Canucks duck penalty on 'biting' incident

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - The Vancouver Canucks don't understand the big fuss about a little bite. Neither did the NHL.

Vancouver forward Alex Burrows avoided a suspension in the Stanley Cup Finals Thursday when the NHL decided it couldn't prove he bit the finger of Boston's Patrice Bergeron during the Canucks' series-opening, 1-0 victory.

"That's how French guys say hello to one another," joked Alexandre Bolduc, who centered the Canucks' fourth line in Game 1.

Daniel and Henrik Sedin also laughed about such a silly incident involving their linemate heading into Saturday night's Game 2 in Vancouver. 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.

The opener drew a 3.2 overnight rating and 6 share on NBC. That's up 14 percent from last year's Flyers-Chicago Game 1 and the highest since a 3.7 for Buffalo-Dallas in 1999.