While Ottawa Senators GM Bryan Murray probably won’t want to hear it, Pittsburgh Penguins winger Matt Cooke told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Josh Yohe that Erik Karlsson’s injury was an accident.
“He and I were engaged. He went down screaming,” Cooke said. “I didn’t even know what happened.”
Yohe also canvassed Senators players following the incident (and 4-2 loss). Defenseman Marc Methot is in the no benefit of the doubt camp, for one:
“Cat is out of the bag. You all know what’s up,” Methot said.
(At least it seems like he’s saying Cooke is a dirty player.)
Meanwhile, Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson was relatively diplomatic.
“I don’t know if it was intentional. But why would you hit someone that way?” Alfredsson said.
Again, considering how upset many are about losing the reigning Norris Trophy winner, that’s about as ambivalent as it gets.
In case you’re imagining a game full of retribution for Cooke, it could be a while. The teams face each other for the last time on April 23, which means that precious playoff positioning could take priority over the Sens seeking revenge against the 34-year-old forward.
Keith Jones and Mike Milbury break down the aftermath in the video below:
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