And the Bruins have accepted the decision not to fine or suspend Burrows and are looking to move on from the incident.
“I had a chance to look at when we watched the game tape and we saw what happened,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said Thursday at the club’s media availability at the University of British Columbia. “As far as I’m concerned the league has made a decision and we move on. I think what’s more important for us is to move on to the next game than to put all our attention on something that’s already been ruled [upon]. We’re not the type of team that whines and cries about things like that. We just move on and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Bergeron agreed with that sentiment, though he also remained steadfast that Burrows did in fact bite him even if the league decided there was “no conclusive evidence” of an intentional bite.
“You know what, I’m over it,” Bergeron said. “To be honest with you, I’m looking forward for next game. We have to get back in the series. Like I said last night, it’s the league’s decision. I’ll let them make the call, make the decision. I have nothing else to say about it, I guess.
“He did it,” Bergeron added. “But, I mean, like I said, I’m over it. … I let the league take care of it. They did. I don’t want to whine about it.”
That was the party line for the Bruins, none of whom seemed particularly surprised or dismayed that Burrows was not suspended.
“The league made a decision,” forward Mark Recchi said. “It’s not for us to judge. Our focus is on playing games. They made their judgment and that’s fine with us. We have to worry about playing them on Saturday.”
The veteran Recchi did admit that he’s never seen such an act in his 22 seasons in the league.
“No, I haven’t seen that before, but it is what it is,” Recchi said. “The league handled it. We’re fine with it. We have to focus on Saturday.”
Julien has seen some wild action in his day, but most of that came in his playing days in the minors in the early 1980s when things in hockey were just a little more lawless.
“Those things were a lot different in those days,” Julien said. “In those days I remember a lot of gouging and a lot of biting. It was fair game at that time. Obviously, the rules have gotten a little tighter and those kind of things right now are deemed unacceptable. I just find that it’s too bad that something like that has to happen in the Stanley Cup Finals. I think there’s better ways of resolving issues than getting to that stage. But it is what it is and, like I said, we’re moving on here.”
Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault was a teammate of Julien’s for two seasons in Salt Lake City in the old Central Hockey League. He didn’t recall as many scrums and pushing matches as are seen in today’s playoffs, as things were settled more directly in those days.
“Back then you didn’t have a lot of scrums after the whistle,” Vigneault said. “If something was going to happen, it was going to be a fight. It wasn’t a lot of pushing and shoving. It was either, ‘Let’s go,’ or guys went back to their benches.”
Vigneault and the Canucks didn’t have much to say on Burrows’ bite on Bergeron, but were relieved that Burrows avoided a suspension.
“I’m not going to comment on that,” Canucks forward Maxim Lapierre said. “I have to focus on the ice. I’m not going to start a war. He’s a huge player for our team and he’s been playing great since the beginning of the season, so we’re pretty happy.”
Burrows plays on Vancouver’s top line with Daniel and Henrik Sedin and has 7-7-14 totals in 19 games this postseason, so his absence would have been a big blow to the Canucks.
“We need him out there,” Daniel Sedin said. “He plays in every situation. [He’s a] big part of this team. Obviously we’re happy to have him inside the rink.”
