BOSTON -- Bruins coach Claude Julien usually speaks in measured tones, so he surprised the media this morning when he suggested Canucks forward Maxim Lapierre made a mockery of the NHL ruling after teammate Alex Burrows bit the index finger of Patrice Bergeron.
Lapierre put his fingers near the mouth of Bergeron in Game Two, apparently taunting him after Burrows was given a free pass for biting Bergeron. Julien took exception this morning because it flew in the face of the ruling.
"The NHL rules on something, they decide to make a mockery of it, that's totally up to them," Julien told reporters after the morning skate. "If that's their way of handling thing, so be it. We can't waste our time on that stuff."
Julien later told French-speaking reporters that Lapierre was being disrespectful to the league and wondered if that's why Lapierre played for three teams this year alone. Lapierre started the season in Montreal before going to Anaheim and finally Vancouver.
"I not going to comment on that," Lapierre said. "Everybody is trying their best to try to win the games. What happened on the ice happened on the ice. I'm not going to comment."
--- Bucky Gleason
