NEWS BY DIVISION
- Northeast GMs still filling roster holes Northeast
- 'Boogey Man' no laughing matter Atlantic
- Halak must prove he isn't all hype Central
- Iginla likes Calgary signings of Jokinen, Tanguay Northwest
- If Kovy stays in the East, then what? Pacific
- FAs not expected to fly Southeast this summer Southeast
COLUMNS
- Drafting well: not an easy task Justin Bourne
- Stock Up, Stock Down Justin Bourne
- Beards And Bruises: The De-evolution of Looks Justin Bourne
| Controversy Cooked up with hit on Savard |
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| Atlantic |
| Written by Denis Gorman |
| Friday, March 12, 2010 17:50 |
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Atlantic Division notebook: Whatever positive publicity the NHL gained during the Vancouver Olympics vanished into an ether of criticism following Matt Cooke’s shoulder-check to the head of Marc Savard Sunday night. Late in the third period of the Pittsburgh Penguins' 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins, Savard was taken off the ice on a stretcher and suffered a Grade II concussion. According to a report in Friday’s Boston Globe, the Bruins believe Savard will miss the rest of the season. Cooke, who did not receive a penalty on the play, was not suspended by the league. Colin Campbell, the NHL’s senior vice president, announced at the general manager meetings in Boca Raton, Fla., that since the league did not suspend Mike Richards, Jeff Carter and Cooke for similar hits earlier this season, the league had to be consistent and not punish Cooke for the Savard hit. As one might suspect, the reaction to the decision has been swift and pointed. Globe columnist Charles Pierce blogged twice on the subject, the first calling for Campbell to be dismissed from his job and the other asking rhetorically what does constitute a punishable offense. Cooke’s teammate, Bill Guerin, told the Associated Press that the league must hold players accountable for actions such as what transpired Sunday. Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News wrote that possible retribution — the Penguins will play the Bruins in Boston Thursday night — and an ugly incident could have been avoided if Campbell banished Cooke “for at least five games, thus removing him from the upcoming game against Boston.”Head checks were the topic du jour at last week’s GMs Meetings. The 30 executives put together a proposal that would allow referees to penalize hits similar to Cooke’s, which would be implemented beginning next season. NEW YORK RANGERS Philosopher George Santayana wrote, “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Recent history teaches that the New York Rangers have grabbed playoff berths with fantastic closes in the last three regular seasons. So, yes, it would be folly to write off the Broadway Blues. But with 15 games remaining this season and five points needed to catch Boston for the eighth seed, the Rangers need to start winning. Three consecutive losses to Pittsburgh, Buffalo and New Jersey have the Rangers most likely needing to win at least 10 games to grab one of the final three Eastern Conference playoff spots. … John Tortorella has not been pleased with the efforts of some of his key players. Before Sunday’s 2-1 OT loss to Buffalo, the head coach criticized his top line of Marian Gaborik, Erik Christensen and Vinny Prospal. “Honestly, let’s call a spade a spade. Our best players were no-shows. It can’t be happening at this time of year,” Tortorella said. “At this time of the year, the top players have to be your best players. They have to be able to do more things than they did last night. When your top players aren’t there, you’re not going to win those type of games.” After Wednesday’s 6-3 loss to the Devils, Tortorella was unhappy with his newly created top line of Gaborik, Prospal and Jokinen. “They had a pretty good first period, they’re on the ice for a couple of goals, there wasn’t a whole bunch as game goes on,” the coach said. “They scored a great goal, it can’t be one and down, it’s got to be more consistent throughout the game.” Tortorella scratched Sean Avery before Friday’s game in Atlanta. According to the New York Post, it was the first time in Avery’s Rangers tenure that he was a healthy scratch.NEW JERSEY The possibility of a Cup-winning season was slipping away. The Devils had lost 14 of 20 and Jacques Lemaire had enough. The Devils coach spoke to his team for a few minutes Tuesday before leaving them to hash out their issues. It worked for one game, as the Devils dominated the Rangers, 6-3 on Wednesday night. Six different Devils scored goals, including Travis Zajac, who potted his single-season high 21st. However, according to the Associated Press, the Devils aren’t sold that everything is copasetic in Newark. The Hockey News named Martin Brodeur as the league’s best over-35 player on Wednesday. Two former Devils also made the list. NEW YORK ISLANDERS In what has been a stepping stone but ultimately lost season, the Islanders surprised Stanley Cup favorite Chicago 5-3 on March 2. Since the upset win, the Isles have lost four in a row…Has John Tavares hit the proverbial rookie wall? He had gone 18 games without a goal before potting his 18th in the Islanders’ 3-2 loss in Philadelphia on Tuesday. Tavares is two goals and two assists away from twenty in each category and a 40 point season. Matt Moulson leads the Islanders with 24 goals. Kyle Okposo’s 42 points leads the team.PHILADELPHIA
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The last small deal of the evening was Edmonton trading forward Matt Marquardt to Boston for defenseman Cody Wild.
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March 17, 2010
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