Bruins retaliate for Cooke's hit on Savard

Mar 19, 2010 - 12:14 AM BOSTON (AP) -- The Bruins wasted little time retaliating against the Pittsburgh Penguins' Matt Cooke for his blindside hit that left Boston center Marc Savard with a Grade 2 concussion.

In the teams' first meeting since Savard was hurt by a shoulder-to-head hit March 7 in Pittsburgh, Cooke and Boston's Shawn Thornton dropped their gloves at 1:58 of the first period Thursday night, 5 seconds after Cooke took the ice for the first time to loud boos.

During a brief exchange, one punch knocked Cooke's helmet off and he dropped to the ice while Thornton kept swinging with Cooke crouched in a vulnerable position. Each was given a major penalty for fighting and Thornton got a 10-minute misconduct for continuing to swing.

Savard, an outstanding playmaker, is out indefinitely after being hurt with 5:37 left in Pittsburgh's 2-1 win. Cooke was not penalized or suspended for what Boston coach Claude Julien called "definitely a dirty hit."