It's safe to say Peter Laviolette seemed a little ticked off after the New York Rangers' 4-2 loss to the New York Islanders on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters post-game, the Rangers head coach deemed two hits from Islanders players as "vicious."
First was the collision between Rangers centre Mika Zibanejad and Islanders defenceman Adam Pelech.
While Pelech was looking the other direction, Zibanejad skated face-first into his extended elbow. Zibanejad fell to the ice, clearly in distress, and had to be helped to the locker room by a trainer.
According to Laviolette, the hit was intentional.
"He came back (to the bench) at the end from that vicious hit. He came back. That vicious shoulder, elbow to the head. Watch it," the coach said after the game.
Laviolette then had the same thing to say about Noah Dobson's hit from behind on Vincent Trocheck.
"Vicious," he said. "From behind."
The hit on Trocheck occurred in the final seconds of Tuesday's game, and the Rangers centre was clearly incensed himself.
As the Islanders celebrated their fourth goal of the night, Trocheck was seen venting his frustration at the referee who witnessed the previous play and let it go without a call.
While both hits were deemed acceptable by the referees, Laviolette obviously disagreed. Now we'll see if the league takes any issue.
For his part, Islanders head coach Patrick Roy disagreed with Laviolette's description.
"It was accidental," Roy said of the Zibanejad-Pelech hit. "Sometimes frustration makes you say things."
Regardless of the intent, the Rangers will likely seek their own revenge on Saturday when these two rival teams meet again.
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