great snapshot of Evander 'Holyfield' Kane knocking out Matt Cooke

Video of the fight, below.


Saturday, April 10, Atlanta Thrashers rookie Evander Kane, named after boxing legend Evander Holyfield, lands a solid punch on the chin of Penguin's pest Matt Cooke, sending Bruins fans into ecstasy.


H/T bluelandblog.com click image for full view

On March 7, Cooke blindsided Boston Bruin forward Marc Savard with a shoulder to the head. Savard suffered a grade~two concussion and has not returned to the Boston line~up. Cooke, a repeat offender with several suspensions and a reputation for questionable hits, escaped N.H.L discipline.

Some believe it was an attempt by the league to avoid charges of hypocrisy. Back in October of 2009, Philadelphia Flyers captain Mike Richards laid out Florida Panthers forward David Booth in much the same manner. Unlike Cooke, who received no penalty for his hit, Richards was assessed a five~minute major for interference and a game misconduct, with no further action from the league.

Many are of the opinion that the N.H.L simply did not want to explain conflicting rulings between a star player and that of a shit disturber. I personally don't accept that explanation, seeing as how the league has taken a players past behavior into account in many cases. But one thing is clear, take the head shots out of the game. They do nothing positive for the game.



Atlanta coach John Anderson
"What goes around, comes around. That's all I can tell you."

From a report by Associated Press Writer, George Henry, it seems the Pittsburgh Penguins were more concerned with going after the 18 year old rookie for body checking Sidney Crosby, than actually playing to win.

...but the Penguins appeared to lose focus after Crosby objected to a check into the boards by Kane midway through the first period. Crosby was penalized for cross-checking Kane at 10:24.

Then the Penguin goons went after Kane.

Kane was behind Pittsburgh's net over 4 minutes later when Michael Rupp was given a 10-minute misconduct and Eric Godard was called for roughing.

Cooke was the third of four Penguins skaters penalized for tangling with Kane, who appeared to anger the Penguins for hitting Crosby into the boards twice in the first period.

Atlanta coach John Anderson:

"If they take exception to who gets hit out there, does that mean you are supposed to start a fight?" Anderson said. "I don't get it. Crosby is so great for this game, but when you're always around the puck, you're going to get hit a little bit. Every time he gets body checked, does that mean somebody is going to get attacked?

"Cooke came at an 18-year-old. What goes around, comes around. That's all I can tell you."