What Fallout Will We See From “The Headshot Heard Round the World?”

The Penguins head to Boston tonight for a match up with the Bruins, their first since Matt Cooke leveled Marc Savard with the “head shot heard round the world.” There has been much made about what will go on this evening when the two teams hit the ice, but I am here to tell you that in the end it will end up being just another game.

It would be foolish for the Bruins to throw away two valuable points in the standings to settle a beef, especially considering their precarious playoff positioning. The Bruins are just three points ahead of the Rangers for the eighth and final playoff spot and New York isn’t the only team within striking distance.

I fully expect the B’s to hit the ice full of piss and vinegar, but I think they will be focused on playing a hard nosed, tight checking, “hit ’em at every turn” type of game.

Does that mean that they won’t try to catch Matt Cooke or another Penguin in a vulnerable position?

No, definitely not. But I don’t think that they will alter their game plan significantly to go after one player, albeit one as loathed as Cooke.

Will Cooke have to fight tonight? I certainly hope so. That would definitely be in keeping with the “Code.” Then again, the Bruins should have pushed that envelope eleven days ago. That point aside, I fully expect Cooke to be engaged by Shawn Thornton, Milan Lucic or even Zdeno Chara and he has no choice but to take part in the dance. That’s how it works…  Do it, get it out of the way and let’s play some hockey.

As for the notion that the Bruins should take an “eye for an eye” and a “tooth for a tooth,” well that is just silly. Looking to injure a player such as Sidney Crosby would serve no purpose other than venting some frustration.

Maybe I am naïve, but I consider hockey players, aside from a few bad eggs, to be a pretty classy group and that level of class is usually enough to help them rise above the silliness that is “knocking nine teeth out of Sidney Crosby’s head.”

If class doesn’t play a role in keeping this game under control, maybe having big brother in the house will do the trick.

The NHL’s brass is scheduled to be in the house and has gone out of its way to warn against any monkey business during the game. Going all “Berserker” will only add fuel to the “NHL is a barbaric sport and shouldn’t be taken seriously” fire.

The bottom line is that though the Bruins were disappointed by the lack of discipline for Matt Cooke in this case, the problem lies in the inconsistency of the league’s disciplinary program more than anything else.

Deep down, every player on the both rosters realizes that to be the case. The opinions have been shared time and again over the past week. Everyone knows that hits like the one Cooke tossed out will no longer be tolerated.

Hopefully this ugliness of this Cooke/Savard situation was enough to get the NHL’s ducks in a row. The league’s actions since the incident at least help me believe that is close to happening.

More later…

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