There will be one less Cooke in the Wild’s kitchen as they try to come back against the Avalanche.
Matt Cooke has been suspended by the NHL for 7 games for his knee-to-knee hit on Colorado defender Tyson Barrie Monday. The suspension means he’ll miss game four Thursday night – and the rest of the first round series, should the Wild keep winning.
If the Wild win the series with the Avalanche, Cooke will also miss a portion of the Western Conference semifinals.
Cooke was in New York for an in-person hearing with league officials Thursday. Cooke’s history likely played a factor into the suspension. He’s been suspended multiple times over his career, but not since 2011.
Barrie is out 4-6 weeks with the injury. His teammates didn’t hide their feelings on Cooke’s suspension.
#Avs Johnson on #mnwild Cooke:
"I don't even know if there's a place for him in this game, it's disgusting what he's done to guys careers."
— Keith Leventhal (@KeithLeventhal) April 23, 2014
Head coach Mike Yeo said after practice today Nino Neiderreitter will take Cooke’s spot on the third line.
Yeo confirms @thelnino25 will play with Haula and Fontaine tomorrow. #mnwild #itsplayoffseason
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) April 23, 2014
Michael Russo of the Star Tribune laid out the team’s expected lines on Twitter.
#mnwild lines: Parise-Granlund-Pominville; Moulson-Koivu-Coyle; Nino-Haula-Fontaine; Heatley-Brodziak-McCormick
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) April 23, 2014
In net for the Wild will be Darcy Kuemper who stopped all 22 Colorado shots in Minnesota’s game three 1-0 overtime victory Monday. The 23-year-old spoke with the Pioneer Press’ Brian Murphy about getting that starting job.
While Kuemper and Cooke grab many of the headlines, the game three hero – goal-scorer Mikael Granlund – was profiled by NHL.com Tuesday. The piece talks about the 22-year-old Fin’s big expectation swings, “from hyped rookie, to disappointment, to pleasant surprise, to on-ice leader.” If you missed Granlund’s game-winner, here’s a GIF of the entire sequence.
Meanwhile, the NHL has confirmed the time of Saturday’s game five for 8:30 p.m. CDT.
