid could become a mainstay to Chara's right.

"Yeah, but I'm just not getting too far ahead," McQuaid. "You've got to bring it every night and be consistent and I'm trying to learn how to do but at the same time, you get put in positions that you want to do well. So we'll see where it goes. But the more I can help, the more I'm happy."

Matt Kalman covers the Bruins for CBSBoston.com and also contributes to NHL.com and several other media outlets. Follow him on Twitter @TheBruinsBlog.