Matt Cooke Given Game Misconduct For Hit On Adam McQuaid
BOSTON (CBS) -- In Boston, Matt Cooke will always be considered a Bruins enemy, and that's not going to change after Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals on Saturday night.
Cooke skated into the Boston zone in pursuit of the puck early in the second period. Adam McQuaid stood facing the end boards as the puck came to his stick when Cooke laid a body check into McQuaid from behind. As a result of the hit, McQuaid's collided violently with the glass, and the 6-foot-5 defenseman went down.
Initially, it did not appear as though a penalty was called, but after McQuaid remained motionless on the ice for several moments, a penalty was called. Cooke was issued a five-minute major for boarding and a game misconduct.
Bruins head coach Claude Julien was asked for his opinion on the hit by Pierre McGuire during the game broadcast.
"I saw it real quickly like everybody else," Julien said. "I mean, the guy's face goes right into the glass. Did he put himself in a vulnerable position? I'm not going to deny that, I don't know, we'll have to look at it."
Cooke, of course, is infamous in Boston for his hit on Marc Savard in 2010 which gave Savard a serious concussion and ultimately led to the All-Star's career ending. Cooke was not suspended for that hit on Savard, but he has been suspended four times by the NHL. He's been "a changed man" in the past two seasons, according to those who follow the Penguins, but his reputation hasn't been erased from the hockey world.
