Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and the alleged 3 a.m. Finnish nightclub incident

Perhaps the most incredible news about Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry making headlines at 3 a.m. at a night club is that we had no idea they were Russian.

Oh, wait, what was that you say? North American players occasionally hit the club into the wee hours too, especially if they're on a paid vacation to Europe to compete in hockey's answer to the N.I.T., the IIHF world championships? Well then.

The Anaheim Ducks stars have become tabloid fodder over in Finland and Sweden, according to Terry Jones of QMI, who writes about an incident in a Helsinki club called Circus:

MTV3, the official broadcaster of the world hockey championship, reported on its website that Getzlaf, winger Corey Perry and a few other Team Canada players were involved in an incident with drunken Finnish fans following their Saturday night overtime loss to the United States.

Getzlaf was alleged to have waved his fist at the Finns and said that "you do not want this" of his fist. Another report said proclaimed himself as "the captain of the Anaheim Ducks" and that he "threatened to knock everyone out in three minutes."

Three minutes seems like such an arbitrary number. For the record, the translation of a Swiss newspaper story on the incident reads: "Three minutes, and all ye are fallen." Which is amazing.

Here's a photo of Getzlaf at the bar. The incident allegedly happened after 3 a.m., following an night in which Getzlaf was alleged to have chatted up former Miss Finland Sara Sieppi, according to Aftonbladet. Sieppi told MTV3: "Yes, we talked to each other. But there was no flirting. A perfectly normal conversation."

The translated Sanomat story is here.

Jones reports that there was no physical altercation between the fans and players — sorry, no Mikhail Grabovski gets nutty in Vancouver story here. He also reported, via Twitter: "Brian Burke was heading to airport and talked to Getzlaf and guys in lobby early Sunday a.m. Not inebriated. No Miss Finland."

If the players comment on their tabloid infamy, we'll add it here. Meanwhile, both were in action for Team Canada against Team France on Monday, because Barry Trotz does not coach Team Canada.