The fallout from Matt Cooke’s blindside hit on Boston’s Marc Savard has not abated.
During his Coach’s Corner segment on Hockey Night In Canada last Saturday, Don Cherry weighed in and, typically, did not mince words. In an advance story, The Boston Herald wondered what the Bruins' response to Cooke would be come Thursday night. The newspaper’s front cover Thursday was an Old West-style "Wanted" poster with a photo of Cooke [left].
The Bruins' Shawn Thornton answered the call, exacting retaliation on Cooke's first shift of the game [below]. Thornton defied fighting etiquette by continuing to pummel Cooke on the ice, an act that fetched a 10-minute misconduct in addition to Thornton's five-minute fighting major.
Cooke's hit on Savard did not result in a suspension for the previous offender. But it became the impteus for NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell to attempt to quickly enact a rule banning blind-side hits to the head.
In other Penguins news:
Sidney Crosby dismissed any notion that the Pens are unable to beat the Devils. “I don't care if they beat us 14 in a row, the next one, we'd expect to win,” Crosby said after the Pens lost 3-1 to the Devils last Friday. Five days later, the Pens finished the season series by losing 5-2 to the Devils in Newark. … Crosby suffered a knee injury in the Pens’ 2-1 win in Tampa Sunday. Crosby diagnosed his injury as a “stinger” and returned to the game. Evgeni Malkin was also hurt in Tampa. After being hit in the foot by a Kris Letang shot, Malkin missed the St. Patrick’s Day loss in Newark. Malkin also missed Thursday’s game in Boston. … The Canadian Press reported Tuesday that the puck Crosby used to score his Olympic gold medal-winning goal was going to be displayed in the Hockey Hall of Fame starting Wednesday. … It was announced Thursday that Penguins CEO Ken Sawyer will retire on August 31. Team President David Morehouse will replace Sawyer.
NEW JERSEY
This is why Lou Lamoriello pulled the trigger for Ilya Kovalchuk. In the Devils’ 3-1 win over Pittsburgh last Friday, the Russian sniper totaled three points (a goal and two assists). The win was the Devils’ fifth this season against the Penguins. … The Devils rebounded from Saturday’s loss in Uniondale by dominating the Bruins in front of a national television audience Monday night, 3-2. Metro NYC newspaper wrote that the key to the win was the third line of Rob Niedermayer, David Clarkson and Brian Rolston, which combined for three points and was plus-5. “Overall, they have totaled four goals, four assists, eight points, are plus-12 and have 11 penalty minutes in four games.” … D Paul Martin returned to the Devils on St. Patrick’s Day after missing 59 games with a broken arm. The Devils welcomed their No. 1 defenseman by dominating the Penguins, 5-2. New Jersey won the regular season series 6-0 and outscored the defending Stanley Cup champions 22-5.
PHILADELPHIA
D Chris Pronger has been solid for the Flyers this season. But he lacked the kind of moment that defined his stops in Hartford, St. Louis, Edmonton and Anaheim – until last Saturday afternoon. Pronger’s game-winner with 2.1 seconds remaining lifted the Flyers to a 3-2 comeback win over the precocious Blackhawks. ... There were differing opinions emanating from the visiting locker room at Madison Square Garden after the Flyers' loss to the Rangers on Sunday. The Flyers were delayed getting into New York due to last Saturday’s Northeastern Nor’easter. … The Hockey News speculated Monday that the Flyers could sign UFA goaltender Michael Leighton “to a two-year extension.” Leighton suffered a high ankle sprain in the first period of Tuesday’s 4-3 shootout loss in Nashville. The goaltender is 16-5-2 in 27 games with Philadelphia after being claimed on re-entry waivers from Carolina. With Ray Emery’s season-ending hip surgery and Leighton’s injury, Brian Boucher should find himself the Flyers’ starting netminder for the rest of the season. The team did call up Jeremy Duchesne from AHL Adirondack, most likely to be Boucher’s backup. … The Flyers’ April 4 home date against Detroit was selected by the NHL as the NBC Game of the Week. … University of Massachusetts at Lowell forward Ben Holmstrom signed with the Flyers.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
Doug Weight announced last Saturday morning that he is going to undergo surgery on his torn rotator cuff and torn labrum, which will end his 2009-10 season — and perhaps his NHL career. If the surgery does end his career, Weight will go down as one of the great American players in the game’s history. He scored 1,024 points in 1,220 games and won a Cup with the 2005-06 Hurricanes. Weight totaled 17 points in 36 games with the Islanders this year. … The Islanders responded to the loss of Weight by beating the Devils on Saturday, the Maple Leafs on Sunday, and trouncing the Canucks on Tuesday. ... Prized rookie John Tavares recorded his first five-point NHL game in the win over Vancouver. Tavares now has 20 goals and 21 assists in 70 games. … The winning streak ended at three games with a 5-4 overtime loss in Anaheim on Friday. The loss dropped the Islanders' winning percentage when leading after two periods to .774, 25th in the NHL. A pair of goals by Kyle Okposo had the Islanders leading 4-2 in the second period; Okposo's second goal chased Ducks starter Jonas Hiller in the second period.
NEW YORK RANGERS
The Rangers are on life support to make the playoffs. If they qualify for the fifth year in a row, their 5-2 demolition of Atlanta could serve as their jumping-off point. The Rangers received two goals from Vinny Prospal and one each from Michael Del Zotto, Ryan Callahan and Marian Gaborik. ... Sean Avery was scratched before Friday’s game. He returned with a vengeance Sunday afternoon at The Garden, scoring two goals, and drove the Flyers batty in the Rangers’ 3-1 win. … With the possibility of sneaking into the Eastern Conference’s top eight, the Rangers came out flat against Montreal in Tuesday night’s 3-1 loss.
