Boston Bruins News

Pens show Bruins who's bad
Comment
March 19
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
 
"Big Zdeno Chara of the once-bad Boston Bruins did not shake hands with Sidney Crosby after a ceremonial faceoff Tuesday night at TD Garden. That was Chara and the Bruins' most defiant moment in an utterly unimpressive 3-0 loss to the Penguins, who rallied around controversial winger Matt Cooke for a bounce-back victory. "I've been involved in games like this before," a stoic Cooke said after he fought Bruins winger Shawn Thornton only a minute and 58 seconds into a game he entered as a "wanted" man, according to one Boston newspaper. Cooke is notorious to Boston fans for his hit on Bruins center Marc Savard at Mellon Arena on March 7. Cooke clipped Savard in the head, accidentally he said, ..."
Colin Campbell watched game in Boston
Comment
March 19
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
 
"NHL senior executive vice president/director of hockey operations Colin Campbell attended the game between the Penguins and Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Campbell's responsibilities with the league include disciplinary rulings, and he had been vilified by fans andmedia members in Boston for not suspending Penguins winger Matt Cooke after his controversial hit on Bruins center Marc Savard at Mellon Arena on March 7. Campbell spoke to the coaches and general managers of each team before the game and stressed the need for a clean contest."
Penguins Notebook: Recchi's game ages like fine wine
Comment
March 19
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
 
"Mark Recchi still remembers his first NHL shift. In his first exhibition game. And well he should, because two future Hall of Famers -- Guy Lafleur and Marcel Dionne, then of the New York Rangers --were on the ice opposite him. And surely neither had no idea that the Penguins rookie facing them would be a pretty safe bet to join them there someday. But the only thing separating Recchi, the Boston winger whose career has included three stints with the Penguins, from induction to the Hall figures to be the mandatory three-year waiting period after he retires. If he retires, of course. Recchi, 42, entered the game Thursday night against the Penguins at the TD Garden with 560 career goals, ..."
Fleury gets shutout as Penguins beat Bruins, 3-0
Comment
March 19
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
 
"The Penguins defeated Boston, 3-0, at the TD Garden tonight. The game, which had been heavily hyped by the Boston media, was relatively tame, although the Bruins rarely passed on an opportunity to hit Penguins left winger Matt Cooke. He was a target for Boston because of his hit to the head of Bruins center Marc Savard during a game at Mellon Arena March 7. Savard got a Grade 2 concussion and might not play again this season. The victory raised the Penguins' record to 42-24-5 and assured them of at least a share of first place in the Atlantic Division, pending the outcome of New Jersey's game at Toronto. Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury record his first shutout in 63 games, a streak dating to ..."
Penguins beat Bruins, 3-0; Fleury finally gets shutout
Comment
March 19
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
 
"Matt Cooke survived his evening at the TD Garden. Marc-Andre Fleury's streak of non-shutouts did not. Easy to see why the Penguins could not have asked for much more out of their 3-0 victory against Boston Thursday night. "We lost a tough game [Wednesday] in New Jersey, and our focus was to win the game," Cooke said. "And we did it in a pretty convincing fashion, I think." Oh, Cooke absorbed a little abuse from the crowd and a bit of punishment in a fight with Bruins enforcer Shawn Thornton, but nothing that did significant damage. And Fleury hardly had to be at his best -- he was forced to stop just 17 shots, barely a period's worth of work some nights -- to record his first shutout in 63 ..."
Does perception of NHL in America rest in hands of the Bruins?
Comment
March 18
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
 columnist Rob Rossi
"I'm a huge fan of "Cheers," for my money the best ensemble sitcom in television history. It also has one of the iconic theme songs of any television program. I particularly like these lines: You want to go where people know/people are all the same/You want to go/where everybody knows your name Well, everybody in Boston, the setting for fictional "Cheers," knows the name of Penguins LW MATT COOKE. Though, as you can see from these Boston newspaper articles, he's probably most known in this city as "bum" or "rat" or… uh, just take a look: Well, never let it be said that Boston's media lacks for keeping water at a boil. Good on them. Hey, it takes a lot to knock the Red Sox off the perch in ..."
Bruins may stir something up for Cooke
Comment
March 18
Boston Globe
 
"Tonight at TD Garden, the Bruins will have a chance to do something the NHL did not. They can hold Penguins left wing Matt Cooke accountable for the damage he inflicted upon Marc Savard, still left dizzy by the blow to the head he took 11 days ago. "Savvy's not doing any better,'' coach Claude Julien said Tuesday about the Bruins center, whose symptoms include headaches, nausea, and sensitivity to light. "Same thing.'' Cooke skated without punishment from league disciplinarian Colin Campbell after delivering a blind-side head shot to Savard March 7 at Mellon Arena because the hit, according to the 2009-10 NHL rulebook, was legal. In the wake of the incident, the league's general managers ..."
Make the Penguins pay the right way
Comment
March 18
Boston Herald
 columnist Ron Borges
"With the NHL's vice principal for discipline, Colin "Mr. Peepers" Campbell, in attendance tonight at the Garden, the Bruins have three ways they can handle the arrival of Pittsburgh Penguin hatchetman Matt Cooke. They can sign Manny Pacquiao to a one-night contract and let him take care of the situation for them. They can call my boyhood friend, Nickie "The Nap" Napoliano, who makes problems disappear for a living. Or they can just go out and play hockey. Not just hockey, but old fashioned hockey. Knock-your-block-off, knock-your socks-off hockey. Take-you-into-the-boards, take-you-to-the-ice, take-you-into-the-goalie hockey. Forget all the phony media chest beating about mandatory ..."
All eyes on Matt Cooke tonight
Comment
March 18
Boston Herald
 
"It is a scenario that, to the delight of fans and headline writers, occurs now and again in the NHL: Team A is really mad at Team B, or an individual player thereon. There is dire pregame talk of violent retribution. Tension is in the air. No one knows how or when things will erupt. And what usually happens? Nothing. That is so frequently the outcome, at least in instances when, to use a purely hypothetical example, someone like Milan Lucic is mad at someone like Mike Komisarek about some cheap shot or another. But the case we find tonight at the Garden is a bit different than the run-of-the-mill NHL clash of mad men. With his stupid, unnecessary, viciously dirty and cowardly blindside hit ..."
Bruins seeking revenge for Cooke hit?
Comment
March 18
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
 
"The Penguins' game at Boston today is one of the most-anticipated in the NHL this season because of Matt Cooke's controversial hit March 7 on Bruins center Marc Savard at Mellon Arena. There have been numerous calls from Boston's fan base (and others) to avenge the blow delivered by Cooke, which left Savard with a Grade 2 concussion that quite possibly will end his season, and there clearly is the potential for mayhem at some point in the game. That's something with which Cooke and his teammates will have to deal with today; as of Wednesday, however, they were focused on their first-place showdown against New Jersey at the Prudential Center, not what will go on at the TD Garden in Boston. ..."
Campbell, Gregson to attend Bruins-Pens rematch
Comment
March 18
TSN.ca
 columninst Bob McKenzie
"NHL VP Colie Campbell and director of officiating Terry Gregson will both attend the Bruins-Penguins game tomorrow night, the first meeting of the two teams since Matt Cooke knocked out Marc Savard with a shoulder to the head that may spell the end of Savard's season. It's expected that the league executives will meet personally tomorrow with both general managers -- Boston's Peter Chiarelli and Pittsburgh's Ray Shero -- as well as both head coaches -- Boston's Claude Julien and Pittsburgh's Dan Bylsma -- to ensure that whatever happens in terms of retribution, it falls within reasonable limits."
In win, Recchi also earned a tie
Comment
March 17
Boston Globe
 
"Mark Recchi tumbled out of the penalty box, took a pass from David Krejci, fired the puck past Carolina's Manny Legace, and returned to the bench for what he thought was just another goal. Hardly. With his 560th strike, Recchi tied Guy Lafleur for 22d on the all-time list. "I forgot all about it,'' Recchi said. "The coaches were like, 'Congratulations.' I was like, 'What are you talking about?'"
Bruins finish strongly
Comment
March 17
Boston Globe
 
"With an ice bag bundled around his right knee, Patrice Bergeron limped to the X-ray room at RBC Center, wondering how much damage a Mark Stuart slap shot had delivered. At 17:18 of the third period, with the Bruins enjoying a three-goal lead, Bergeron had fallen to the ice, then skated to the dressing room with help from his teammates — a frightening sequence for a team already missing Marc Savard. "I didn't know. I didn't want to scare myself,'' Bergeron said. "But when you can't really feel your leg, it's kind of a weird feeling. Obviously, the pain was pretty high.''"
NHL shouldn't tolerate hits to the head
Comment
March 17
Boston Herald
 columnist Arthur Staple
"On the eve of the general managers' meetings a week ago, Matt Cooke threw a shoulder to Marc Savard's head. Colin Campbell, the NHL's vice president of hockey operations, its czar of discipline and the host of sorts of the general manager meetings, was about to deliver a presentation on hits to the head and hopefully come out with some sort of encompassing rule to cover all blows to the head in games. With the Bruins' Savard possibly out for the season with a concussion and the Penguins' Cooke awaiting a hearing, the general manager meetings took on extra attention. And Campbell, whose job is the least enviable perhaps in all of sports, dropped the ball this time. After a hearing with ..."
Claude Julien mum on payback
Comment
March 17
Boston Herald
 
"Claude Julien was not prepared to comment on what may or may not occur at the Garden tomorrow night, when Matt Cooke and the Pittsburgh Penguins come town. The obvious question being asked by every Bruins [team stats] fan: Will Cooke have to answer for his vicious blindside hit to the head that likely sidelined Marc Savard for the rest of the season? The NHL office did nothing; will the B's? Not surprisingly, Julien declined comment. "This is not the time right now," Julien said shortly before the B's faced the Hurricanes last night. "Right now there's a game we have to play, and you really can't get too far ahead of yourself. This game is just as important as the one (tomorrow). For me to ..."
Bruins blow by Hurricanes
Comment
March 17
Boston Herald
 
"Finally, a complete effort by the Bruins [team stats]. So many recent performances had been ruined by bad stretches of play, but last night the B's started brilliantly, scoring just 23 seconds in, and never let up, rolling to a dreadfully important 5-2 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes. Combined with the Montreal Canadiens' win against the Rangers in New York, the victory gave the Bruins three points' worth of breathing room in the race for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff berth. If the B's can finish the season with the same focus they had in beating the Hurricanes - getting pucks deep, forechecking quickly and aggressively, forcing lots of turnovers - staying in a ..."
Bruins floored early
Comment
March 16
Boston Globe
 
"In a season in which the Bruins have made most everything difficult, they layered on more frustration last night, suffering a 3-2 loss to the Devils that prevented them from gaining any ground in their fight to cling to the final playoff seed in the Eastern Conference. With 14 games remaining in the regular season, the Bruins have one game in hand over the Rangers, who sit but a lone point behind them in the standings. So while everyone has eyes, voodoo dolls, and pins pointed toward Thursday's visit by the Penguins — and the dastardly Matt Cooke — the biggest date on the calendar right now really looms as Sunday afternoon's visit by the Rangers. "Right now,'' noted coach Claude Julien, ..."
Tim Thomas out of position
Comment
March 16
Boston Herald
 
"Was it a case of Tim Thomas being unlucky, or the goalie fighting the puck? "I'd say maybe a little bit of both," said coach Claude Julien, who yanked his erstwhile No. 1 goalie with the Bruins trailing 3-0 after one period last night against the New Jersey Devils. The B's worked hard and played well as they tried to overcome the deficit but fell a goal short in the 3-2 loss. "We didn't help him," Julien said of Thomas. "The third goal (a Zach Parise finish off a juicy rebound), the puck seemed to hit him and bounce back out. On a better night, it might have been an easier save for Tim. "We talked about (a goalie change) between periods and thought it was the right thing to do at the time. ..."
Tough way to make a living
Comment
March 15
Boston Globe
 
"With little regard for his safety, Brad Marchand drove to the slot in the third period at the Bell Centre Saturday night and rammed his 5-foot-9-inch, 183-pound frame into the thick of 6-7, 241-pound Hal Gill. An instant later, as Marchand and Gill jostled, Milan Lucic whipped a wrist shot through the fracas that Jaroslav Halak, too busy trying to peer around the mess before him, didn't see until it was behind him. Clearly, Marchand is intent on keeping his job. "He went to the front of the net and did a great job,'' said Bruins coach Claude Julien after the 3-2 loss to the Canadiens. "Great shot by Looch, but a great job by Marsh to screen the goaltender.''"
Milan Lucic puts up a fight
Comment
March 15
Boston Herald
 
"In all likelihood, we will not see the real Milan Lucic until next season. The high ankle sprain the Bruins winger suffered in November still is lingering, as those injuries tend to do, and he's certainly not yet the feral, rambunctious player he was last season. But in the last few games, Lucic is showing signs that he might at least be figuring out how to play through the injury and make an impact with this Bruins team as it struggles to make the playoffs. Sometimes it just needs to be drawn out of him, as it was Saturday night in Montreal. Late in the second period, Canadiens forward Andrei Kostitsyn blasted an unsuspecting Lucic and was called for interference. Lucic got up and went ..."
Referees under scrutiny
Comment
March 14
Boston Globe
 
"Given the ill will the Bruins feel toward Matt Cooke, sympathy would be the last thing you'd expect them to extend to the Penguins. But a blown call that went against the Penguins Friday night had the Bruins buzzing yesterday about a penalty that appeared to bear the consequences of Cooke's head shot to Marc Savard. "Terrible call,'' said Shawn Thornton. The play in question started with New Jersey's Martin Skoula chasing a puck in his own zone to get an icing on the Penguins. An instant after Skoula touched the puck, Pittsburgh's Craig Adams checked Skoula into the boards — not an automatic penalty, but a no-no among players. Adams didn't deliver a blow to Skoula's head. Adams didn't ..."
Double loss for Bruins
Comment
March 14
Boston Globe
 
"Harmless play, really. Puck glances off the end boards near the net. Goalie leaves the crease to play the puck. He settles it and starts the breakout the other way. Last night at the Bell Centre, it was hardly so routine. When Tuukka Rask left the crease to chase down Hal Gill's dump-in off the wall, he failed to settle the puck, which skittered out into the slot. Rask dived to get in front of Sergei Kostitsyn's shot, but he arrived a hair after the puck hit the back of the net at 1:41 of the third period. Kostitsyn's goal gave the Canadiens a 3-1 lead and turned out to be the winning strike in the Bruins' 3-2 loss last night before 21,273 people. "I think I just misread it,'' said Rask, ..."
Bruins' Tuukka Rask catches a whiff of Montreal
Comment
March 14
Boston Herald
 
"Bad things happen to Bruins in this town. And now, after a 3-2 loss to the Canadiens last night at the Bell Centre, Tuukka Rask possesses firsthand knowledge. Early in the third period, the Bruins goalie went behind his net to play a routine puck off the endboards with his stick. The puck, however, somehow got away from Rask and dribbled out front. Montreal forward Sergei Kostitsyn was there to accept the gift and tap it home for what turned out to be the winning goal, providing the Canadiens a 3-1 lead at 1:41 of the third. There was nothing to do for Rask but to take the blame. "I think I misread it, but I don't know," Rask said. "I went to play it on my forehand. To me it seems like it ..."
Colin Campbell's act appalling
Comment
March 14
Boston Herald
 columnist Stephen Harris
"Never has Colin Campbell looked so stupid and incompetent, and that's saying something for a guy whose rulings on supplemental discipline have been an ongoing disgrace for the National Hockey League. Aside to commissioner Gary Bettman: If you want to know a big reason why your league is viewed by a large segment of American sports fandom as a second-rate joke, look no farther than your own senior executive vice president of hockey operations, Mr. Campbell. The NHL has a big problem when four on-ice officials - referees Marc Joanette and Tim Peel, and linesmen Bryan Pancich and Pierre Racicot - and Campbell can look at Matt Cooke's deliberate attempt to injure a defenseless Marc Savard with ..."
Dennis Seidenberg settles in
Comment
March 14
Boston Herald
 
"With a little more than two weeks under his belt in his young Bruins career, Dennis Seidenberg has pretty much been as advertised - a smart, rugged, responsible defenseman who can occasionally provide a little offensive spark. In six games with the B's, including last night's 3-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens, he has three assists and is a plus-4. "It's getting there," Seidenberg said yesterday of the adjustment to the B's since arriving at the trade deadline from the Florida Panthers. "It's been good. It's getting to where I want it to be." Seidenberg has also been able to assimilate into the locker room well. "It's been easy," he said. "The guys here are great, easy to get along with ..."
Backsliding Bruins slip up
Comment
March 14
Boston Herald
 
"One step forward, one step back. After a very good performance in their victory over the Flyers on Thursday night in Philadelphia, the Bruins were slow to show up last night at the Bell Centre and lost, 3-2, to the Montreal Canadiens because of it. The Canadiens jumped out to a two-goal lead in the first period, and the B's were playing catch-up the rest of the night. "We put up a decent effort, but we had a slow start," captain Zdeno Chara said. "To me, we were looking for our legs the whole first period. After that, we had better jump in our legs. But we had a slow start." Sixty-minute efforts have been hard to find for this club. "We didn't start right and ultimately it cost us the game ..."
Heads up, Cooke!
Comment
March 13
Toronto Sun
 
"Attention, Matt Cooke. Introducing Shawn Thornton, Zdeno Chara and Milan Lucic. Get used to seeing these three large, boisterous Bostonians up close and personal when your Pittsburgh Penguins travel to Boston to meet the Bruins Thursday at the TD Banknorth Garden. The Bruins have not forgiven Cooke for his blindside hit on Marc Savard Sunday, a blow that left the Boston forward carted off the ice with a concussion that likely has wiped out the remainder of the season. Nor have they forgotten that NHL disciplinarians opted not to suspend Cooke, igniting heated debates all across the league. As a result, all signs point to a potentially-explosive meeting between these two teams next week, ..."
Seidenberg is fitting right in
Comment
March 13
Boston Globe
 
"Five shots. Two assists. On the ice for three Bruins goals. Twenty-eight shifts for 22 minutes 15 seconds of ice time. Yeah, Dennis Seidenberg was pretty good in the Bruins' 5-1 rout of the Flyers Thursday. "I thought [Thursday] was his best game,'' coach Claude Julien said after yesterday's practice at the Bell Centre. "He was solid. He's brought some grit. He's moving the puck well. He's shooting the puck well.'' At the March 3 trade deadline, the Bruins flipped defenseman Derek Morris to Phoenix for a draft pick, then used the salary savings to acquire Seidenberg from Florida. The explanation was that Seidenberg and Zdeno Chara could combine to be a suffocating shutdown pairing. Matched ..."
Mark Recchi and milestones come with age
Comment
March 13
Boston Herald
 
"When you've been around as long as Mark Recchi, and you've been as good as he's been, milestones happen without much notice. But if the 42-year-old future Hall of Famer can stay as hot as he's been and score a goal tonight against the Montreal Canadiens at the Bell Centre, he'll hit one that would have some nice symmetry to it. Recchi, who has 559 career goals, would tie none other than Canadiens icon Guy Lafleur for 22nd place on the all-time goalscoring list. "It will (mean a lot) when I'm all done, for sure," said Recchi after the B's practice yesterday. "I got the opportunity to meet him, too, and to be mentioned in the same breath as him is pretty cool because he's a really nice guy." ..."
Satan back to work
Comment
March 13
Boston Globe
 
"Every Bruin participated in today's afternoon practice at the Bell Centre, including Miroslav Satan, who sat out last night's 5-1 win because of a groin injury. "We'll see how it is," Claude Julien said. "It will be a medical thing with the trainers. He practiced today. It's about making sure because when you get in a game situation, you've got to exert a little bit more. You don't want to be risking losing a player for a long time. We'll see what comes out of this.""
Savard visits specialist, likely done for year
Comment
March 12
Boston Globe
 
"After a meeting with a neuropsychological specialist yesterday at Massachusetts General Hospital showed little progress in his condition, Marc Savard will most likely miss the rest of the season, according to Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli. Savard visited Dr. Kelly McInnis, who confirmed that the center has shown little improvement since Sunday, when he suffered a Grade 2 concussion at the hands of Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke. Savard's symptoms include sleep disruption, dizziness, sensitivity to light, nausea, and difficulty concentrating. "Not certain that he'll miss the rest of the year, but I'd say it's up there as far as probable,'' Chiarelli said. If Savard's season is over, the ..."
Fired-up Bruins show punch in win
Comment
March 12
Boston Globe
 
"Before last night's game against the Flyers, Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli felt it was time to address his players. Chiarelli, who was discouraged by his team's lack of response Sunday after Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke flattened Marc Savard, wouldn't disclose his message. But it was clear in the wake of Savard's injury, the Bruins' failure to respond, the NHL's non-action on Cooke, and the news that Savard's season might be over, that passion and commitment were major themes of the GM's speech. "It's behind closed doors, so that's between us and him,'' said right winger Blake Wheeler. "What I can say is that everyone was inspired. He touched on the things that everybody has to take ..."
Time to show muscles
Comment
March 12
Boston Herald
 columnist Steve Buckley
"This is too good to be true: When the Bruins host the Pittsburgh Penguins next Thursday at the Garden, the team will be honoring the 1970 outfit that roared through the postseason en route to bringing Boston its first Stanley Cup championship in 29 years. Perhaps you've heard of some of those guys. Phil Esposito. Johnny Bucyk. Derek Sanderson. Johnny McKenzie. Gerry Cheevers. Orr. They were called the Big, Bad Bruins. And that's what they're calling the special event that'll be held next Thursday at the Garden: Big, Bad Bruins Night. Oh, the irony. Big, Bad Bruins Night? On this night? Of all nights? It's going to put the current collection of Bruins in a bit of a bind, this because, fair ..."
Bruins enjoy Philly-buster
Comment
March 12
Boston Herald
 
"The Bruins rarely have their wishes granted in this unexpectedly angst-ridden season. But last night at the Wachovia Center, the B's got just what they needed: a laugher. Against a pretty good team that had been playing well, the Bruins scored four consecutive goals to blow out the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-1, and increase their lead over the ninth-place Rangers to five points. The Flyers came into the game with wins in seven of their previous nine. For the second game, the line of Patrice Bergeron, Mark Recchi and Marco Sturm produced a goal for each player. In addition to that, the David Krejci line got into the act as well, with Krejci and Blake Wheeler each notching a goal. Tuukka Rask ..."
Marc Savard: Not improving
Comment
March 12
Boston Herald
 
"Marc Savard visited with neuro-psych specialist Dr. Kelly McInnis yesterday and it's looking more and more like the Bruins forward is finished for the season. Savard, who suffered a grade 2 concussion when he was struck on a blindside blow to the head by Penguins forward Matt Cooke last Sunday, is still experiencing a plethora of the classic concussion symptoms - dizziness, imbalance, sensitivity to light, nausea, etc. "(The visit) confirmed he hasn't improved," said general manager Peter Chiarelli last night at the Wachovia Center before the B's 5-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers. "He's not certain to miss the year, but I'd say it's up there as far as being probable." Meanwhile, ..."
Chiarelli angered by ruling
Comment
March 11
Boston Globe
 
"By now, the NHL's message is clear. Yesterday, league disciplinarian Colin Campbell allowed Pittsburgh's Matt Cooke to skate without discipline for Sunday's clock-cleaning clobber of Bruins center Marc Savard. And while the 30 general managers agreed on a proposal yesterday that would make such checks subject to punishment next year, for the rest of 2009-10, Campbell's decision signals that players are free to seek out unsuspecting opponents, launch blindside hits to their heads that leave them with scrambled brains, and fear no consequence in terms of penalties or suspensions. "Hits to the head are legal, if you want to look at it that way,'' said Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli. ..."
Teammates frustrated by more non-action
Comment
March 11
Boston Herald
 
"During the past three seasons, the Bruins have seen Randy Jones get a two-game suspension for his life-threatening hit from behind on Patrice Bergeron and another light two-game ban to Scott Hartnell for a similar hit on Andrew Alberts. There was no suspension for what the B's felt was a Mike Komisarek eye gouge on Matt Hunwick, and no suspension for Scott Walker's blatant sucker punch of Aaron Ward in the playoffs. Now, Matt Cooke has gotten off scot-free for his hit on Marc Savard. General manager Peter Chiarelli said he has no reason to believe the B's are being "targeted" by the league, but one player was not so sure. "Colin Campbell says he's got to be consistent," said goalie Tim ..."
Marc Savard gets no justice
Comment
March 11
Boston Herald
 
"After seeking justice through the National Hockey League, the Bruins struck out once again. NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell announced yesterday at the general managers meetings that Pittsburgh Penguins forward Matt Cooke would not be suspended for his blindside hit to the head of Marc Savard, one that left the B's center with a grade 2 concussion and could have ended his career. "I'm surprised and angered," said Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli, who reported no significant improvement in Savard's condition. Campbell clung to the premise that Philadelphia Flyers captain Mike Richards was not suspended for a similar hit this season on the Florida Panthers' David Booth, who missed 45 games as a ..."
Cooke avoids suspension for blindside hit
Comment
March 11
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
 
"One of the NHL's most-hyped would-be suspensions resulted in nothing but good talk-show fodder. Three days after a blindside hit that leveled Boston star Marc Savard with a Grade 2 concussion, Penguins left wing Matt Cooke spoke with NHL officials Wednesday and learned he will not be suspended. The NHL decided to remain true to its rulebook, which in no way indicates that Cooke's hit was illegal. Rampant speculation that he would be suspended for the hit was silenced yesterday afternoon, only minutes after Cooke spoke on the phone with NHL officials about the incident. "There's a lot of gray area," Cooke said after practice. "Technically by the rulebook, I did nothing wrong." The NHL ..."
Penguins' Cooke will not be suspended
Comment
March 10
ESPN.com
 
"Pittsburgh Penguins winger Matt Cooke has escaped suspension for a hit to the head of Marc Savard that knocked out the Boston Bruins center. NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell made the announcement Wednesday at the general managers meeting in Boca Raton, Fla. Penguins GM Ray Shero also confirmed the news to ESPN.com via e-mail. Cooke delivered a blindside hit with his shoulder to Savard in the third period of Sunday's game. Savard was taken away on a stretcher and has been disagnosed with a Grade 2 concussion. He is out indefinitely, and Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli has said Savard could possibly miss the remainder of the season. Doctors will continue to evaluate him over the next several days ..."
Hit on Savard would be illegal under new proposal
Comment
March 10
Toronto Star
 columnist Damien Cox
"A new rule doesn't necessarily always solve the problem. Sometimes it creates new ones, as the NHL has found in recent years. In fact, the new rule recommendation expected to be passed Wednesday by the league's general managers in an effort to curb so-called "head shots" is, in some ways, a response to the increased speed of the game created in recent years by tightened restrictions on hooking and interference. Clearly, the GMs had to do something."
Bruins fall back in OT
Comment
March 10
Boston Globe
 
"With the manner in which Tim Thomas turned aside chance after Toronto chance late in regulation and overtime - no soup for you, Phil Kessel, Luke Schenn, and Mikhail Grabovski - the Bruins netminder seemed poised for further heroics in the shootout. But he never got the chance to steal a point for his team. In the final minute of overtime, a backchecking Michael Ryder wiped out Thomas, leaving the net wide open. Nikolai Kulemin said thanks, buried the puck with 49.7 seconds remaining, and helped the Maple Leafs boot the Bruins out of Air Canada Centre last night with a 4-3 OT loss that left them with 1 lousy point against the East's worst club."
Beaten Bruins get point
Comment
March 10
Boston Herald
 
"Desperate for points, the battered and beleaguered Bruins earned one against the lowly Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre last night, but they couldn't get two in what was a very frustrating 4-3 loss. Clinging to the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and missing both Marc Savard and Zdeno Chara, the B's had three separate one-goal leads only to cough them up each time. And with 41.7 seconds left in overtime, Nikolai Kulemin hit an open net after goalie Tim Thomas was wiped out by a sliding Michael Ryder on the backcheck. "It was a second effort by a player and he ends up taking his goalie out," said coach Claude Julien. "It's an unfortunate break, but you have to turn ..."
Bruins character at heart of issue
Comment
March 10
Boston Herald
 
"The seemingly deliberate, head-hunting cheap shot inflicted by Penguins forward Matt Cooke on Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh, which robbed the Bruins of top center Marc Savard - and was perhaps the final straw that will keep the team out of the playoffs - has led to two profound questions for those who love hockey and for those who live just to stir up controversy. Question 1: Was the B's failure to attack Cooke in the immediate aftermath of his assault on Savard damning evidence that this is a team lacking in character and toughness? Question 2: Have the Bruins been a team lacking in character and toughness throughout this season? These are two very, very different questions. And while ..."
Losing Zdeno Chara yet another low blow
Comment
March 10
Boston Herald
 
"After losing top center Marc Savard to a concussion Sunday, another shoe dropped yesterday for the Bruins in their increasingly frustrating season. Captain Zdeno Chara was held out of last night's 4-3 loss to the Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre with what coach Claude Julien described as a lower body injury, which he suffered Sunday against Pittsburgh. Chara was termed day-to-day by Julien, who hopes to have him back tomorrow night in Philadelphia. Still, with the Bruins clinging to the final Eastern Conference playoff spot and every point critical, losing Chara for just one game was tough. "Our whole team has to step up. It's the whole team, the five guys that are on the ice," Julien ..."
Marc Savard may miss season
Comment
March 10
Boston Herald
 
"Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said it's well within the realm of possibility that Marc Savard could miss the rest of the season with the Grade 2 concussion the star playmaker suffered Sunday in Pittsburgh. "That could be. There are only (17) games (remaining in the regular season)," said Chiarelli from the GM meetings in Boca Raton, Fla. "You look at the time he was unconscious on the ice and some of the symptoms he's exhibiting now, this is a serious concussion." Chiarelli did not talk with Savard yesterday, but said he will meet with a neuro-psych specialist tomorrow. As for the perpetrator of the hit, the Penguins' Matt Cooke, there still was no decision on what, if any, ..."
Marc Savard fuzzy on details
Comment
March 9
Boston Herald
 
"All Marc Savard wanted to do was go home and get some sleep. "Right now, I just need rest," Savard said yesterday while waiting at the airport for his flight back to Boston. "I'm exhausted." The injured Bruins center was knocked unconscious Sunday by a blind-side hit to the head from Penguins forward Matt Cooke. Savard suffered a concussion and damaged jaw in the B's 2-1 loss. He was walking and talking very slowly at the airport, although the fact he was able to traverse the several hundred yards to the gate under his own power was a good sign. "I think that's a good sign," he said of being able to walk without dizziness or balance problems. Savard was examined by physicians before he was ..."
Peter Chiarelli: Hit should net ban
Comment
March 9
Boston Herald
 
"Though Marc Savard was able to return to Boston yesterday after suffering a concussion Sunday from a blind-side hit delivered by the Pittsburgh Penguins' Matt Cooke, Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said the head injury hardly was minor. "It's at least a grade 2 (concussion)," Chiarelli said last night from the NHL's general managers meetings in Boca Raton, Fla. "It was a serious concussion." Savard was examined in Boston by team physician Peter Asnis yesterday and most likely will be seen at some point by concussion specialist Robert Cantu, who oversaw the treatment of teammate Patrice Bergeron two years ago. Chiarelli said that more will be known about Savard's condition during the ..."
Cooke trying to reach Bruins' Savard
Comment
March 9
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
 
"Penguins left winger Matt Cooke has "reached out" to Boston center Marc Savard, according to Penguins coach Dan Bylsma. Odds are the NHL office will do likewise with Cooke soon. Savard was injured Sunday with a hit to the head by Cooke late in the Penguins' 2-1 victory against the Bruins at Mellon Arena. Bylsma said Monday that the Penguins had not yet heard from the league about a hearing for Cooke, but "we know they're looking at all [questionable] hits and situations, so we know they're looking at it." Savard, who got a Grade 2 concussion when Cooke hit him on the right side of the head with his upper left arm or shoulder, flew back to Boston Monday and told the Boston Herald he was ..."
Savard has a grade 2 concussion; return is unknown
Comment
March 9
Boston Globe
 
"Yesterday afternoon, a day after Pittsburgh forward Matt Cooke's hit to the head caused him to lose consciousness, Marc Savard flew back to Boston, where he was diagnosed with a Grade 2 concussion by Dr. Peter Asnis, the Bruins' lead team physician. General manager Peter Chiarelli said the team will know more about Savard's condition and how much time he'll miss in 4-5 days. However, given the nature of Savard's concussion, the Bruins aren't expecting their center back soon. "That he felt like he got hit by a bus, and that he was very tired,'' Chiarelli said of the text message he received from Savard yesterday. "Those are two major symptoms of a concussion. It's a bad concussion.''"