Cooke Not Suspended, Crosby Gear Found
It looks like regularly paying off Gary Bettman has once again helped the Penguins.
From TSN:
The Pittsburgh Penguins have been informed by the NHL that forward Matt Cooke will not be suspended for his hit on Boston's Marc Savard.
Savard suffered a grade-two concussion when Cooke levelled him with a shoulder to the head in open ice during a game on Sunday in Pittsburgh.
In explaining his decision, NHL senior vice president of hockey operations Colin Campbell said that the ruling was based on consistency involving similar incidents. Philadelphia's Mike Richards was not suspended for a similar hit on Florida's David Booth last October, so using that as precedent, Cooke was not suspended either.
Clearly, this is just another example in the long list of ways that the NHL favors the Penguins.
We figured we'd get that all out of the way before everyone else says the same thing.
The Penguins and Bruins meet in Boston on March 18th.
Kate Smith's Biggest Fan Unhappy With Us
One thing we like more than anything is hate mail.
We haven't got anything worth posting in a while.
Until over the weekend. An old friend came calling.
The Hindenburg you see above is the the beloved former national anthem singer of the Philadelphia Flyers.
Back in the '70s, Smith would sing "God Bless America" and then salute the crowd by eating a hamburger in one bite. She was like 82-0 or something as an anthem singer.
To sum it up, she was the equivalent of the way we feel about Jeff Jimmerson.
So, of course we've taken many shots at Kate Smith over the years.
And one guy in particular continues to be really upset about it.
His name is Fred Benson, and he went as far as to e-mail the head of Bloguin to complain about it last year. He has laid low, until all of a sudden:
Good times. WOW.
Go Pens.
Crosby/Letterman Speculation
To preface all of this, here was Letterman's "coverage" of the Olympic hockey.
Innocent enough.
He couldn't lose ratings to Leno right now if he tried.
Damned if you do, damned if you don't, though, if you're Sidney Crosby.
If he goes on, people complain that he's being shoved down their throat.
But he decides not to go on, and he gets blasted regardless.
Crosby was in town to play the Rangers shortly after the Olympics were over.
Seemed like the perfect storm for a Crosby appearance on Letterman's show.
He was invited to go read the Top Ten List.
We personally have no idea why he didn't go on.
And guess what.
Reputable media outlets reporting on the Crosby "snub" didn't know, either.
Because it didn't occur to them to even put in a request to the Penguins or Letterman's show to ask why.
Or if they did, they didn't acknowledge the fact in their write-ups.
So, either the Penguins, the PG, or Crosby's agent decided to take the initiative.
"His schedule was full," Crosby's agent, Pat Brisson, said Monday night.
The New York Post this week reported that NHL officials were "miffed" at the missed opportunity to have Crosby -- considered the face of the league -- make such an appearance on the heels of his winning goal for Canada in the Olympic gold-medal game.
"I talk to the league on a regular basis, and the league couldn't be more thrilled having Sidney Crosby do all the stuff he does," Brisson said.
NHL spokesman Frank Brown said the league is thrilled with Crosby's promotional efforts. " ... Sidney has been exceptional in giving his time," Brown said.
We wanted to get the skinny on this when that joke from the New York Post mentioned it a few days ago:
As Big Daddy Brooks points out, it's not the first time Sid snubbed Letterman.
And as mentioned in the PG above, even Crosby's agent doesn't recall this phantom "Today" request.
Gotta give Big Daddy Brooks a break, though.
His vaj was still hurting from the Pens beating the Rangers.
Had to direct that angst somewhere.
After the jump, we break down some things about this Letterman crap.
Home Cookein'. PENS WIN.
Let's get it out there right now.
We don't feel bad about the Marc Savard hit.
We don't care about the Marc Savard hit.
You know why? Because we can see into the future. It comes with the territory of being part of the fanbase of the World Champs: The time will come when a Penguin is the victim of this type of hit, and whoever made the hit would be championed all across the Internet. We wake up every day preparing for that.
It was kind of sad on Sunday night reading stuff about the hit as we were making our rounds on the Internet. 95% of the coverage is coming from people who haven't watched more than 3 entire Pens games this season. They watch "NHL ON THE FLY" while looking at a box score and think they have a grasp on what the Penguins are all about.
Any Pens fan reading this right now has more than likely watched every game Matt Cooke has played as a Penguin. He plays the game on the edge, no question about that. But is he dirty? Nah. If we noticed him cruising around looking for cheapshots every game, we'd be the first people to mention it and make a photoshop about it. Bloggers everywhere will try to astonish you with stories of rituals and dazzle you with official-sounding terms like "repeat offender" and "code red." They might even cut into a few third-line grinders for you. But there's nothing else to talk about on their clichéd soapbox.
But this was a headshot. No doubt about it whatsoever.
It sucks to see hits like this take a player out; for any player to get injured, period.
(Pay no attention to fans from other cities wishing for Crosby to tear his ACL.)
Headshots have no place in the game.
But you know who else doesn't have a place in the game?
Matt Cooke...if he doesn't attempt a hit on Savard here.
There is a fevered competition on the Penguins' bottom two lines that has just kicked into high gear.
And Matt Cooke doesn't really light the lamp. He's on the team for a specific reason.
If he shirks away from delivering a hit, it is noticed in the film room.
Some thoughts:
1. -- Cooke is bearing down on Savard. Savard is taking the shot. By no means are we blaming Savard, but how can you expect any player in Matt Cooke's position to stop. What is Matt Cooke supposed to do? It's clear to anyone watching the video that Matt Cooke was preparing to hit Savard before Savard put himself into a vulnerable position.
2. -- People are quick to compare this to the Mike Richards hit on David Booth.
The Richards hit was 150% more brutal than this one.
Dirty, vicious elbow by Matt Cooke on Marc Savard to his blind side after he shot a puck at the Pittsburgh net. Just no regard for the health and well-being of another player right there. Replays showed Cooke lowered an elbow that smashed directly into Savard’s head when he had his head turned away from the Penguins forward. The elbow knocked Savard right down to the ice. Savard was down for 10 minutes and trainers had to take the playmaking center off on a stretcher. Somehow there wasn’t a penalty called on the play, but there’s no way Cooke gets off without a lengthy suspension. That is the kind of play that the NHL is trying to rid their sport of, and it’s yet another injury that the B’s can’t afford.
ugh
4. -- If you're coming here looking for us to wag the finger at Matt Cooke, sorry, you've got the wrong place. As we mentioned before, a player putting a hit like this on a Penguin, be it Crosby or Malkin, would have YouTube tribute videos made about him, all the while people would call Crosby a pussy or something.
But Karma makes its own rules.
Will Boston upset Pittsburgh in a first-round playoff matchup?
If the Hockey Gods are upset, we'll eventually know about it.
You think the Bruins are going to play a clean game on March 18th when the Pens play in Boston? They'll jump Cooke, and the Pens will go on the powerplay. It will be 3-0 before fat-ass Tim Thomas can muster up the fortitude to complain. Thanks for the 2 points in advance.
Cooke will probably get suspended 5-10 games.
Good. Rest up for the playoffs.
It gives a chance for Disco to juggle some lines and shit.
And this whole incident was a shame because it took away from a well played game. Playoff-like pace.
Pens could have won 10-1.
18
The Pens Magic Number.
The number of points they need to clinch a playoff berth.
Look at the standings.
Imagine every team wins the rest of their games.
wsh -- 130
pens -- 116
buf -- 115
njd -- 115
ott -- 109
phi -- 108
bos -- 105
atl -- 102
9th -- tb -- 101
10th -- mtl -- 100
pens -- 116
buf -- 115
njd -- 115
ott -- 109
phi -- 108
bos -- 105
atl -- 102
9th -- tb -- 101
10th -- mtl -- 100
Quick math says Tampa Bay's potential point total would be 101.
It would be the 9th-highest total in the Conference.
Finishing ahead of the 9th place team means you make the playoffs.
Don't worry about the Pens tying the 8th seed.
Pens already occupy one of the 8 spots, so it's moot.
The Pens sitting with 84 points means they only need 18 more points to reach 102 points.
There's tiebreaking scenarios we don't feel like getting into.
So let's just be safe and forecast it as 1 point above the 9th seed.
And the Devils lost.
The Devils have 2 games in hand on the Pens but are 5 points back.
Pens are finally atop the Atlantic Division.
GAMEDAY 66 - BRUINS
3:00 PM
Mellon Arena
Listen to the game at [WXDX]
Know the Enemy:
In honor of game 66 being against the Bruins:
Flipping The Switch. PENS WIN
Here we go.
The annual March craziness. 3-0 in March.
4-game winning streak stretching back to pre-Olympics.
But another streak was snapped.
Malkin's point streak ends at 15 games.
That's bad for Malkin, but good news for the Penguins.
The more goals they score without Malkin and Sid involved, the better.
And that isn't to say Crosby wasn't involved in this one.
2 goals, 1 assist.
But the only thing we care about is the Poni Express getting on the board. Poni's importance to the Pens is going to be paramount, and he got off to a solid start. Very impressed by him in his own zone.
Pens hosting the Bruins on Sunday.
We refuse to talk about the Penguins being atop the Atlantic.
Still waiting for the Devils to catch up in games-played.
Stunnedqvist Part II. PENS WIN.
55 shots? Jesus. Franchise record.
And that's with the Pens missing TWO of their top-6 forwards.
[Huge thanks to Bobby T for the video.
How about that dude walking out as the video starts.]
Doesn't matter how many times you see it, watching the Pens win a game in OT will never get old. Especially a hard-fought game against a dirtbag Rangers team that doesn't even belong on the same ice as the world champs.
Not sure if it is just the post-deadline hype lingering or the fact that we all know the playoffs are coming, but we're finally exhaling this bated breath we've held in all season. We aren't getting spoiled and only getting pumped about the Pens once the calendar turns to March, but there seems to be a hop in Pens fans' steps recently. A two-goal comeback in MSG only takes that to another level.
This game should not have been close.
MAF gave up four goals on 12 shots?
After that, the Rangers got 4 shots.
We read somewhere that Johnson's 4-save masterpiece was one of the lowest save totals for a winning goalie in a long-ass time. Wish we had more resources than Google for that. We refuse to look into using Elias Stats Bureau, 'cause we hate Patrick Elias.
Malkin had unlimited shots. Malkin has 15-game point streak. Rob Rossi sucks.
Jordan Staal has offically launched into "awwww shit" mode.
The Pens' last three March records have been insane, and they are already off to a good start.
Big time weekend ahead.
The Poni Express will be arriving at Steel Plaza at 1:00pm tomorrow.
Speaking of Poni, check out how the Pens are welcoming him to town:
BiggJohn posted this in the comments.
That's pure class.
You see that, and you're ready to run through a wall.
There was a billboard for Leopold, too.
And apparently A.O. has graduated from pushing camera-wielding women to shooting people.
Never mind. It wasn't him. Caps won last night.
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