John Tortorella has never been one to hold back his thoughts. After the Philadelphia Flyers lost to the Boston Bruins 4-3 in overtime, the Flyers’ head coach was very vocal, delivering a harsh message to Brad Marchand and the rest of the Bruins.
The Flyers held 2-0 and 3-1 leads over the Bruins, but ultimately couldn’t hold off the Bs surge in the third period. Penalty minutes were a big factor in the matchup as Philadelphia doubled Boston in that stat.
Philly committed eight penalties for 16 minutes, compared to Boston’s four penalties for 8 minutes. While some of the calls were undeniable, Tortorella was upset with others that went against the Flyers. After the game, Tortorella called out the Bruins for embellishing many of the penalties, as well as the NHL refs for allowing them.
“One thing I teach my team to do is not dive,” Tortorella said. “The way this has gone here, I should start teaching them how to dive. That’s one of the things we talk most about. We have to play an honest game. There’s not cheating, no embarrassing referees.”
Boston Bruins center Brad Marchand (63) skates during the Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round game 4 between the Boston Bruins and the New York Islanders on June 5, 2021 at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, NY.
“The (stuff) that went on here tonight was just ridiculous. I’m proud of the way our team played. Did we piss another one away? Yeah, but other people had a little bit to do with that also.”
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Marchand comes through
Bruins captain Brad Marchand is widely known for his antics, which are upsetting for every team that comes across him. However, he is also respected for his amazing on-ice production. Against Philadelphia he showcased his best of both worlds, as he scored the late equalizer with 5:22 minutes left in the game. Pavel Zacha scored the game winner, like he did recently against the Red Wings.
Under interim coach Joe Sacco the Bruins have found great success so far. Boston has won seven of its first nine games since moving on from Jim Montgomery and are near the top of the Atlantic Division.
The Bruins will face their biggest challenge when they take on the league leaders Winnipeg Jets in Manitoba on December 10.
