I'm about to say something that may boil the blood of the Bruin faithful out there, but I feel that it is a shocking and devastating truth that must be brought out to the masses:

The 2009-2010 Boston Bruins are not tough.

Unfortunately the pessimist in me has come out in full force as of late. Since the NHL Trade Deadline, my faith in the black and gold has drastically fell to a level I never thought possible. I have no idea where this belief has gone, but there is some. Well, at least I thought there was some. I'm going to be honest with you guys, I didn't watch the game yesterday. Between a semi-hangover and lack of sleep due to my wedding reception, I spent most of my Sunday unpacking our shit and/or sleeping.

However, this morning I watched the Matt Cooke hit on Marc Savard and was disgusted at what I had to watch. The act itself was loathsome, especially for us Bruins fans who will now be without our key offensive cog for some time. What pissed me off even more was the lack of emotion and retaliation set forth by Claude Julien and his band of merry hockey players.

There has been a constant argument today throughout the Bruins blogosphere, fans and even *gasp* on the radio talking about the decision to not retaliate on Cooke or the Penguins for the hit. Many think that it was a good idea and state the instigator rule, which states:

"47.21 Fines and Suspensions – Instigator - A player or goalkeeper who is deemed to be the instigator of an altercation for the third time in one Regular season shall be suspended for the next two regular season games of his team.

For the fourth instigator penalty in the same Regular season, the player or goalkeeper will be suspended for the next four games of his team. For the fifth instigator penalty in the same Regular season, the player or goalkeeper will be suspended for the next six games of his team.

During the Play-offs, any player or goalkeeper who is deemed to be the instigator of an altercation for the second time shall be suspended automatically for the next Play-off game of his team. For each subsequent instigator violation during the Play-offs, the automatic suspension shall be increased by one game.

Prior to the commencement of each Stanley Cup Final, a player or goalkeeper will have his current instigator violations removed from his current playoff record. They will remain part of his historical record." - NHL.com, Official Rules page

From what I saw on the video, the time on the third period was before the five minute mark, which means that this would be the rule in effect. Considering that this ruling states there is no clear cut suspension for an Instigator Penalty, why did Claude send one of his guys out to rip Cooke's head off?

My question to you guys is this: "What the hell do we pay Steve Begin and Shawn Thornton to do?"

Those guys came to the Bruins to be instigators, pests, the "Sean Avery" of our team. Yesterday was the perfect time to do this and Julien fluffed it off saying "We're going to let the league handle this". In case you haven't noticed Claude, Colin Campbell doesn't know shit when it comes to handing out suspensions and/or fines.

I've read that some fans think the Bruins are waiting until March 18, when the Penguins are coming to town, to get their revenge on Cooke. To that I say: Bullshit. I hate to break it to you guys, but the 2009-2010 Boston Bruins are not a tough, physical hockey team. This isn't the same group of guy we watched pummel guys up and down the ice last season.

Last year when Boston hosted Dallas, Steve Ott threw cheap shots up and down the ice but that team didn't lay down. They played physical with Dallas, got in Ott's face and even had Andrew Ference dropping the gloves against Sean Avery.

Where the hell was this last night? The move by Julien solidified something we've all been saying. The Bruins can afford to lose Shawn Thornton or Steve Begin for a game or two, they aren't the stars of the team. If Begin goes out there and cleans Cooke's clock (say that five times fast) and is suspended for it, then he's done his job. Steve Begin not anchoring the fourth line for a few games doesn't hurt Boston.

I have a feeling that the Bruins are going to "out-tough" themselves on March 18. Someone will try to be a tough guy and the Pens will end up on the power play and possibly score a goal or two from it. Much like my rant on the fans regarding Chiarelli's job at the trade deadline, the fact more people aren't pissed off at Julien for directly telling his players to back off is irritating!

In the long run, exacting revenge on March 18 does nothing if Marc Savard is out for the season. The team has had the offensive abilities like a legless person trying to do the mamba.

Yesterday the Bruins sent a message to its fans, its players and the rest of the NHL, it just wasn't a message we're used to.

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