ELMONT, NY -- The New York Islanders defeated the New York Rangers 4-2 on Tuesday, but many of the postgame comments were directed at a third-period collision between Mika Zibanejad and Adam Pelech.
At 8:51 of the third period, with the Rangers regrouping, Zibanejad started to head towards the bench with Pelech in his path. As the forward proceeded to head off, Pelech was playing his position when the two skaters collided, and Zibanejad seemingly got the worst of it:
Rangers bench boss Peter Laviolette didn't take kindly to what happened.
"He came back at the end, from that vicious hit," Laviolette said. "Yeah, he came back. That vicious shoulder/elbow to the head. Watch it." He later said he felt that Pelech's end of the exchange was deliberate.
Islanders head coach Patrick Roy, like many, thought completely differently.
“Accidental? You’re right. No, it was accidental," Roy said after the game. "The referee [Kelly Sutherland] was in a really good position to see it."
"I think Kelly (Sutherland) was in a really good position to see everything, and he made it clear right away that it was accidental. But sometimes frustration makes you say things.”
With the season winding down, the two teams have one more regular season matchup on Saturday, and the bad blood is likely to continue.