Irony, Thy Name Is Matt Cooke

On Sunday, Pittsburgh Penguin Matt Cooke caused a bit of controversy with a shoulder-to-head hit on Boston's Marc Savard. Cooke was not suspended for the hit, but the NHL noted they'll get him if he does something like this next year.

Friday night, during a big divisional clash with New Jersey, Cooke got a bit of a taste of his own medicine.

Needless to say, he didn't seem terribly happy about the whole thing.

Of course, no one is going to feel sorry for him.

Cooke got into it with New Jersey forward Rob Niedermayer during the second period, after Niedermayer hit Cooke high. The skirmish spilled over into the third period, when the two dropped the gloves after the puck dropped.

After the game, Niedermayer admitted that he caught Cooke with a high hit, and Cooke had taken exception.

"I got my elbow up a bit," Niedermayer acknowledged. "We were both sort of playing hard. That's what happens. He was sort of mad at the hit.

"You do something like that, you've got to be ... it just happens in the heat of the moment, I guess."

Here is video of the fight.

Odd that Cooke would react like that to a hit he's so often guilty of himself.

As for Niedermayer, maybe he should stick to playing smart, physical hockey. Consider avoiding the fisticuffs, because that was almost as bad as watching Max Talbot fight.