Bruins Claim to Want Two Points More Than Cooke's Head

BOSTON -- Almost to a man, the Boston Bruins stuck to their pregame script for the grudge match on Thursday against Matt Cooke and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Almost.

"They're supposed to protect us," Bruins center David Krejci, upset about the serious concussion suffered by his teammate Marc Savard, said about the NHL's system of supplementary discipline. "This is supposed to be the best league in the world. Everyone knows how dirty a player Cooke is."

Asked what should happen to Cooke, who crushed Savard with a blindside hit to the head on March 7 in Pittsburgh, Krejci said, "I'm not going to slash the guy in the head. Other than that, I don't know what's coming."

Besides the blessedly candid Krejci, the Bruins locker room after the team's morning skate on Thursday at TD Garden was in unison.

Captain Zdeno Chara: "The win is what is most important. Everything else is secondary."

Steve Begin: "If we lose a playoff spot by two points because of (any revenge), we're stupid."

Patrice Bergeron: "First and foremost, it's about the two points."

"If we lose a playoff spot by two points because of (any revenge), we're stupid."
-- Steve BeginOf course, it is not. The Bruins have not seen a media crush like this since the Winter Classic at Fenway Park. ("Hey, where have you guys been?" kidded Begin). Never mind the presence of TSN, Sportsnet and some sports columnists you know would rather be at spring training. If this first rematch between the Bruins and Penguins since the Cooke-Savard incident did not transcend your typical regular season game, NHL Senior VP of Hockey Operations Colin Campbell would not have decided days ago to travel from Toronto to attend in person.

Veteran goaltender Tim Thomas said he was fairly certain the Bruins did not meet as a team to discuss strategy for the hysterical media and the dirty Cooke. "Then again, if there was a meeting, I probably wouldn't be invited," Thomas said with a laugh. "I'm just the goalie."

Script or not, the Bruins were on the same page. For good reason, no one wanted to be quoted threatening retaliation. The Feb. 16, 2004 incident in which Todd Bertuzzi attacked Steve Moore from behind in retaliation, causing three broken vetebrae and a major concussion for Moore, clearly casts its shadow on Thursday's game.

"The rules are not the same as 1970," said Boston coach Claude Julien, referencing the purely-coincidental pregame ceremony on Thursday in which the Bruins will honor their 1970 Stanley Cup team. "There's a lawsuit with the (Bertuzzi) incident. It's a touchy subject for the league, our team, everyone."

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Bruins enforcer Shawn Thornton said, "There's an honorable way" of putting the Cooke-Savard incident behind the teams, letting it go unsaid that the Penguins forward should drop the gloves. "Whether that will happen, I don't know." Then as almost every Bruin did Thursday morning, he politely warded off the same question about Cooke and retaliation being re-phrased in every way imaginable. "You guys are killing me," said Thornton.

Knowing Thornton was done talking about Cooke, I asked him for his thoughts on his friend and teammate Savard.

"I've texted with him a few times," said Thornton. "He's feeling the same. No, actually, he's doing awful. He's a great person and an incredible teammate. A big part of our offense runs through Savvy. He sees things on the ice that I can't even see from the bench."

Savard may be hurting, but he'll be watching on television Thursday. The Bruins know that.

"The best revenge is winning the game," said Chara.

The captain is almost right.

Notes: Since they played Wednesday in New Jersey, the Penguins did not have a formal morning workout in Boston. Evgeni Malkin skated with enforcer Eric Godard and a few other Penguins reserves. Malkin will miss his second consecutive game with an undisclosed injury.