Will the Bruins finally stand up for their fallen teammate and seek retribution or will the "Big Bad Bruins" duck and run and head back into the hibernation known as the '09-'10 regular season?

-Stanley Cup of Chowder

All the hype tonight is about the big rematch with Matt Cooke (not the Pittsburgh Penguins) vs. the entire state of Massachusetts. However, the Bruins are desperately clinging onto their playoff lives, which means that while Boston fans might focusing on vengeance, the Bruins themselves understand the importance of two points.

Let's take a swing around the Bruins blogosphere to see what they're feeling. The Big Bad Blog sees the players as towing the company line and that two points are really the goal.

The players are not saying all that much though. Really, there is not much they can say. The instigator rule and prevents them from saying that they are going to go out and take Cooke down and purposefully going after specific players for vigilante justice has become a sensitive topic in the league. Either way, the eyes of Boston will be on Shawn Thornton, Mark Stuart and Milan Lucic to step up against Cooke early and often.

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Every Bruin is more or less saying the same thing — we need the two points tonight because we are fighting for a playoff spot. That is the bottom line.

Over at Something's Bruin, that sentiment is echoed, but in a more...umm...colorful way (PG-13 language, cover your toddler's eyes):

Look, I was a guy who was hoping that Shawn Thornton or Steve Begin would go out there and rip Matt Cooke's head off, but that was during the game in which the incident happened. Any sort of resentment or malicious feelings I've had towards Matt Cooke are seemingly gone. Why? Because the Bruins need to worry about locking up a playoff spot.

If they lose against the Penguins and lose against the Rangers on Sunday, they're sitting in ninth place (providing NY wins tonight) and everyone's crying into their bowl of Wheaties.

If Matt Cooke gets his head ripped off by Shawn Thornton and Steve Begin *&!$ down his throat and the Bruins lose, what the hell did they actually accomplish?

Hmm, so no advocate of a big brawl tonight? The Hub of Hockey thinks that a good scrap could be motivation for the Bruins to win -- and some numbers back up that claim:

But let’s face it; the majority of the folk watching this game tonight will be looking for the Bruins’ retaliation on Matt Cooke – waiting for someone to hand him his lunch after blindsiding Marc Savard in the last meeting on Mar. 7 at the Mellon Arena.

And for those of you who are on the fence about the retribution in tonight’s game – and whether or not you want to see the bloodshed that may occur, but rather playing hockey and gaining two must-needed points in the standings – I bring to you, "The best stat of the night".

The Bruins are 10-3-3 in 16 games in which Shawn Thornton has had at least one fight; 3-1-0 when Milan Lucic engages in fisticuffs; and 3-1-1 when Mark Stuart drops ‘em. It’s like a win-win scenario and an ideal situation for both sides.

Hockey Journal examines both sides of the argument. For what it's worth, the number of reasons to NOT expect a Royal Rumble-esque brawl doubles the number of reasons to look for flying elbows from the top rope.

In honor Cam Neely, who never got the true revenge he deserved to get on Ulf Samuelsson and Claude Lemieux, here are 8 reasons not to expect a bloodbath on Thursday:

8. It’s not Julien’s style – Teams are usually a reflection of the man behind the bench, and Bruins coach Claude Julien does not appear to be of the eye-for-an-eye mindset. He kept Thornton on the bench for the rest of the game after Cooke’s cheap shot and immediately expressed a desire for the league to handle the situation after the game. Even when the league failed to do anything, Julien has led the chorus about the two points at stake in the playoff race being too important to risk by seeking revenge.
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1. Cooke will just turtle – In the end, it isn’t completely up to the Bruins. Sure, they could jump Cooke and try to get in a few shots while he hides behind his visor and covers up until the linesmen come in to save him, but what exactly will that accomplish? He’s shown repeatedly throughout his career that he cares as little about earning the respect of his fellow players as he does about their safety and well-being. He frequently goes over the line with dirty hits going after opponents’ knees and heads, but rarely answers the bell when called out afterward. Will Thursday be any different? Or will he simply turtle and smile as his team goes on the power play?

On the other hand, the reason below may outweigh anything else.

In honor of Bobby Orr, whose Big, Bad Bruins never let anyone get away with such trangressions against a teammate, here are 4 reasons to hold out some hope after all:

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1. The players have to have some semblance of pride – The Bruins looked pathetic that Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh, and they’ve rightfully been called out for it ever since. But they do have players who have shown their commitment to their teammates over the years and their pride in wearing the Black and Gold. Thornton, Milan Lucic and Mark Stuart have stood up for teammates on plenty of occasions. Mark Recchi, Bergeron and Marco Sturm aren’t known for the pugilistic skills, but they play with passion and respect for the game. This is a team that came together last year when they stood up to Dallas’ antics, a fight-filled game that forged a strong bond and helped carry the team to the top of the Eastern Conference. This game is a chance to come together again, overcome adversity and gain some momentum to try to salvage what has been an utterly disappointing season.

Regardless of whether there's a fight or not, it's evident that fans want some form of bloodshed. With that in mind, please prep for the game by watching the greatest sports brawl in broadcasting history.