UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- This time, Mike Milbury was more restrained. He still made his point that he believes the Toronto Maple Leafs are guilty of "thuggery."

The anger of the New York Islanders' general manager was understandable Saturday, as he had just learned his captain and top two-way player, Michael Peca, would be lost for 6-to-9 months after tearing a ligament in his left knee. The team's top defenseman, Kenny Jonsson, is out with a concussion.

Both injuries were sustained Friday in Toronto's Game 5 win. Game 6 of the playoff series, led by Toronto 3-2, is in Nassau Coliseum on Sunday.

Milbury stated that NHL officials and the league's supervisors are "good guys" with "tough jobs" -- compliments he wasn't giving out in last Sunday's profanity-laced tirade about the refereeing.

But Milbury's rage bubbled just below the surface when he was asked if the hit by Gary Roberts on Jonsson and the one by Darcy Tucker on Peca were "common" for emotional playoff series.

"Is it common to ram a guy's head, face-first, into the glass from a running start from the blue line?" Milbury asked, his voice rising. "Is it common to duck down on a late hit after a simple clearing play to aim at a guy's knees after you've talked about it?

"That's not playoff hockey," he said. "That's not hockey at all. That's thuggery."

Apparently, the league doesn't think so. Milbury was told by league disciplinarian Colin Campbell that neither Toronto player would face further sanctions. Roberts was issued a five-minute penalty for his hit on Jonsson, who has a history of concussions. Tucker was not penalized at all.

Naturally, the Toronto players defended their actions.

"I was just finishing my check," Tucker said in Toronto. "I don't know what the big hoopla is about. ... What happened to the old part of the game where the hip check was part of hockey? Is that gone now? Is that gone because you're not allowed to hit anybody anymore?

"You can't take the physicality out of a hockey game. That's what makes our game great -- that you can go out there and play physical. Old-time hockey, that's what hockey was about."

Roberts also didn't feel he was at fault.

"I feel bad for the kid but it was just a finished check that turned a little ugly," he said. "I just hope everything is all right."

Neither Peca nor Jonsson talked to the media.

Despite his controlled fury, Milbury does not want his players retaliating on Sunday.

"It's a useless exercise," he said. "Really, if we wanted to get revenge we should have taken out the tomahawk last night when it was 6-3. We didn't do that and I'm glad we didn't do that.

"If we waste energy and focus trying to 'get even' we wind up in the penalty box or out of position and you do the exact opposite of what you want -- play without discipline."

Milbury noted that the series has been marked with trash-talking since the opener and hinted he believed it was started by the other side. He was particularly peeved, however, at Tucker, who has been trading barbs with Peca for the past few games.

Peca said before Game 5 that Tucker and the Leafs say things like, "I'll kill you" and threaten to take guys out. Peca called it "comical" at the time.

"It's not so comical anymore," Milbury said. "I guess he was true to his word."

The Islanders players tried to keep an even keel.

"We can't afford to have excuses," New York's Jason Blake said. "Everyone knows they have to have their best game tomorrow night."

Blake felt Roberts deserved a stiffer punishment, especially for "winding up (for the hit) the whole way," but added the players can't dwell on perceived injustices.

"There's no time for wondering why or how or what's going to happen," he said.

Dave Scatchard added: "You want to get even, but we have a game to win. We're angry, but we have to focus and harness that in the right direction. We need to go out and play with all our hearts because it could be our last game and we don't want that."