For a moment, I thought Peter Laviolette was channeling Alain Vigneault, the head coach who directed the Rangers to the Stanley Cup final and the Presidents’ Trophy in successive years, but forever was tainted by instructing his clubs to turn the other cheek.

(But no, not at all. Let’s review.)

That was a label affixed to Vigneault ever since his 2011 Presidents’ Trophy-winning Canucks were allowed to be bullied by the Bruins in a seven-game series that went Boston’s way, notably marked by Brad Marchand using Daniel Sedin’s face as a speed bag without resistance in Game 6.

In the first round of the 2014 playoffs, Vigneault had obsessed over playing “whistle to whistle” against the Flyers, a lesser team that somehow took the Blueshirts to seven games.