BOSTON -- Coach Claude Julien made it clear after the morning skate that fans should not expect any costly retribution Thursday night when the Bruins face the Pittsburgh Penguins.
It will be the first meeting between the teams since March 7, when Matt Cooke laid a blindside hit on Marc Savard, which resulted in a Grade 2 concussion that likely ended Savard's season.
"It's going to be a hockey game, guys," Shawn Thornton said. "You guys can keep building it up all you want, but it's going to be the same old, same old. It's going to be just another game. We need the two points and that's our focus."
If the so-called retribution doesn't occur tonight, Bruins players didn't sound too concerned with a negative response from fans.
"I've been here for three years. As far as I'm concerned, I've done my job here for three years," Thornton said. "The fans have been nothing but great to me, and to our team. I know what the expectations are, but it's not like it was last year when we had a 20-point cushion going into the last few games, so we need the two points. We're scraping for a playoff spot. As upset as [the fans] would be if they don't see bloodshed, I think they'll be more upset if we don't make the playoffs. At the end of the day, that's a bigger problem."
So, the Bruins are going with the philosophy that the 2 points are more important than retaliating for Matt Cooke’s cheap shot on Marc Savard. And realistically, that’s how they should be thinking. Every game is important as the Bruins are barely hanging on to the 8th and final playoff seed in the East. However, if the Bruins think that the fans will be happy if they beat Pittsburgh tonight, but fail to retaliate, they are sorely mistaken. Fans want to see the B’s go after Sidney Crosby, or Matt Cooke writhing on the ice in pain, or preferably both. According to an ESPN.com poll, 66 percent of fans would rather have the Bruins retaliate and lose the game, rather than win and not retaliate.
NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell will be attending the game tonight. Campbell could have perhaps prevented some of this tension if he did what was right and suspended Cooke (who is a repeat offender when it comes to dirty hits) in the first place. However, Campbell fucked up the whole situation, and now he might have a bigger problem on his hands after tonight. The NHL has also assigned its most experienced group of referees to the game tonight.
Hopefully, all this pregame talk from the Bruins is just for show, because if they don’t go after someone on the Penguins, I’m disowning them (with all the authority that I have). It’s time for the Bruins to sack up and play old school Boston hockey, where they play tough and physical and stick up for their teammates. As far as I see it, if the Bruins don’t try to get some retribution tonight, then it indicates that they don’t have what it takes to win in the playoffs anyway. Tonight, the whole league will be watching, and it is a chance for the Bruins to send a message, not only to the Penguins, but to the entire NHL. The Bruins need to show that they can play tough, inspired hockey, and prove to their fans and their opponents that they actually do have a little heart.
