Bruins don’t let max make them mad

Lapierre

BOSTON — The empty-net goal seems like one of the simplest plays in hockey. It definitely doesn’t usually require one to pay a physical price.

But after Phil Kessel sealed the Boston Bruins’ 4-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens with an empty-netter with 13.4 seconds left in the opening game of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series between the two hated rivals, Maxim Lapierre decided to add some pain to the play by riding the Boston winger into the boards.

Boston winger Milan Lucic then skated to Kessel’s defense and a brief scrum ensued. Lapierre and Lucic wound up with roughing penalties and 10-minute misconducts. After the game at TD Banknorth Garden, the Bruins weren’t h0lding a grudge or begging for any league-meted discipline for Lapierre.

“It might be a little bit of a sign of frustration on their part,” said Lucic. “But we can’t dwell on that too much. We’ve got to just enjoy the win for the rest of the night tonight.”

Head coach Claude Julien was just as unconcerned about the play, especially because his team didn’t let Lapierre get away with it.

“I’m one of those guys that understands it’s playoffs, there’s a lot of emotion, maybe there’s frustration and stuff like that. It’s part of the game,” he said. “I think it’s important for us to be smart and react properly. And I think Lucic went in there, his first priority was he was trying to protect Phil Kessel. …

“But I’m not going to stand here and whine about that stuff because that’s what playoff hockey’s all about. You stand tall for your team and you stand up for each other and that’s what they did and they were trying to send a message — even in the last 15 seconds. The stuff that happens there, if there’s something that needs to be addressed, it’s up to the league to do it. But as far as I’m concerned, that’s just playoff hockey.”

The league will have the last say on that matter. Thursday the NHL handed a one-game suspension to Philadelphia’s Daniel Carcillo for some extra-curricular activity at the end of the Flyers’ Game 1 loss at Pittsburgh. Here’s the play:

You’ve got to figure if the NHL is serious about enforcing punishment for this type of stuff at the end of games, Lapierre will be sitting out at least one contest.