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Wild scene in Tampa as John Tortorella refuses to leave the bench after being ejected
Photo credit: Sporting News
On a night where the Tampa Bay Lightning were honouring and celebrating their 2004 Stanley Cup champion team, the head coach of that magical run, John Tortorella, was on the adversary's bench with the Philedelphia Flyers but he barely lasted 10 minutes of tonight's game.
The Philadelphia Flyers fell to an early 4-0 deficit after the top-ranked power play of the Lightning took it to the top-ranked penalty kill of the Flyers. Nick Paul and Brayden Point scored on the man advantage, while Victor Hedman and Conor Sheary scored even-strength tallies within the first 10:49 of the game.
After the fourth goal, Tortorella pulled Samuel Ersson for Felix Sandstrom but was also barking at the referees relentlessly after Mikey Eyssimont drew a phantom tripping penalty that led to the fourth goal. Tortorella was given a 2-minute penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct before being ejected with a game misconduct.
Tortorella refused to leave the bench prompting the broadcast crews from both teams thinking they misheard the referee's initial call. After a short stay on the bench, including Tortorella telling Wes McCauley "I'm not leaving", he finally walked off but not before letting the officials hear some more choice words.
Tortorella is no stranger to being fined and I'd expect that we'll see the league slap him with a $25K fine at some point today for his treatment of the officials.
| POLL | ||
MARS 10 | 419 ANSWERS Wild scene in Tampa as John Tortorella refuses to leave the bench after being ejected Is John Tortorella the most entertaining coach in the NHL? | ||
| Yes, never a dull moment with Torts around | 351 | 83.8 % |
| No, he's disrespectful | 68 | 16.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
