April 22, 2014 - 5:19 PM
TORONTO - Don Cherry says he can't justify the hit Matt Cooke laid on Colorado's Tyson Barrie during Monday's playoff game between the Avalance and Minnesota Wild.
Cooke, who took out Barrie with a knee-on-knee hit in the second period of the Wild's 1-0 overtime win, was given a two-minute penalty on the play, but was later summoned for a hearing at the NHL office in New York.
"I have no excuse for Matt Cooke doing this. ... He sticks his knee out, plants his knee," Cherry said on his Coach's Corner segment of Hockey Night in Canada Tuesday as video of the hit was shown.
"What is the matter with this guy? ... It's absolutely ridiculous to do that."
Barrie, who Cherry referred to as Colorado's "best defensive guy," will need four to six weeks to recover from the torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee he suffered from the hit.
Cooke is scheduled to meet with the league Wednesday.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014