Talking it up

Everything gets magnified in the playoffs, particularly when reporters covering the same two teams for several consecutive games need to find things to write about. So the topic du jour this morning was “chirping,” particularly the on-ice exchanges between Vancouver’s Alex Burrows and the Kings’ Drew Doughty. Burrows is a known on-ice yapper, and he and Doughty earned matching roughing penalties in the second period of Game 1. Doughty played it coy this morning, and didn’t share too much about his on-ice verbal battle and what Burrows has said to him on the ice…

“Nothing specific,” Doughty said. “He’s just kind of trying to get under my skin. We kind of have battles back and forth, even starting from last year. We don’t really like each other, I guess, too much on the ice, but it’s a lot of fun. I just kind of have to stay away from that kind of stuff and not get myself in the box.”

Is it in English or French? “It’s English,” Doughty said. “`I think if it’s French, not too many people are going to understand, so there’s no point in saying it. It’s just in fun, I guess. It’s part of the game, and you just have to deal with it.”

Personal stuff, or just about hockey? “I don’t think he knows too much personally about me, so it’s just hockey-related,” Doughty said. “I’m not going to say too many of the things he says to me, but it’s fun out there.”

Doughty wouldn’t bite when encouraged by reporters to relay one of Burrows’ taunts. With a smile, he said, “I can’t remember. I block them out.”