GIF: Frustrated Tavares spears Zidlicky in the groin

With 27 points in 30 games, New York Islanders captain John Tavares is enjoying a stellar season. He's also playing for the best club of his career.

Though he's got a lot going for him, Tavares was frustrated on Monday night against the New Jersey Devils. As the game went along Tavares was getting into it early and often with Devils forwards, and he took himself off the ice with a pair of minor penalties.

The first was for roughing against Seth Helgeson, a Devils depth defender. The second was a little nastier, and might even result in some supplementary discipline for the Islanders star.

Tavares was attempting to take a pass through the neutral zone when Devils defender Marek Zidlicky stepped up and tripped him. Zidlicky appeared to be just standing his ground, and there certainly wasn't anything dirty about his positional play, but Tavares took exception to it and gave the Devils puck-mover a spear to the nether regions:

(Courtesy: MSG)

Ouch!

Zidlicky stayed in the game and Tavares was assessed a minor penalty for slashing.

"I don't think it was necessary," Zidlicky said of the spear, before going full Bertuzzi. "I don't know what to say. It is what it is."

Perhaps Tavares could stand to take a page out of a certain Calgarian Johnny's book and "be good."