Jeremy Roenick and Mike Milbury battle on air during the Olympics.
Jeremy Roenick and Mike Milbury battle on air during the Olympics. NESN.com

Mike Milbury and Jeremy Roenick have had a somewhat contentious on-ar relationship as part of the NBC's Sports NHL coverage team.

They also got into it during the Olympics about Alexander Ovechkin's place in the game.

But last night on the NBC Sports telecast things really blew up. The pair talked over each other, nearly shouting, for almost five extremely uncomfortable minutes. A hit by Dallas' Eric Nystrom on Pittsburgh's Kris Letang sparked the debate, but it became much more a referendum on hitting, concussions and the place of violence in the game.

Milbury believes it was a suspension worthy hit, and Roenick disagrees, to put it mildly.

The argument featured Milbury tapping Roenick in the face, though he was probably trying to demonstrate what happens when a player gets hit in the head (Roenick's face after the contact is truly a look that could kill).

They continue to go at it, with Roenick calling Milbury soft, and Milbury vowing never to have Roenick on the post-game show again.

Both men played the game with a major edge during their careers and both were known for their toughness in a sport full of men who are measured by it.

In a way, it's almost surprising neither guy dropped their jacket (in lieu of gloves) and settled this debate old time hockey style.

Check out the video of the full argument below.