Torts being Torts.
On the night the Tampa Bay Lightning honored the 20th anniversary of its 2004 Stanley Cup-winning team that John Tortorella coached, the now-Flyers coach spent most of Saturday’s Flyers-Lightning game in the locker room.
But he didn’t head there without a fight.
With 9:11 left in the first period and the Flyers already down 4-0, Tortorella was thrown out of the game by referee Wes McCauley.
The ejection came following a Brayden Point power-play goal after a tripping call to Ronnie Attard that Tortorella didn’t like.
After McCauley announced the bench penalty and game misconduct to Tortorella, cameras showed him saying, “Not a f–king chance,” “f–k off,” and “I’m not f–king going,” staying on the bench and refusing to leave.
At one point, cameras cut to members of the 2004 Lightning watching from their suite and laughing at Tortorella’s antics.
After close to two minutes of staying put and yelling obscenities at the referees, the former Rangers coach made his way down the tunnel.
Tortorella didn’t talk after the game, but Flyers assistant coach Brad Shaw addressed the situation.
“I think he was just trying to make a point that we felt like we might not have been getting our fair shake,” Shaw said. “It’s an emotional game at times, and we all get elevated blood pressure.”
Tortorella is no stranger to fiery outbursts.
As the coach of the Vancouver Canucks in 2014, he was suspended for 15 days for attempting to go into the Calgary Flames locker room to object to a fight.
He was fined $25,000 for leaving a press conference early in 2020 as the head coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Unfortunately for the Flyers, Tortorella’s objection didn’t give them any momentum in the game.
While the Lightning didn’t score on the ensuing power play, they added three more goals in the game and shut out Philadelphia 7-0.
