Cooke’s Clean Hit Sets Tone For Penguins

8:20 into last night’s Pittsburgh/Montreal Eastern Conference semifinal, the spotlight was once again on Penguins agitator Matt Cooke.

Unfairly.

Certainly Cooke has a history. Lest we forget this little dance he performed all over Marc Savard’s temple earlier this season.

But when Andrei Markov was cleanly sent into the corner boards by Cooke minutes into a 1-1 tie in Game 1 Friday night, it set a tone.

Sure, the Penguins power play success (4 of their 6 goals came on the man advantage) quadrupled what the Washington Capitals were able to do in seven entire games. They chased Jaroslav Halak. They imposed their physical will.

It was Cooke, though, who sent a message – in the form of a clean, good hockey hit – that this series was going to be different.

(Quick side note: Props to the guy in the 2nd row at Mellon Arena rocking the old alternate Flying Penguin jersey customized with Jiri Slegr’s name – solely because I would probably be to embarrassed to admit I owned a Jiri Slegr jersey.)

Of course it’s unfortunate that Andrei Markov, clearly the Habs best defenseman in this playoffs so far, had his knee buckle under him because Cooke caught him while turning.

He’ll be vilified in the Montreal press simply because of who he is and because of his past. But, as has become the sad norm in the National Hockey League, this followed the hit:

Probably not the time or place to be harping on players feeling the need to fight after a clean hit, but it reeks of Montreal trying desperately to match the Penguins physically. The Capitals, in stark contrast, don’t bang bodies. This series is a different animal for the 8th-seeded Canadiens.

And it wasn’t the right way to start it.