ST. PAUL, Minn. — Wild forward Matt Cooke made a statement in front of reporters Thursday as Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie watched his team skate from the visiting bench at the Xcel Energy Center.

Barrie, who leads Colorado’s blue line with 13 goals, will miss Thursday’s Game 4 series against the Wild after taking a vicious knee-on-knee hit from Cooke in Monday’s 1-0 overtime loss. Cooke was suspended for the sixth time by the NHL on Wednesday night.

Cooke will begin his seven-game suspension in Game 4; Barrie could be out for more than a month.

“First and foremost, I want to say that I’m disappointed and sorry that Tyson Barrie can’t play for the Colorado Avalanche tonight. I wish that he could,” Cooke said. “Unfortunately, it was not my intent to collide with him knee on knee. I think it was my intent to finish my check. Playoffs are a hard, physical time, and it’s my job to be physical. I led my team in hits all three games, and it’s an intense time. I’ve led my team this year in hits and in this series. Since March 20, 2011, I’ve been a changed player. I’ve approached the game differently. I think differently about the game. The stats that I’ve collected over those three seasons prove that I’m a changed player, and the plays that I make and the plays that I don’t make prove that point as well. At the end of the day, this situation was not my intent.”

Cooke is making $1.5 million this season ($2.5 million cap hit) but will not forfeit any of that. Players are not paid from salaries during the playoffs, and only get round-by-round playoff bonuses at approximately $15,000 per series. Thus, if the Wild loses this series, Cooke will still collect nearly half or more of Minnesota’s per-player take, depending how long the series goes.

Mike Chambers: mchambers@denverpost.com or twitter.com/mikechambers