Yeah Cooke is a good hockey player. He has a role on the team, and that role is being the aggitator. He plays this role really well, bothers goalies and harrasses player, yet he possesses enough skill to make him worth the money he was paid this offseason. He is a better hockey player than Jarkko Ruutu, Steve Avery, and Chris Neil, other aggitators, who all lack an offensive prowess.
Cooke also thrives on the penalty kill, but more often than not, he is the one in the box, so what good are those skills.
Referees hate him, thus making it nearly impossible for him to draw a penalty. Outside of getting high-sticked and drawing blood, or having a player take off his skate and stab him, the probability of Cooke putting us on the man advantage is very slim.
His hit against the Rangers was the last straw. I have been a supporter of Cooke simply for the fact that he was a Penguin. Considering myself a decent human being, I can't find it to forgive him this time. He is a repeat offender, who goes out of his way to hurt others. I'm all for big hits and fighting in hockey, its been that way forever, but cheapshot artists like Cooke need to go. How hard is it to just check a guy into the boards without raising an elbow with the hopes of decapitaing him.
Cooke's owner, Mario Lemieux, has been leading a crusade to eliminate head hunters from the game. What kind of credibility does it give Lemieux and his movement, if one of his own employees is the poster child of the "problem."
Cooke should atleast miss the next 10, which would have him available for the start of the postseason. But because of his rep, I could see it being more.
The Pens are in enough trouble without the loss of a top-9 forward. Injuries and an impotent powerplay are reasons enough for Pens fans to worry. Yeah they are still holding the 4th spot in the East, but Tampa is closing in. Home ice is important, so these points are crucial. Games against Detroit and Philly don't bode well for a team whose leading goal scorers are Chris Kunitz and Tyler Kennedy.
As I've mentioned before, Letang is exhausted without Crosby, Malkin and Orpik. He is trying to do too much. Without Orpik, he has to focus more on his defensive responsibilities, but without Sid and Geno, he has to focus more on his offensive abilities; thus spreading Tanger too thin. He played his best hockey at the beginning of the season, when he had support at both ends of the rink and could just focus on himself and his skill set.
How long will Fleury be able to keep this up. He has been good, but as of late, he has been letting up some of his patented "soft" goals. In previous years, he was prone to letting a weak shot through, but that was only when he wasn't "into" the game or lacked motivation. This year, he knows this is his team. The team will only go as far as he takes them, so the motivation is there. He has played 58 games, and I don't see him getting much of a break leading into the playoffs. Let's hope he can keep it going.
The powerplay stinks. Again it comes down to zone entry. They don't have anyone who can lug the puck. Although, if they had someone who could win an offensive zone faceoff, zone entry would be a moot point. Win a face off Staal, or get the hell off the ice.
We'll see where this roller coaster of a season goes, but to be honest, if I were the Pens, I would just bring my golf clubs with me on the trip to Tampa, because it seems like their vacations will begin early this year.
On a positive note, the Pirates have the chance to resign Ollie Perez. He was just cut by the Mets, who ate his $12 million contract for this season. Who on earth would have given Oliver Perez $12 million?
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