It was painfully obvious to everybody in attendance, not to mention the millions watching at home on television, that Mike Rupp was mimicking Flyers forward Jaromir Jagr with his goal celebration during the second period of Monday's Winter Classic. But Rupp doesn't know what you're talking about, reporter asking a question about said salute.
Jaromir Jagr On Mike Rupp’s Salute: ‘Maybe That’s The Way He Celebrates’
"No, I, uh.... I don't know what you're talking about," he said after the game. "I don't know what you're talking about." The Rangers forward then told the Bergen Record that he was "just happy to get a goal and I'll leave it at that."
How’d Jagr feel about it, sitting on the bench during the second period, despite not playing with what he explained was a leg injury?
“I was hoping someone scored and we’d salute him back, but it just didn’t happen. It’s fine with me, it’s not my signature. I do it because I’m celebrating a goal. Maybe he does it too. Maybe he’s celebrating like that too, I don’t know. He doesn’t score many goals. That’s nothing against him, I didn’t see. Maybe that’s the way he celebrates.”
The other Flyers weren’t exactly paying attention to Rupp after his goal, but when asked about it after the game, they weren’t exactly thrilled with the notion.
"Oh, I didn't even see that," Matt Read told us. "I don't know. That's kind of, uh, wow I don't even know what to think about that. If I saw that I'd probably take a run at him or something like that. But I don't know, can't do anything about it now."
Marc-Andre Bourdon, the Flyers rookie defenseman who earlier in the game challenged Brandon Dubinsky to a fight, was sort of puzzled by Rupp's very obvious taunt of a future Hall of Famer.
“I don’t know, whatever,” Bourdon said. “If he thinks it’s funny, good for him. Jags scored a thousand-something points and over 500 goals, so I think if he tried to chirp him or anything, I don’t know if it worked too well. I don’t know what his purpose was.”
For more on this year’s Winter Classic, head over to SB Nation’s Rangers blog Blueshirt Banter and Flyers blog Broad Street Hockey. For everything Winter Classic in the build-up to the game, head over to our NHL Winter Classic StoryStream.
See More:
