NHL senior vice president Mike Murphy held a news conference Tuesday to discuss the suspension of Canucks defenseman Aaron Rome and address the chippy play between Boston and Vancouver.
Murphy said the decision to suspend Rome was based on how late it was after Bruins forward Nathan Horton had passed the puck, as well as the targeting of the head.
"I thought it was a late hit," Murphy said. "I thought that the body was contacted. But I also thought that the head was hit…We tried to compare it with some of the other ones in the past. But it stands alone. It's why we made the ruling."
Murphy also mentioned the league's disapproval of unsportsmanlike play, namely the finger waving many Bruins players have been doing in reference to Alex Burrows' bite of Patrice Bergeron in Game 1. Referees have been told the next player to wave a finger in another player's face will receive a two-minute penalty, as well as a 10-minute game misconduct.
"We've addressed it with the teams as early as this morning," Murphy said. "I will be speaking with both general managers and coaches before the day's over about the crap that we're seeing, the garbage that is going on, some of the issues."
