While the New York Islanders and the NHL thought Tsyplakov's hit was clean, the Philadelphia Flyers certainly disagreed.

ELMONT, NY -- At 8:23 of the first period in their 5-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders forward Maxim Tsyplakov laid a huge hit on Ryan Poehling while defending a shorthanded chance:

Poehling suffered an upper-body injury and did not return after being helped off the ice. 

After breaking up a mini-scrum, the officials gathered. They decided to call the hit a major penalty, which allowed them to make a final ruling via video replay.

They concluded that Tsyplakov's hit was legal, which caused Flyers head coach John Tortorella to lose his mind. He called it a "f----- headshot", per our lip-reading skills. 

It didn't help Torts or the Flyers that Bo Horvat buried a power-play goal shortly after. 

For the rest of the first period, the Flyers players took shots at Tsyplakov whenever possible. Garnet Hathaway was the main culprit, even taking a penalty for slashing, which didn't stop him from continuing to go after No. 7.

To Tsyplakov's credit, he never deviated from his game plan and never lost his cool. He understood the situation. 

Do you think the hit was dirty or clean? Let us know in the comments below.

Here's what the Islanders and Flyers had to say postgame:

NEW YORK ISLANDERS

Maxim Tsyplakov: "I think it was a good hit. I didn't think it was dirty, but I didn't want to injure a guy. I hope he is okay. I think their team’s response is normal after this kind of hit.”

Bo Horvat: "They were all over Tsyplakov for a clean hit. It's unfortunate he got hurt, right? You never want to see anybody get hurt, obviously. I didn't see it, but obviously, when they took a look at it, they thought it was a clean hit. And I thought he handled the rest of the game really well."

Anders Lee: "[Poehling] makes a move towards the middle with guys coming back towards the net, and the ref saw the replay and made the call,"

Patrick Roy: "I understand why John [Tortorella] would be mad about seeing his player being hurt, but at the same time, I agree with the call on the ice. I saw the exact same thing as the referees. And I think the referees did the right thing in a way that they called it a major to make sure they have a better look at it. And I agree with the call."

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

Sean Couturier: "Emotions were high. Tough loss with Poehling going down there and guys trying to stick up for him. We'll kill those kinds of penalties, but we gotta regroup at some point. And I thought we did a good job in the second of responding the right way."

Garnet Hathaway: "We've talked about emotions before, and every sense of the game, whether you're emotional when a teammate gets hit as you saw, or you're playing a really big team or on a losing streak. Emotions play a big part in this game. So yeah, we chatted about it today, but it's also something we talk about a lot [...] I didn't watch the hit. I don't think it will help if I give you my opinion."

John Tortorella: "Good [to see his players were going after Tsyplakov]. I didn't refocus anybody. I told them to take care of Poehling [...] I thought the whole situation gives you a chance to galvanize with one another. They were concerned about Poehling. Everybody was. That's the way the group is. We have struggles. We did some dumb things tonight at certain times, but it's a good group. And when those types of situations arise, that's when they pull together.’

Flyers quotes courtesy of The Athletic's Kevin Kurz

Stay updated with the most interesting Islanders stories, analysis, breaking news and more! Tap the star to add us to your favorites on Google News to never miss a story.