Bruins retaliate against Cooke, lose to Penguins

REALEIGH (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) - Marc-Andre Fleury made 17 saves for Pittsburgh's first shutout of the season in the Penguins' 3-0 victory over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night.

See fan photos from the game

After their much-anticipated retaliation against Matt Cooke, the Bruins showed little passion despite fighting for a playoff berth. They are eighth in the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of the New York Rangers and Atlanta for the final spot.

Cooke, whose blindside hit sidelined Boston's Marc Savard indefinitely with a Grade 2 concussion in Pittsburgh on March 7, took the ice for the first time 1:53 into the game as fans booed loudly. Just 5 seconds later, he and Shawn Thornton brushed against each other in the faceoff circle to the left of the Penguins net.

They dropped their gloves and, in a brief exchange, traded punches before Cooke's helmet fell off and he went to the ice. Thornton kept swinging while Cooke was crouched in a vulnerable position and was given a 10-minute misconduct. Both also received fighting majors.