from Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal,

When Matt Cooke’s skate sliced into the achilles tendon of Erik Karlsson’s left leg Wednesday, Ottawa’s playoff hopes went pfffttt. The Senators have trudged along without their No. 1 centre Jason Spezza, who had back surgery to repair some discs, but having to play without the incredibly gifted defenceman Karlsson, who won the Norris trophy last season, and looked like he might do it again a month into this lockout season, is the cruellest of blows.

They won’t be able to do it.

There is no more dominating player in the game today than Karlsson, who had six goals and was playing half the game on some nights. He has the puck on his stick all night long, and 90 percent of the time he is doing something very good with it. In many games, he’s not only unstoppable but he’s also indefatigeable. He can easily play 27, 28, 30 minutes a night, without breaking a sweat. Now, he’s likely out for the season, needing surgery, the victim of a sharp blade on an exposed leg in a tangle of bodies.

The Senators are crying foul because it was Matt Cooke and we all know his head-hunting rep, although he has calmed down dramatically the last season or so after having no choice but to change his style or he was out of the league. The Senators have every right to be fingering Cooke off his rap sheet, but after watching the play over and over, it looks like an accident. Cooke rode him into the boards and his leg came down on the back of Karlsson’s just above the top of his skate-boot. Not hard, but skate blades are sharp, very sharp.

continued

added 9:33am,