UNINTENTIONAL

"It's Matt Cooke, what else do I need to say?"

"You know who was involved. That's how it is"

"The cat's out of the bag.  You know what's up"

"Why would you hit a player like that?"

These are all quotes heard in the Ottawa Senators' locker room after their 4-2 loss in Pittsburgh.  During the game there was a very unfortunate incident involving Matt Cooke and Ottawa star player Eric Karlsson.  Here is the cut-and-dry walkthrough of what happened (and why it was really unintentional):

1.  Cooke went into the corner with Karlsson to try to get the puck from him.

2. Cooke pins Karlsson against the boards (completely legal).

3.  Cooke turns his head to the other way.  In addition, Cooke's left arm comes up to further block his           own vision.  Cooke had absolutely NO WAY OF SEEING Karlsson during this next portion of the play.

4.  Cooke's foot comes up inadvertently due to some shift of balance or something of that nature.

5.  Cooke's foot comes down on Karlsson's achilles, severing it.

There is no way Cooke could have known where his foot was going, because he had NO WAY OF SEEING anything to that side of him.

I'm sorry, Ottawa.  It sucks.  But he didn't mean to do it.  And, for the record, it IS possible to win without your two best players.  Just ask Pittsburgh.