Results of Thursday's Main Event

(I don't know where I stole this from but it is hilarious none the less)

The stage was set.  All the hype and vitriole that the Boston media had inundated their fans with over the last 11 days was finally ready to boil over.  The Pens and Bruins faced off last night in what was anticipated to be a game full of fights, cheap shots, and general goonery.

Did it live up to the hype?  Not really.

The Pens skated out on the ice to a rain of boos from the partisan home Boston crowd and you got the feeling that it was going to get ugly real quick.  The puck dropped and there it....wait a minute.  Nothing happened.  Oh, Cooke isn't on the ice yet.  Ok, here he comes for his first shift and...

There it is.  That's what we were all waiting for.  He was on the ice no more than 2 seconds after the face off when Thornton drops the gloves and they go.  I'm not going to lie and say it was a good fight.  It wasn't.  Cooke was beaten down and even after the refs jumped in to break it up, Thornton continued to pound on him.  He was no worse for the wear however and they both went to the box without so much as a whimper.  The crowd was elated at the fact that their enforcer finally exacted the revenge they have all been longing for and the frenzy was intense.  Short lived, but intense nonetheless.



That was about it.  Kennedy scored making it 1-0 after the Pens stupidly took a Too Many Men penalty.  The first 6-7 minutes of the second period saw the Pens on a powerplay...well not a powerplay literally, it is just Boston couldn't get the puck out of their zone and Pittsburgh dug in for a session of target practice.  Ponikarovsky scored the second goal for the Pens in the second and Michael Rupp scored the third goal in the third.  Final score 3-0, Penguins.  Finally, Fleury stops 17 shots and gets his first shutout of the season.  I can't believe it took till March to get it.  Unreal.

The only other highlight was this...a fight between Chara and Rupp which was more like an oak tree fighting a squirrel.  Chara has a 9 foot reach and weighs in at about 600lbs.  It's like Andre the Giant fighting, well anyone.  Rupp lost...so what.  Pens get a much needed 2 points as the Devils get dumped in overtime. 

It's Being Billed As The Most Anticipated Game

• Regular season game during the March stretch...check.
• Game featuring Olympic medal champions...check.
• Game with potential playoff implications....check.
• Eastern Conference rivalry...check.
• Insane, fight-laden, Battle Royale style hockey game...I hope not.

If you are a Boston fan, that seems to be what the media has been shoving down everyone's throats about tonights game at home against the Penguins.  Exacting revenge agains Matt Cooke is all anyone from Beantown has been talking about.  My only question is, how is this rational?

You are playing for a potential spot in the playoffs.  The Law Enforcement Czar of the NHL will be in attendance at the game, obviously watching every single play with a careful eye.  Why risk losing players down the stretch for penalties because of obvious premeditated intent to injur?  For that matter, why risk an imediate penalty at all to give the Pens a powerplay and a chance to put points on the board?  Eveyone has to know that any retaliation for something that happened almost two weeks ago, no matter how awful it was, is going to get penalized heavily.

I understand the anger and rage the diehard fans have at what happened.  If it happened to one of my players, I would be rightfully upset too, just as I was when Downie tried to break Crosby's legs the other night.  The sports writer media has been doing nothing but fueling the fire by posting things like this.  Or this.  Or even this half-rational article here.  They even have a poll to see what the general viewing public would like to see the Bruins do to Matt Cooke...A) Knock him out of the game with a dirty hit, B) Drop the gloves and fight, C) Go after Sidney Crosby, or D) Do nothing because a win is more important. 

It's playoff time, people.  I want to see a playoff style hockey game.  I want to see intensity, great scoring chances, great goaltending, and hard hitting.  I don't want to see WWE Smackdown.  That's on another channel.  Boston has one of the Original 6 franchises in the NHL with a storied history and reputation to uphold.  For the sake of your team and fans of the game, I hope you choose D.