The Vancouver Canucks did not understand the big fuss about a little bite.
Neither did the NHL.
Vancouver forward Alex Burrows avoided a suspension in the Stanley Cup finals when the NHL decided it could not prove he bit the finger of Boston's Patrice Bergeron during the Canucks' series-opening 1-0 victory. So, Burrows will be back on the ice for Game 2 tonight in Vancouver.
"That's how French guys say hello to one another," the Canucks' Alexandre Bolduc joked. "You want to show respect, you put your fingers in someone's mouth."
Both Burrows and Bergeron are French Canadians.
The twins, Daniel and Henrik Sedin, also laughed about the odd incident involving their linemate in what is shaping up as a gritty, goalie-dominated series. Roberto Luongo shut out the Bruins with 36 saves and Boston's Tim Thomas matched him until Raffi Torres scored with 18.5 seconds to play.
"We need him out there," Daniel Sedin said of Burrows. "He plays in every situation. [He's a] big part of this team. Obviously, we're happy to have him inside the rink."
Both teams realise they have bigger issues than the after-the-whistle shenanigans that happen constantly in the NHL, but particularly under play-off intensity. "I'm over it," Bergeron said after the Bruins' light practice. "I'm looking forward to the next game. We've got to get back in the series.
"Like I said last night, it's the league's decision, and I've got to let them make it ... I don't want to whine about that stuff. I don't care."
Burrows wasn't made available to reporters after the Canucks' practice. After the game, Bergeron said Burrows had bitten him while they scuffled following the first-period buzzer, even showing his bandaged right-index finger and saying he planned to take antibiotics.
In the television replay, Bergeron's gloved right-index finger did appear to go into Burrows' mouth. Bergeron claimed Burrows then bit down on him, but Burrows denied it.
Bergeron scoffed at the notion he had deliberately put his finger in Burrows' mouth. Both players had their gloves in the other's face at different points of the scuffle.
"It's too bad that something like that has to happen in the Stanley Cup finals," Boston coach Claude Julien said.
"I think there's better ways of resolving issues than getting to that."
Perhaps it is only fitting for the incident to be the main focus after a finals game coached by Julien and Alain Vigneault of the Canucks, who were both better known for fighting than scoring during their own playing careers.
"Things were a lot different in those days," Julien said. "In those days, I remember a lot of [eye] gouging, a lot of biting. It was fair game at that time. Obviously, the rules have gotten a little tighter."
* Associated Press
Stanley Cup finals is a special event for Canadians, a14
