Sports teams and athletes will find anyway to win, whether it is through steroids, illegal gear, what have you. Doesn't matter the sport, we have seen it through the MLB, NHL, NBA, the list goes on. Almost every sport has some sort of cheating history.
The Boston Bruins are no different, or at least not officially. In 2011, the Boston Bruins goaltender Tim Thomas was accused of using «illegal pads» throughout the Stanley Cup Finals.
There is no doubt that Thomas wore in-legitimate pads, it would be proven in court resulting in the lawsuit. Piku got sued by Vaughn for trying to pass off Thomas's altered pads as Vaughn pads to avoid detection. However, it's not unheard of for players to wear/use counterfeit equipment for benign reasons, typically when personal preference (or superstition) conflicts within their contracts with such company. The real question is whether or not Thomas's «Vaughn» gear gave him an advantage against the Vancouver Canucks in 2011.