it were a mourning celebration for Bay Lightning side after securing a clean shit; celebration went wrong’
In what was supposed to be a celebratory night for John Tortorella , things went completely wrong for him. The Philadelphia Flyers coach was ejected from the game by the officials on his return to Tampa Bay. To make matters worse, he refused to leave the bench and defied the orders of the officials.
The Amalie Arena on Saturday night honored the 2004 Stanley Cup winning Tampa Bay Lightning side that was coached by none other than Tortorella. However, the celebrations did not last long for him as he was given his marching orders inside ten minutes of the game.
The Flyers got off to a poor start which saw them concede four times (including two powerplay goals) within ten minutes. Tortorella seemed furious by the tripping incident call on Ronnie Attard and the 10-minute misconduct penalty on forward Garrett Hathaway.
He would go on to complain about this decision. The officials later gave him a game misconduct and ejected from the game. Tortorella kept on refusing to leave and was seen exchanging some heavy words with them after the call.
After some while he did leave the stands and his position was taken over by his assistants Brad Shaw and Rocky Thompson. Shaw would later give his views on the incident and claimed he thought Tortorella was just making a point. I think (Tortorella) was just trying to make a point that we felt like we might not been getting our fair shake. It’s an emotional game at times. Assistant Coach Brad Shaw on John Tortorella.
Speaking of the game, the Lightning kept on pushing forward and eventually ran out as 7-0 winners, handing the Flyers a crushing defeat. This loss keeps the Philadelphia-based side third in their division. However, they are now eight-points behind second place Carolina Hurricanes while playing two games more than them.
Will John Tortorella be fined for this incident?
The NHL fans on Saturday where left stunned when they saw John Tortorella refusing to leave the bench. While it may have looked amazing to some, there are many wondering whether there will be any consequences against John Tortorella?
The answer to this question depends on the NHL. Tortorella has been known for having a fierce character and has been fined several times in the league. For this incident he was penalized with a one game major and a bench minor.
Recently, Toronto Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe was fined $25,000 for “unprofessional conduct ” against the officials during the game against the Vegas Golden Knights and was ejected as well. This same fine could be imposed on Tortorella following the intervention of the league officials in the upcoming days.
