Senior vice president of hockey operations Colin Campbell spoke to Marchand and Bruins general manager Don Sweeney on Saturday about Marchand¡¯s actions against Tampa Bay a night earlier. Marchand licked Lightning forward Ryan Callahan on the face during Game 4 of their second-round series after appearing to do the same to Toronto¡¯s Leo Komarov earlier in the playoffs.

The league says Marchand has been put on notice that his actions are unacceptable and that similar behavior in the future will be dealt with through supplemental discipline. He could be fined or suspended by the NHL if he continues to lick players.

¡±All I¡¯m going to say is there is absolutely no place in our game for that [url=http://www.dolphinsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-daniel-kilgore-jersey]http://www.dolphinsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-daniel-kilgore-jersey[/url] ,¡± Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. ¡±I don¡¯t get it, I don¡¯t understand it. How would you feel if I walked over to you right now and gave you one big lick? Right from the chin all the way up. There¡¯s just no place in the game for that.¡±

After the game, an overtime loss that put Boston down 3-1 in the series, Marchand said Callahan punched him in the face four times.

¡±He just kept getting close,¡± Marchand said. ¡±Nothing big.¡±

Told that Callahan compared licking to spitting and said it should be penalized accordingly, Marchand said: ¡±That¡¯s cute. Good for him.¡±

Marchand¡¯s antics were the talk of rinks on Saturday. Penguins forward Tom Kuhnhackl said it was impossible to avoid hearing about Marchand licking Callahan because it was all over social media.

When asked if one benefit of wearing a full face shield was protection from being licked, Pittsburgh¡¯s Carl Hagelin said: `I¡¯m not going to answer that. Funny question, though.¡±

Some Winnipeg players watched the game while in Nashville and had a variety of reactions. Jets forward Adam Lowry said he probably would¡¯ve punched Marchand ¨C the kind of response the known instigator likely was looking for ¨C while coach Paul Maurice said, ¡±It gives me the willies.¡±

¡±It¡¯s a play I¡¯ve never seen happen before in hockey [url=http://www.authenticssanfrancisco49ers.com/cheap-cassius-marsh-jersey]Cassius Marsh Color Rush Jersey[/url] ,¡± Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey said. ¡±That¡¯s the thing in the playoffs. Crazy stuff goes on and you have to keep a level head.¡±

Predators players talked among themselves about Marchand, asking each other what they would do in that situation.

¡±It would kind of be funny, but in the moment it probably wouldn¡¯t be very funny,¡± defenseman P.K. Subban. ¡±I¡¯m sure looking back you¡¯re like, `I got licked in a hockey game.¡¯ It¡¯s just weird, you know?¡±

For all the trash-talking, pushing and shoving that goes on in hockey, especially with the Stanley Cup as the ultimate prize, the line is usually drawn at spitting. Licking is just as unsanitary and [url=http://www.cardinalsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-mason-cole-jersey]http://www.cardinalsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-mason-cole-jersey[/url] , to most players, unwelcome.

¡±It¡¯s like spitting on someone. It¡¯s extremely disrespectful,¡± Lowry said. ¡±You got to respect your opponents. I get playing hard in a series and there might be some dislike between guys, but there¡¯s a certain line that shouldn¡¯t be crossed and that¡¯s one of them.¡±

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AP Sports Writers Teresa M. Walker in Nashville, Tennessee, and Jimmy Golen in Boston contributed to this report.

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More NHL hockey: The Brooklyn Nets have been creative in their attempt to start from scratch after selling away the future of the franchise five years ago hunting for a championship that never came.

Two months after capping a third straight losing season, the Nets hope their latest acquisitions might be part of the solution.

Brooklyn continued its rebuild Thursday night, selecting Dzanan Musa with the 29th overall pick and Rodions Kurics at No. 40 in the NBA draft.

Musa was taken with the pick acquired from the Toronto Raptors in a trade last July, which also landed forward DeMarre Carroll.

The Nets have been trying to salvage something of the previous drafts after the last regime sent three unprotected first-round picks in 2014 [url=http://www.authenticsdetroitlions.com/cheap-da_shawn-hand-jersey]Da'Shawn Hand Color Rush Jersey[/url] , 2016 and 2018 to the Boston Celtics and the right to swap first round picks in the 2017 draft for Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry.

The trade netted Brooklyn a disappointing second-round exit that season and sent the organization into a downward spiral with no draft assets to show for it.

So now, the Nets are looking abroad.

Brooklyn has invested heavily in its international scouting department since New Zealand-born general manager Marks took over in February 2016, and that group led them to Musa and Kurics.

Musa, 19-year-old from Bosnia and Herzegovina, spent the last three seasons with KK Cedevita, leading them to the Croatian League championship. At 6-foot-9, he averaged 13.3 points and shot 46.2 percent from the field in 30 league games.

Brooklyn was impressed with what they had seen at the international level from Musa, who has been playing professionally since the age of 16.

¡±I think from scouting perspective we¡¯ve enjoyed watching him play. Very dynamic [url=http://www.newyorkjetsteamonline.com/sam-darnold-jersey]Authentic Sam Darnold Jersey[/url] ,¡± general manager Sean Marks said. ¡±Obviously his offensive skills are pretty special. (A good) size for (his) position. He has been playing at a very, very high level. A very competitive young man.¡±

Kurocs, a 6-foot-9 prospect, was tabbed by draft experts in years¡¯ past as a first-round selection but sat mostly on the bench for FC Barcelona in the Spanish ACB League and in Euroleague competition this past season. He averaged 1.4 points in 10 games.

¡±I am not sure why he was there when we picked, but he is a guy that we had been targeting for some time,¡± Marks said. ¡±We¡¯re thrilled to get our hands on Rodions.¡±

Marks said he expects both players to join the Nets roster for the upcoming season.

Musa has a $1 million buyout clause with KK Cedevita. Rodions¡¯ contract calls for a $4 million fee to free him up from his Spanish club.

¡±There is a lot of development there with their bodies and so forth. Again, I think both (are) really great development pieces for our coaching staff, performance (and) so forth to get their hands on,¡± Marks said. ¡±I am intrigued to what they can do for both player. Playing in an elite level in Europe for quite some time [url=http://www.authenticscarolinapanthers.com/cheap-rashaan-gaulden-jersey]Rashaan Gaulden Color Rush Jersey[/url] , I think that transition that we talked about before will hopefully won¡¯t be seamless.¡±

Brooklyn also drafted at the 45th spot, taking Kentucky shooting guard Hamidou Diallo, and traded his rights to the Charlotte Hornets as part Wednesday¡¯s deal for Dwight Howard, who is expected to be bought out by the Nets.

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