Hockey rivalries don't get much more heated than what we saw between Josh Manson and Michael McCarron during Thursday night's playoff clash. The intensity boiled over in the first period when Manson, the Colorado Avalanche's veteran defenseman, found himself handed a four-minute double minor for butt-ending—a penalty that ultimately led to a Minnesota Wild power-play goal.

Here's what went down: McCarron laid a hit on Manson, and as the Wild forward fell on top of him, the two wrestled on the ice. Manson locked McCarron in a headlock, and as they untangled, Manson's stick appeared to catch McCarron around the ear. The Avalanche, however, shook off the momentum shift and powered to a 5-2 victory, taking a commanding 3-1 series lead.

The drama didn't end there. During the first intermission, McCarron didn't hold back when talking to ESPN's P.K. Subban. "I mean, you played against Josh. He's a dirty player. He's always been," McCarron said. "Surprised he got away with only a 4-minute. I'm happy he's still in the game."

Manson, playing his first game since April 23, wasn't about to let those comments slide. When reporters asked how he felt postgame, his response was direct: "Good. You can just get to the question you want to ask me."

He then laid it all out. "I mean, he hits me, but then he lands on me. So I didn't really like that, to be honest with you. We're in a scrum, and I just, I mean, I butt ended him. Was it on purpose? Was that my intention? Absolutely not. My intention wasn't to butt-end him."

Manson's honesty didn't stop there. "Did I want to punch him in the head? I did want to punch him in the head, yeah. I was trying to give him a smack because I didn't like that he landed on me. I didn't think that was fully necessary. But, you know, I served my four-minute penalty. They looked at it and, yeah, like I said, it wasn't my intention to butt-end him in the face. It was more trying to smack him in the head. I think I just lost awareness of where the grip was."

When asked about McCarron's ESPN comments, Manson was unaware but unfazed. "That's fine if he wants to call me a dirty player," he said, keeping his cool as the Avalanche move one step closer to advancing.