Ron’s really tapped into human morality here…
Great read.  If you live in Adamstown, Pitcairin…

Too bad the Bruins are soft.  No “calling out” will occur to satisfy any Bruin fan.  Best they can do is hope that the B’s win in a SO…

That said, should Chara make Cooke’s head pop off, I don’t think I’d shed one tear…

Posted by Unicorn Force from DC (but like everyone here, I'm not a local) on 03/17/10 at 11:30 PM ET

Borges may have gotten the byline, but Campbell wrote this story when he didn’t suspend Cooke.  At least Borges is (at face value, at least) arguing to keep it within the boundaries of the law of the game.  Should be an interesting game to watch if it halfway meets expectations.

Posted by Dan from Pittsburgh, PA on 03/17/10 at 11:31 PM ET

If the Bruins are more concerned about avenging Savard than they are winning a very important game, I would welcome that. I’d rather have the two points. Is Borges usually this neanderthal, or did Milbury have him type his thoughts at gunpoint?

Posted by cs6687 on 03/17/10 at 11:32 PM ET

“Make him bleed for the sins of his teammate.”

Yep, that seems fair, huh? What an idiot.

Anyway, all these Boston columnists, and Jack Edwards who is the biggest homer and really laughable at this point, they seem to think that it’s the 1970s or something. They are in for a rude awakening tomorrow night. If they do try something, players will be tossed out at any sign of an attempt to injure someone.

Aside from fights, the Bruins would be really stupid to do anything but hit Cooke and Crosby cleanly, because they’re barely in the playoff picture. They’re lucky that teams like the Rangers and Thrashers suck because they probably should be in 10th place. The East has sucked this year.

Posted by LGP8771 on 03/17/10 at 11:46 PM ET

Just posting that quote takes it out of context. It makes it look like Borges wants the Bruins to injure Crosby. Thats not what he is saying. He want the Bruins to “not just hockey, but old fashioned hockey. Knock-your-block-off, knock-your socks-off hockey. Take-you-into-the-boards, take-you-to-the-ice, take-you-into-the-goalie hockey.” Is there really anything wrong with that?
He isn’t calling for them to pull a “Steve Downie” but to make Crosby pay everytime he touches the puck. Still not sure how anyone can defend what Cooke did. Any retribution the Penguins receive because of Cooke’s hit to Savard is more then deserved.

Posted by Mitch on 03/18/10 at 12:04 AM ET

Ron Borges makes me laugh.

“What the Bruins should do instead is play their most physical game of the year. Contest every loose puck. Take Sidney Crosby down every chance they get….Same is true of Evgeni Malkin if he plays.”

That is the way they should play every game if they want to win. If you want to win in the NHL you have to play a tough, physical game of hockey, not dirty but tough. Doing it because they took one of your guys out is silly. If you want to beat the best you have to play tough every game not just to get even.

Posted by Bo from FL. on 03/18/10 at 12:49 AM ET

“Make him bleed for the sins of his teammate.”

one of the lamest lines ive ever seen in journalism. come on dude, save the Fundamentalist Quasi-Religious rev people up for war garbage to politicians and morons who believe it.

“SACRIFICE YOUR BLOOD IN VENGEANCE FOR OUR BRETHERN”

or just go out and slap a puck around on some ice for millions of dollars.
yes, its a game. you idiot.

Posted by Death Metal Nightmare from MKE on 03/18/10 at 01:31 AM ET

And he is absolutely right, only way to make the penguins pay.

Posted by Lucce on 03/18/10 at 02:50 AM ET

I think the article is pretty stupid, but for the Bruins to play a physical, yet clean game would be the right thing to do. But at the moment they start taking cheapshots at other Pens they become wrong. I think no Penguin defends Cooke, so that would be a mistake. Instead they should make Cooke fight.

Posted by Andy from FightNight on 03/18/10 at 03:54 AM ET

Another writer who only has something to say about the NHL when it has to do with something negative. Especially the ones who wear make-up and act as if they know what they’re talking about.

Take him into the boards. Knock him down every chance you get. Bounce a puck off his nose if you can. If you get a blind side shot at him, put your body through his chest

Bo’s correct, teams have been trying to do this to Crosby since he entered the league?

Forget all the phony media chest beating about mandatory retribution for Cooke’s cheap shot from the blind side…That kind of talk is for children or the kind of guys who talk the talk but would never walk the walk.

Yeah this is phoney media talk about going after Crosby by a plagiarest who never walked the walk.

Posted by Lindas1st from New England on 03/18/10 at 06:18 AM ET

I’m predicting a busy day on KK tomorrow talking about this game. Tony will likely have a blog stating that the ratings for this game surpassed all other regular season games. Maybe this is a new phase in NHL marketing? Nah, they’re not that clever/competent.

Posted by redxblack from Akron Ohio on 03/18/10 at 06:53 AM ET

I wish it would happen but i don’t see nothing happening from a team that has same character as there coach. they had their chance in Pittsburgh. Maybe they grew a pair btw games.

Posted by FlyersFan on 03/18/10 at 07:01 AM ET

The Bruins goal should be simple: up 4-0 after 2 periods then goon it up in the 3rd. Take cheap shots at Cooke,Crosby and Malkin and anybody else you can get to. Too bad we can’t loan them Ovechkin for the night for a few ‘accidental” knee on knees and some pushes.

Posted by eric from baltimore on 03/18/10 at 07:04 AM ET

I won’t have any problem if the Bruins targeted any Penguin as long as it’s legal, which is what the author suggests is the proper response. That’s what real hockey is about, so let them come with all the physicality they have left.

A fight that should somehow settle the account is the pinnacle of hockey justice stupidity. Did Booth really make Richards pay through that clumsy fight that could easily have sidelined him yet again? No, he didn’t.

Bravado is nice on the cinemagic screen, but why not use the brain for once.

Posted by Moq from Denmark on 03/18/10 at 09:20 AM ET

Unfortunately, this is the NHL that Colin Campbell has created with his bizarre, inconsistent and largely inconsequential system of punishing players.

Right now you can run a guy and put him out for the season and if you are not a ‘repeat offender’ as determined by a series of steps that is borderline idiotic it’s unlikely you will face a suspension of any real length.

The result of that system is, obviously, frontier justice… especially since the instigator penalty has effectively removed previous methods of evening things up from common use.

Now if a guy runs one of your players and hurts them or puts them in a position where they could have been hurt, the only real means of recourse is to do that exact same thing to one of their players.  The league is highly unlikely to suspend the initial perpetrator, and if you charge across the ice and start a fight the respondent will always be punished more severely than the perpetrator.

Well done, Bettman and Campbell.  Way to base the league on star players and then create a system where you put a bounty on their heads.

Posted by HockeyinHD on 03/18/10 at 09:25 AM ET

Bounty?

Posted by redxblack from Akron Ohio on 03/18/10 at 10:08 AM ET

The central argument of this article is actually a plausible and fair response. Don’t do anything dirty, just play tough, grinding hockey (which is something the Bruins should be doing anyway). It just happens to be so poorly written that it’s difficult to get that point.

Posted by steve on 03/18/10 at 10:14 AM ET

The washington post has bad hockey articles, but i think this makes wilbon look like a hockey expert. 

why would Campbell care if there is a fight?  Unless there are 3rd and 4th men in, its 5 for both players and that’s it.  it will probably happen on cookes 1st or 2nd shift, and the rest of the night goes on as normal.  there can be 20 fights in this game and no punishment.

as someone already said, its stupid for the bruins to goon it up and lose the game they need to win.  then again, apparently you can slewfoot crosby and get away with it, so maybe they should give that a go

Posted by jon on 03/18/10 at 02:16 PM ET

i feel like people who take borges point of view have never watched hockey in their life.

Posted by boo kershaw from k on 03/18/10 at 10:51 PM ET