Rangers’ Peter Laviolette goes scorched earth on Islanders after pair of ‘vicious’ hits

The New York Rangers suffered a 4-2 loss to the rival New York Islanders, and Rangers coach Peter Laviolette voiced anger regarding “vicious” hits during the game on Mika Zibanejad and Vincent Trochek, according to Greg Wyshynski of ESPN.

The first hit happened when Mika Zibanejad skated into the shoulder of Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech in the neutral zone. Both players had their eyes on the play that was happening in the Rangers’ zone when the hit happened. Zibanejad went to the dressing room, and did not play another shift, but did return to the bench late in the game. Peter Laviolette made it clear that he felt the hit from Adam Pelech was intentional.

“He came back at the end from that vicious hit. He came back. that vicious shoulder, elbow to the head. Watch it,” Laviolette said, via Wyshynski. ”

Islanders head coach Patrick Roy disagreed, saying it was accidental.

“No, it was accidental,” Roy said, via Wyshynski. “The referee was in a really good position to see it. I was more afraid that Pelly might get hurt on that one. (Zibanejad) was the one that hit Pelly. It was totally accidental. There’s no doubt in my mind. … I don’t know why we’re talking about this, quite honestly. I’m a little surprised. It’s clear in my mind that it was accidental. We could talk about it for an hour if you want to, but I think we’re wasting our time. It was accidental.”

The second hit happened when Noah Dobson of the Islanders hit Vincent Trochek into the end boards, which angered him at the time, causing him to argue with referee Kelly Sutherland. Laviolette said that was a “vicious” hit as well.

“Vicious, from behind,” Laviolette said, via Wyshynski. “It was hard out there tonight having to get through all of that. It was hard, but our guys kept fighting and battling until the end.”

The Rangers and Islanders will play again on Saturday at Madison Square Garden, so it will be interesting to see if there is any carryover going into that game.

Rangers trying to clinch President’s Trophy

The Rangers have been the hottest team in the NHL as of late, despite the loss to the Islanders. They are in position to clinch the President’s Trophy with a strong finish in the last three games of the season.

The bigger priority is going into the playoffs healthy, which is part of why Rangers fans were angry about the hits that the Islanders made on Tuesday. It would be a reasonable assumption that Laviolette feels that way too.

The Rangers currently have 110 points, the most in the NHL. The Carolina Hurricanes, Boston Bruins and Dallas Stars are the three teams that could conceivably pass them in the race for the President’s Trophy. The Hurricanes are in the same division, so the Metro is not locked up for the Rangers yet, but Carolina has 107 points with three games remaining as well. The Bruins lead the Atlantic with 107 points and have three games remaining as well. While it is still possible, it would take a lot for the Rangers to lose out on the top spot in the Eastern Conference at this point.

In the President’s Trophy race, the Stars are the biggest threat with 109 points and three games remaining. Being in the Western Conference, this does not have much meaning outside of deciding home ice advantage for a potential Stanley Cup Final matchup between New York and Dallas.

The Rangers will finish with three home games against the Philadelphia Flyers, Islanders and Ottawa Senators.