UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- The New York Islanders know they have the Toronto Maple Leafs' attention and, after forcing a Game 7, their respect.

But not their love.

"It sure doesn't seem like they like us much as a team," goalie Chris Osgood said Monday, "and we don't like them."

	“	I've seen some pretty wild fans when we played in Boston but it was pretty vulgar. What shocked me was some of the young kids who were there and the language they were using and the gestures they were making. ”
		— Toronto's Shayne Corson on Islanders fans

Osgood, who was on two Stanley Cup-winning teams in Detroit, says this Toronto-New York matchup is "one of the most tensely played series I've ever been involved in."

Yet Osgood also thinks bad blood can be put aside following Tuesday night's deciding game.

"Hockey players, more than in other sports, are able to sit down and talk about things afterward," Osgood said. "I've sat down with guys I've gotten into it with (in games) and talked about it later with them, and it's fine."

But, Osgood added with a shrug, "after this series, I don't know."

Where to begin? There was Toronto coach and general manager Pat Quinn complaining about the officiating. Then New York GM Mike Milbury griped even louder after his team fell behind 0-2.

The Islanders followed with a hard-hitting style to even the series at 2. Some Leafs responded by threatening some Islanders. In Game 5, Mike Peca and Kenny Jonsson were forced out of the series with injuries after nasty hits. In Game 6, the Islanders pummeled the Maple Leafs in several late-game fights.

Then, late Monday afternoon, the NHL suspended Toronto's Shayne Corson for Game 7 for trying to kick Eric Cairns after Cairns had beaten him soundly with several punches to the head with less than two minutes left in Game 6.

Corson had denied the move earlier in the day to The Canadian Press.

"No," he replied. "I was just trying to survive, trying to get out of there."

Coach Pat Quinn also backed Corson.

"He brought his knee up but there was no kick," said Quinn.

It's yet another controversy.

"This series, somebody's getting hurt or something's happening every game," Osgood said, "and the emotion keeps getting even higher."

It didn't help that fans in Nassau Coliseum booed "O Canada" before Game 6.

Corson, public enemy No. 1 in New York -- just behind his brother-in-law, Darcy Tucker -- took exception.

"I've seen some pretty wild fans when we played in Boston but it was pretty vulgar," Corson told CP. "What shocked me was some of the young kids who were there and the language they were using and the gestures they were making."

As for booing during the Canadian anthem, Corson found it disappointing.

"Four of our (soldiers) over in Afghanistan died over there helping the cause for the Americans," he said. "(Fans) should show respect for the anthems -- both anthems."

Corson hopes fans at the Air Canada Centre will applaud both anthems Tuesday, as they did before Game 5 last Friday in Toronto.

"We're neighbors. We should stick together and respect each other," he said. "That's the way it used to be and I think that's the way it should be."

The Islanders hope to push aside the trash talking and emotions and focus on the game. New York coach Peter Laviolette, in fact, refused to make any Game 7 guarantees.

"What do I look like, Mark Messier?" he asked. "I don't think so. But I can guarantee that we'll show up and play hard. We'll bring everything we've got."

And so far, that's impressed the Maple Leafs.

"Give them a little bit of credit for how they played the game," Tucker said after Game 6.

Tucker, whose low hit in Game 5 left Peca with a torn knee ligament, was also able to use some humor -- in short supply this series -- when asked about a fan who taunted him as he left the ice on Sunday.

"Someone threw a beer on me," Tucker said. "I like beer, but not that way."