Bylsma on Cooke Craziness: 'More Than I Ever Imagined'

BOSTON -- NHL discipline judge Colin Campbell met separately with the general managers and coaches of the Bruins and Penguins approximately two hours before the start of the teams' grudge match on Thursday.

Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma (pictured) spoke with the media soon after, sounding like a man who cannot wait for the game to be over.

"This is more than I ever could have imagined," Byslma said, surveying a much larger media crowd than usual at his pregame briefings.

He would not give specifics of his meeting with Campbell and Penguins general manager Ray Shero, but said, "Everyone is aware of the circumstances. There is an understanding that everyone will be watching this game."

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"Everyone" includes Campbell -- the NHL's senior VP of hockey operations -- and officiating supervisor Terry Gregson. Recently retired future Hall of Fame player Brendan Shanahan, now a league exec, is also at TD Garden. Penguins Mario Lemieux is expected to attend.

Like Bruins coach Claude Julien, Byslma professed to only care about the points. But he was demonstrative in his support of wanted man Matt Cooke, whose blindside hit to Boston center Marc Savard on May 7 has turned this ho-hum regular season game into an event.

"This is not the first time a player had to go into a game thinking about what could happen," said Bylsma. "You anticipate it with some uneasy feelings and part of you looks forward to it being over.

"We're going out tonight with Matt Cooke to try and win a hockey game."