Whether Matt Cooke intentionally did this or not, we won’t know but it did happen. At the 16:18 mark of the third period, Cooke goes to throw a check on Washington’s Alexander Ovechkin and leads with the knee. Here is the video:
VIDEO: Matt Cooke Knees Alexander Ovechkin
Ovechkin needed help to come off the ice but did return later in the game on the Capitals powerplay in the period. While the discussion will happen if Cooke will get suspended or not on the play, Matt Cooke does have a reputation for laying bad hits.
The Penguins and Capitals started to get more emotion in the game and the spill over from the Winter Classic happened late in the third period. David Steckel fought Penguins newcomer Tim Wallace at the 7:52 mark of the third period and the scrum started to form around Cooke after the Ovechkin hit. The Penguins and Capitals will face off again in Pittsburgh in three weeks so the emotions of the series could start to spill over there as well.
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