John Tortorella had another meltdown during one of his postgame press conferences.
Tortorella was incensed after he thought officials mismanaged the clock at the end of overtime. After the Blackhawks took a too many men penalty with less than 20 seconds to go, officials let an extra second eek off the clock. The Blue Jackets asked the officials to review and they didn’t. At the end of OT, Zach Werenski scored, but the goal was overruled after it was determined the puck passed the goal line just after the buzzer sounded.
The Blackhawks went on to win 3-2 in the shootout. Blue Jackets goaltender Joonas Korpisalo suffered a right-leg injury during Jonathan Toews’ attempt.
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So with all that context, here’s what Torts had to say after the game.
“So the whistle blows. The whistle is blown at 19.2 on the clock,” Tortorella said. “For some reason, the clock is run down a second and a tenth to 18.1. Whatever reason, I have no goddamn idea. So instead of resetting the clock, we have them tell our captain we’re not going to do it.
“Toronto doesn’t step in, refs don’t do their freaking job, and now we lose a game, and we lose our goalie,” Torts continues. “So the chain of events, if it was done right, we don’t lose our goalie, we win the hockey game. So all this goddamn technology, right? The technology and getting things right… the stubbornness tonight by the officials and by the league and by Toronto, however, it’s supposed to goddamn work, SCREWS US!”
“It’s ridiculous,” Torts says before adding, “I’m not taking any goddamn questions.”
#mood pic.twitter.com/lGKhLhjjkV
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) December 30, 2019
It’s worth noting that Torts nearly overturned his Tim Horton’s coffee cup multiple times as he slammed his fist into the lectern.
Here was Werenski’s OT goal that ultimately didn’t count and the full shootout.
Despite all the drama, the Blue Jackets still managed to extend their point streak to 10 games.
But what a crazy night.
#CBJ coaches and players tried to convince #NHL official Dan O’Halloran to review the time the whistle was blown on #Blackhawks too many men and restore the precious 1.1 seconds that appeared to tick off.
They say O’Halloran refused, even though the Blue Jackets called timeout.
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) December 30, 2019
#CBJ captain Nick Foligno also angry with officials, who would not hear his pleas to add more time. This became an issue when Werenski scored what would have been the winning goal only tenths of a second after the clock expired.
— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) December 30, 2019
#CBJ Joonas Korpisalo got up shaking his right leg after #Blackhawks Jonathan Toews beat him five-hole in shootout. It got significantly worse as he reached the bench, and worse yet as he headed to the tunnel and the dressing room.
Obviously no update as of yet on his status.— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) December 30, 2019
#CBJ John Tortorella launches into a expletive-filled, fist-slamming, 45-second tirade at #NHL officials, league review process for not putting time back on the clock after #Blackhawks too many men penalty was called.
Takes no questions and storm out of press conference room.— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) December 30, 2019
Headline photo: FOX Sports
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