So how do we know that in that terrible moment at 14:23 of the third period in Boston last March 7, when Marc Savard crashed to the ice after taking the unpenalized drive-by blow to the head from Matt Cooke that has damaged his life and harmed his career, how do we know that referees Tim Peel and Marc Joannette didn’t see the Bruins’ center flat on his back and think to themselves, “Little fake artist.”

The answer is, we don’t know, we don’t know that at all, but we sure know that’s what the Senior Executive VP of Hockey Operations, Colin Campbell, thinks of the still-ailing Savard, and we know it because he was foolish enough to write as much in an e-mail in code to Director of Officiating Stephen Walkom in February of 2007 that was broken on Sunday by Toronto blogger Tyler Dellow.

If there is one, there is more than one. Once essentially never happens in life. Once invariably is part of a pattern.

If the VP saw fit to savage Savard with words, how many other players has he similarly disparaged in communications to members of the officiating staff he is charged to oversee?

We also know that Campbell had sent a November 2007 e-mail to Walkom in which he inquired about the legitimacy of a call made against his son, Gregory Campbell, then a forward for the Panthers and now a Bruin who will presumably share a locker room with Savard when he is well enough to return. If there is one communication inquiring about a penalty call involving his son, there is more than one.

It could not have been a secret among NHL officials that the VP was known to be sensitive about calls against his son. The NHL sees no problem here. Deputy commissioner Bill Daly sent a ringing endorsement of Campbell to The Post in an e-mail yesterday afternoon in which he states, a) that the league has no plans to review Campbell’s status; b) that the league does not believe Campbell’s ability to function has been compromised; c) the league does not believe there is a problem of perception.

“I think it is fair to say that Colin continues to have the complete support of not only the League Office, but as importantly, of the 30 NHL clubs with respect specifically to his impartiality and integrity of his decision-making process as it relates to supplementary,” Daly wrote.

“The latter point with respect to the feelings of the Member Clubs has never been more evident than in the 36 hours since the ‘e-mail story’ was first posted on the Internet.”

Yes, certainly, because GMs and owners know it is a really good idea to speak out against the official who might well determine the team’s fate.

Daly and the league may have received votes of confidence from precincts around the NHL, but we have heard from several players who are concerned with this story’s implications and wonder how many other players have been similarly disparaged by Campbell and to what effect?

Players are wondering about the trickle-down theory of officiating as it flows from the top to the guys with the whistles.

No one can decipher Campbell’s record as the league’s supreme jurist. Campbell never would survive his publicly revealed scandalous words in another sport. He shouldn’t survive in the NHL, either. Campbell should do the honorable thing and resign.

And preferably before the “little fake artist” stops faking.

larry.brooks@nypost.com

