I Don't Mind Seeing Pittsburgh Penguins Players Injured, Maybe it Should Happen More Often

I don’t like what Shawn Thornton did Saturday night. But I don’t mind who he did it to, and what team he did it against.

What Thornton did was inexcusable and indefensible. He should and will get suspended a long time for it. The reason it was inexcusable was because Brooks Orpik was defenseless.

However, hitting defenseless players is a consistent pattern of Pittsburgh Penguins hockey. Great offense, shaky goaltending, dirty hits. That’s the Penguins' way. And that’s why I feel no sympathy when I see a Penguins player lying on the ice. Why should I? That’s the sword they live by, and it should be the sword they (metaphorically) die by.

Maybe if enough Penguins get concussed, they’ll reevaluate how they play the game. Maybe if Sidney Crosby gets laid out the same way Marc Savard was by Matt Cooke, and has his career shortened, then the Penguins might look in the mirror and realize that hockey shouldn’t be played the way they play it.

Thornton’s attack on Orpik came after a double dose of Pittsburgh dirtiness. Sidney Crosby kept the blade of his stick on the ice to ensure he tripped up Brad Marchand. The ref, of course, didn’t call it. No big deal. That is until James Neal saw a prone player. Neal’s eyes must have lit up when he saw an opportunity to hit someone when they couldn’t defend themselves.

You can see Neal change directions toward Marchand, and keep his left knee exactly at the same height as Marchand’s skull.

To paraphrase Chris Rock: I’m not saying Shawn Thornton should have retaliated the way he did. But I understand.

Earlier in the game Orpik leveled Loui Eriksson. I think that hit was relatively clean. If anything, a 2 minute minor for interference as Eriksson didn’t have the puck.

What pisses me off about Orpik and the hit on Eriksson is that Orpik has made a career of dispensing hits like that, and then never EVER standing up for himself and for his actions when someone wants to fight him over it. He doesn’t answer the bell. Just drop the gloves, protect yourself, fall to the ice and wait for the linesmen to break it up. That’s all he has to do. But he doesn't. He hasn't fought in 5 seasons.

Orpik, like most of the Penguins, is only brave when his opponent can’t see him. Or when his opponent is horizontal on the ice, like Marchand. Or when he can use his stick as a weapon.

Chris Kelly is now out 4-6 weeks with a fractured fibula. Pascal Dupuis was not penalized for the blatant and completely unnecessary slash. The League has decided not to discipline Dupuis.

If players felt compelled to answer the bell after hits like Orpik’s hit on Eriksson, perhaps guys hesitant to fight, such as Orpik, wouldn’t be giving out so many concussions with legal seek-and-destroy hits. If Orpik knew he would have to defend himself in a fight later, Loui Erksson might not have gotten a concussion.

By the way, where's the sympathy for Eriksson? Second concussion in five weeks.

The NHL suspended James Neal 5 games for kneeing Marchand in the head. I doubt if that will alter Neal's behavior. He’s been warned, fined, and suspended before. And he still plays the way he plays. And he still fails to express any remorse or regret for it. Just as he failed to show remorse for kneeing Marchand:

"I haven't, like, seen the replay or anything, so I mean I hit him in the head with my leg or my foot or my knee or shin area. I don't know. But I mean, he's already going down, and I guess I need to try to avoid him, but I have to look at it again...

"I mean, what do you want me to say? That I was trying to hit him? No, I'm going by him. I don't get out of the way, like I said. I need to be more careful and I guess get my knee out of the way, but I'm not trying to hit him in the head or injure him or anything like that."

Contrast that with Shawn Thornton.

Which player do you think is more likely to repeat what they did?

At least the NHL has given out some sort of punishment to a Penguins player. When Matt Cooke wasn’t suspended for the Savard hit, the NHL failed to curb a dirty player and a dirty team. Instead they gave him and the Penguins license to do as they pleased.

The Penguins will continue to play the Penguins Way that the NHL sanctioned when they didn’t suspend Cooke. At least until something changes. Until they lose more players to suspensions. Or until they lose more players to concussions.

Thornton seemed sorry that Orpik got hurt. I’m not sorry. I don't care. I guess Thornton has more character and class than I do. But I’m just sick of players like Orpik, like Crosby, like Neal, like Dupuis. And until that team changes the way it plays, I won’t shed a tear for their troubles or injuries.

Bruins Leave Penguins in Ruins

Before reveling in the Bruins' 3-0 victory over Pittsburgh, I must point out that the score doesn't do justice to how close this game was. Pittsburgh hit 3 posts, and one puck dribbled along the goal-line, kept out by flakes of snow, and perhaps the hockey gods, who are still cross at Matt Cooke for what he did to Marc Savard. And Erik Karlsson. And what he tried to do to Adam McQuaid.

What made Cooke's hit on McQuaid so dirty is what led up to it. This wasn't an instance of Cooke contesting with McQuaid, then McQuaid putting himself vulnerable, then Cooke deciding to finish his check anyway. Cooke was jousting with Krug. McQuaid, apparently unchallenged, went to the boards to get the puck. When McQuaid turned and made himself vulnerable, Cooke stopped playing Krug, and with a surge of energy he went after McQuaid's back, driving McQuaid, spinal column first, into the boards. Cooke was not going to touch McQuaid until McQuaid showed his numbers to Cooke. McQuaid's vulnerability is what attracted the vulture Cooke to hit him.

And the reaction of the Pittsburgh crowd demonstrates the kind of spoiled morons they have for fans down there.

Anyway, to the game. The Bruins did a few things that put them in position to win:

#1 Rask
Tuukka was great. He made a few tough saves. He didn't make saves tougher. He adapted his play to each situation. Sometimes he looked like a standard butterfly goalie, solid and predictable. Other times he flailed around like Dominek Hasek, keeping the puck out of the net with instinct and sheer will.

#2 No gifts
The B's did not have bad shifts. They didn't make bad turnovers in dangerous areas of the ice. Pittsburgh is good enough to generate their own offense, for the Bruins to win this series they can't afford to give the Penguins bonus opportunities.

#3 Neutral zone
The Penguins were almost never able to move the puck through the neutral zone without some minor disruption. This threw off their timing, and more importantly it frustrated them. They're used to skating through the zone unimpeded. This got under their skin more than anything, I think.

#4 First line play
Lucic, Krejci, and Horton find another gear in the playoffs. Lucic becomes a speed demon. Krejci becomes a tough along-the-boards grinder, and Horton becomes a smooth scorer. Horton has 4 multi-point games this postseason. He's also +17. Krejci is +14, leads the Stanley Cup Playoffs in points, and has the second most goals. Lucic is +11.

#5 Under their skin
Zdeno Chara is +9 in the playoffs. He goes against the best forwards the opposing teams have, and he's +9. And having to play against him every night pisses off even the best of players. In this game both Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby tried to get physical. That's way out of their element. And for Crosby against Chara, that's way out of his league. Chara would end Crosby. When Crosby was trying to antagonize Chara (and also elbowed Rask who had a great "wtf, mate? I'm a goalie" reaction) it reminded me of footage from protests in the Middle East, when unarmed civilians throw rocks at tanks. It's like really man? Do you really want this to get real? This is what Chara did to a guy who was 6' 6" and 238. Crosby is 5' 11" and 200.

Crosby, who is teammates with Matt Cooke, had this to say about the game's level of physicality:

"They're letting a lot go out there, and the more it gets like that, the more it’s going to escalate. You can only control and channel that stuff so much. You keep letting guys do that stuff, you’re just going to push the envelope. That’s something we obviously want to stay away from, but it’s kind of a natural thing when it gets like that."

What a whiny dink.

So this was a great win. Starting a series with a road win, it doesn't get any better than that.

All this being said, you can't rely on the posts all series long. You can't lean on your goalie and one line all series long. And I'm sure Pittsburgh will adjust and adapt to what the Bruins are doing to them in the neutral zone.

There were also a lot of "zero tolerance interference" penalties called. This favors Pittsburgh, who have the best PP units the Bruins have faced, and also have an aggressive PK group. The fewer penalties, the better.

Game 2 is tonight. A win would be titanic. A loss wouldn't be the end of the world. The Bruins are playing with house money, which has sometimes been when they play their worst. This is a chance, however, to really get in the driver's seat of this series.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar

Why I Hate the Pittsburgh Penguins

I can't wait for this series to get started. I'm happy the Bruins have a chance to rest, but I'm getting sick of trying to watch Red Sox games on NESN and turning them off because Don and Jerry are blabbering on and on about hotel lobbies and the struggle to hail taxis after a game. I just want this series to start. I feel like Cartman waiting for the Nintendo Wii to come out.

I can't wait because I hate the Penguins. Sometimes I forget how much I hate them, because the Bruins don't play them as often as Montreal. But my hatred for the Penguins is almost at the same level as my hatred for the Habs. And here's why:

#1 Matt Fucking Cooke
Every time I see this guy on the ice, I think of Marc Savard suffering post concussion syndrome and not being able to get back on the ice because of Cooke. Cooke gets to play, Savard gets to deal with depression. Cooke is just a dirty player. And not the good kind of dirty. He's a scumbag. He's pus. He lives on making dangerous hits when players are at their most vulnerable and least able to defend themselves. He preys on his fellow players. I hope he gets raped by lions. Lions have barbed penises. All cats do.

#2 Mario Lemiuex's Hypocrisy
Lemiuex employs Matt Cooke and was teammates with Ulf Samuelsson. Yet the Penguins owner often complains about dirty players that shortened his career. And when one of the Penguins star players is on the receiving end of a headshot, Lemieux gets very vocal. Then he signs Matt Cooke's paycheck. He employs what he claims to hate about the game.

#3 The Aura of Crosby
Sidney Crosby is certainly the best player in the game. Bar none. But he's also a whiner. And a bit of a flopper. If I were Canadian or in Canada, I would be arrested for speaking unfavorably of him. Because in Canada it's against the law to not love and praise him. And in some western provinces Crosby has the noble right of prima nocta. As a result, TV commentators will drool on their microphones as they drone about how spectacular he is, and referees will call penalties for just thinking about touching him.

#4 Pittsburgh, PA
The Penguins play in Pittsburgh. Where the Steelers play. Do we really want Steelers fans to be happy? And the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is kind of my nemesis. Very little good has come out of that state, except Yuengling. I love Yuengling. Even just typing it tastes delicious.

#5 It's Personal
My freshman year in college, I was really starting to like this one girl. She was pretty, smart, always had a great smile on her face, nice, you always felt like you could be yourself around her, and she had a fantastic body. As I was falling for her she fell for a Penguins fan and they went out for the next 3+ years. She even became a Penguins fan with him. And although they're no longer together, she's still a Penguins fan. I can't help but feel that had I been better, and had this Penguins fan not come along, maybe today she'd be a Bruins fan.

#6 Iginla
Marian Hossa once kind of did to the Penguins what Iginla did this season, trying to choose a winner instead of trying to win where he was (or for Iginla, where he was going to be sent). Hossa left Pittsburgh for Detroit to win a Cup. The next year Pittsburgh won a Cup. I don't like what Iginla did to the Bruins. It's like we asked him out, he said yes, and then he was asked by the class douchebag who drives his father's Mercedes and Iginla said yes and ditched us. I want Iginla to feel like Hossa did in 2009, watching the team he could have played for skate around with the Cup. I do not want Iginla to feel like Hossa in 2010, when he won the Cup with Chicago.

#7 The LeBron Factor
The Penguins are like the Miami Heat of the NHL. They're too stacked. Players go there because they know it's their best chance to win. I guess Detroit was like that for a few years. And if the Bruins win another Cup maybe they'll be like that too. It's just an uncompelling story when the best players decide to go to one team and win it all. It's impossible to root for them.

Unless you have a mouthful of Crosby.

Montreal Scum 4, Bruins 3

Whenever the Bruins play the Canadiens, the Bruins allow themselves to be surprised by Montreal's speed. They don't seem to give the Canadiens credit for being so fast. The simple fact is the Habs close down space much more quickly than anyone else. Five feet of passing lane is not a passing lane against them. It's a trap. When the Bruins lose to the Habs, they typically allow a goal or two from a turnover that was caused by not respecting Montreal's speed.

Speed is, however, almost all there is one can respect about Montreal (apart from goaltending). We witnessed more typical Montrealness last night: Alexei Emelin cross-checks Tyler Seguin in the ribs (and even breaks his stick doing so), and there's no call. Zdeno Chara sticks up for his injured teammate and gets 17 minutes in penalties. Emelin gets 5. And 0 for what he did to Seguin. We'll see if Brendan Shanahan's YouTube account has anything to say about Emelin's cross-check, but I doubt it. After all, how could cross-checking an opponent's best offensive player in the ribs be seen as "intent to injure?"

The Bruins lost Chara's services for 17 minutes and allowed 2 goals in that span. One of Montreal's goals was due to a screen that Chara could have cleared out. Another was a loose puck in the crease Chara could have knocked out.

I'm not blaming the refs. The Bruins made plenty of mistakes to deserve to lose this game. And refs are human. But you wonder why the NHL has injury problems, then you see Emelin do what he did and go unpunished, then Chara attempts to make Emelin pay, but it was Chara and the Bruins who paid the price.

That's why players like Matt Cooke collect regular paychecks and Marc Savard goes to therapy for depression. Because the NHL doesn't punish dirty play or dirty players, but it does punish retaliation for dirty play.

Oh and it wants to emphasize the enforcement of holding and interference. Apparently Seguin getting hit after giving up the puck wasn't interference either.

Anyway, tough stretch ahead for the Bruins. This condensed 48 game schedule is finally going to start to feel condensed. For the rest of the season, they only have one pair of back-to-back off days. Starting Tuesday in Washington they play 5 games in 8 days.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo/Steven Senne

MATT COOKE STRIKES AGAIN

If the NHL wants to get serious about concussions, they need to get serious about repeat offenders like Matt Cooke, who has repeatedly displayed a complete disregard for the rules, and for the health of his opponents. This isn't "reputation," this is a repeat offender. And suspending repeat offenders for 4, 6, even 8 games is insufficient.

The NHL needs to implement an escalating punishment scale for these kinds of hits. Sort of like what MLB does with steroids, or the NFL does with their "substance abuse policy." First offense, 2-4 games. Second offense 5-10 games. Third offense 10-20 games. Fourth offense is 20 to 40. Fifth offense is an 80 game suspension. Sixth offense: permanent banishment.

Now this would only be for blatantly intentional head shots like this. It wouldn't get rid of concussions in the NHL, because it's a fast paced, hard hitting game. But it might make the Matt Cookes of the world think twice before charging and elbowing a defenseless player.

And it might make Mario Lemieux think twice when assembling his team.

BRUINS SHUT DOWN SAVARD

I keep thinking back to the Matt Cooke hit on Savard. It might have ended Savard's career, and Cooke went wholly unpunished for it. Not that a 4 game suspension would bring Savard back, or have much long-term impact on how Cooke plays the game. But at least there'd be a fraction of a feeling that justice had been served.

The Bruins needed to shut down Savard for the season. Concussions, especially when they come on top of each other, are unlike any other injury. There's no timetable. There's no way to look at an MRI and say "it's 100% better." The B's needed to move on to life without Savard, at least for the season.

And this is probably good for Savard, as well. Again, it's different from other injuries. Hard work can make for a speedy recovery when a leg muscle needs rehabilitation. The rules aren't the same for concussions.

But to all the life-coaches out there who have publicly advised Savard to retire, please shut up. All the people who say he needs to do what's best for his family, for his health, need to remember where we live. This is America. We get to make our own decisions for ourselves. These amateur life-coaches are also doctors, and seem convinced that Savard's brain will explode if he's ever again checked into the boards.

I love how good people are at making decisions for other people.

Anyway, without Savard, the Bruins aren't in bad shape. They do have 4 centers, although Julien doesn't like to give two (Seguin and Campbell) of them more than 10 minutes of ice time each. Which leaves 40 minutes for the other centers to divy up.

Effectively, the Bruins have been without Savard for most of the season. Though now they can allow temporary fixes to become permanent. And maybe they can acquire some outside assistance to help fill the void left behind.

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

BRUINS FAIL AT EVERYTHING

I am not entertained in the least.

It started off beautifully. Shawn Thornton, as if imbued (inspired/possessed) by the '70 Bruins who were honored pregame, totally whaled on Matt Cooke. It was more than a fight, it was a beatdown, and Thornton got in a few shots after the linesmen tried breaking it up. He got an extra 10 minutes for it, but it well was worth it.



What happened to Cooke after that?

Nothing!

Seidenberg sort of hit him with a bodycheck I guess. Krejci, to his credit, tried to rattle his cage a bit with a forgettable "check." But nobody dropped the gloves with him again, nobody took aim at him. I guess losing your best player for the season is only worth 11 seconds of fisticuffs.

But in the 1st period, at least, the Bruins were physical and fought well. Lucic looked like the Lucic from last year. And the play was generally even, if not favoring the B's. They allowed a silly breakaway and a goal, but so what? They hit some posts, and M.A. Fleury was flailing about like the utter spaz he is. Goals were imminent.

But things seemed to change after the 1st intermission (thanks for the unpep-talk, Claude). The Bruins left Cooke alone. NESN's announcers kept saying that there was a "dance card of guys willing to tangle with him." Stuart, Lucic, Begin, Chara, and Sobotka are the names that come to mind. But Cooke was just sort of left to his own antagonistic devices.

It was as if Luke, Obi-Wan, and Leia decided to go to the mall in the middle of Star Wars instead of trying to destroy the Death Star. "Yeah, they blew up Alderaan, but we destroyed 6 of their anonymous fighter pilots, so we're done. Let's shop!"



Even when the game was 3-0 and out of hand, the Bruins were more focused on being embarrassed by the Penguins on the ice, than piledriving Matt Cooke through the ice. They were still trying to claim points in a game that was by then pointless.

When the game was about revenge, the Bruins played focused hockey. They all had the same fire, the same goal, the same ideals. They were still limited by their own physical (Krejci) and mental (Satan) shortcomings, but they appeared to be playing at their best levels, and playing together.

Then when Julien tried to refocus the Bruins on getting 2 points, not so mysteriously they lost focus on their jobs. They were focused on moving a number in the standings, not on getting to loose pucks or making tape-to-tape passes. The result was then made inevitable.



Michael "Appendix" (because he serves no purpose) Ryder has another new nickname: It's Michael Bystander. At the start of the 3rd period, he's lined up with Cooke on the wing for the faceoff. Not even a nudge when the puck drops. He actually gave Cooke 2 or 3 feet to maneuver. Michael Bystander is completely useless, and I'd rather see Tim Thomas play right wing. Or sign Glen Murray again!



So even though the headlines are saying "The Bruins Got Revenge, but Lost the Game," I obnoxiously disagree. The Bruins got no revenge. Do you think Cooke will think twice the next time some premier centreman is vulnerable in their backswing? Do you think the next goon will have any apprehension when he has Patrice Bergeron in his crosshairs?

Nope. Cuz all they'll have to endure is 11 seconds of hell with Shawn Thornton, and that's it. Is that vengeance enough? Is it retribution, "payback," repayment, retaliation. Does it even things up? Is it justice? Is it fair?

When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, did we bomb Tokyo just once? No, we bombed it until we obliterated it. Then we bombed other cities.

If someone steals $1,000 from you, are you satisfied if they give you $100 back?

If a dog attacks a human, does the human get to bite the dog? No, the dog gets destroyed. That didn't happen to Matt Cooke.

Bruins will get shutout by the Rangers Sunday afternoon, and they will either miss the playoffs or get swept out in 4 games. This team has no heart, no soul, no chance. I feel as depressed and cynical as Randy Quaid in the middle of Major League II.

Thankfully, at least Shawn Thornton had the right idea.

Source:
ESPN

Photo Credit:
AP Photo

WHY I WANT TO SEE SIDNEY CROSBY LYING FACEDOWN ON THE ICE TONIGHT

As much as I dislike Crosby, he's a relatively clean player. And he bears no responsibility for what happened to Marc Savard.

Then again, it's a team sport, isn't it? And let's say the Bruins go after Matt Cooke tonight, and even injure him, does that seem fair? The Bruins' #1 offensive threat goes down, while the Penguins lose a 3rd line winger. That's about as balanced as The Treaty of Versailles, and as fair as Fox News' political coverage.

Is a fight gonna satisfy you? Shawn Thornton steps up to Cooke, they both drop their gloves, dance a little, maybe Thornton lands a big punch or two, but so what? 5 minutes later and it's forgotten. Is that sufficient justice?

And what about deterring future goons from harassing top-flight Bruins players. Will they bat an eye the next time they have a chance to light up Patrice Bergeron, for fear that they'll have to drop the gloves and fight? Nope.

Go after Crosby. Punish the PENGUINS for what THEY did to the BRUINS. Like when a pitcher throws at Youkilis, the Sox pitcher has to nail the opponent's best hitter, not the #8 hitting short-stop.

Punish Matt Cooke, but not psychically. Make his teammates blame him for what happens to Crosby. Make him and every other cheap-shotting goon think twice about blindsiding an opponent, knowing that it'll cost him their best teammate.

Most of all, punish the Penguins.

NO SUSPENSION FOR COOKE

The NHL showed once again that it lacks testicular fortitude, as it allowed Matt Cooke's hit on Marc Savard to go unpunished.

Quick question: how many Matt Cooke shirts do the Penguins sell? Because I'm perusing the Pittsburgh Penguins' Pro Shop. I see lots of Crosby and Malkin shirts and jerseys. A few Fleury items. Bill Guerin, Paul Coffey, Chris Kunitz, and an old-time Ron Francis shirt.

No Matt Cooke gear.

I even searched eBay for Matt Cooke paraphernalia. All I found were token autographs and $1 trading cards.

Yet he's allowed to injure the Bruins' best player, a guy the B's signed to a long-term deal, and nothing happens.

The NHL is all talk when it comes to preventing head injuries. And it's not only morally objectionable, it's bad business. Do you think parents want their kids playing a game where hits like this are condoned? Do you think parents want their kids even WATCHING this game?

And what about the message sent by this inaction to all the goons out there? They've been given a license to kill. Instead of being pro-active, even tokenly so, the NHL has essentially announced that dirty hits, so long as they're disguised within the letter of the law, are hunky dory.

What if someone did this to Alex Ovechkin, or (heaven forbid) The Golden Canadian: Sidney Crosby. Would the NHL be so tolerant? Maybe it's time to find out.

And I'm not letting the Bruins off the hook here. They did NOTHING to police this situation themselves. And I hope that on March 18th, when the Penguins come to Boston, that Thornton, Lucic, Chara, and anyone on the ice with Cooke, forgets about hockey for a shift and focuses on shortening Matt Cooke's career, if not his life.

Or you know what, instead of trying to punish Cooke with physical torment, maybe a more fitting deterrent would be to go after Crosby. Most goons are tough/arrogant enough that they don't fear physical retaliation anyway. But if goons are put in a position where their behavior risks the health of their team's best players, they might clean up their act.