It was the littlest things that ignited the biggest reactions.

The Hurricanes had turned their head coaching-duties over to Peter Laviolette after Paul Maurice had been dismissed in Dec. 2003, and the former Islanders coach came in hot for those final 52 games.

A 3-on-3 half-ice drill during practice one day wasn’t meeting Laviolette’s standards, and the Massachusetts native snapped, unleashing a jarring, profanity-laced tirade on the team.

“I think Lavy tried to put the hammer down,” Laviolette’s former Hurricanes captain and current Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour told The Post at the NHL Draft in Nashville at the end of June.