The Tampa Bay Lightning jumped all over the Flyers early, going up 3-0 before the first period was halfway done. The real chaos, though, came from the bench. After a questionable tripping call on Philadelphia’s number 23, confusion broke out over who the penalty was actually on. Refs first announced Tampa’s 23, then reversed it to the Flyers’ 23. Flyers head coach John Tortorella was already fuming, and things only escalated from there.
Tensions kept building when Flyers forward number 19 got whistled for a 10-minute misconduct after a scuffle in front of the net. Tortorella didn’t hold back his frustration. He pulled his goalie and gave the refs an earful. The result: a bench minor, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, and a game misconduct handed to Tortorella himself. Instead of leaving, Tortorella refused to go. He stood his ground, dropped to one knee behind the bench, and told the refs he wasn’t leaving.
Officials kept pressing him, and Tortorella kept refusing. Eventually, he demanded to talk to someone before exiting. After a string of expletives questioning the refs’ decisions, he finally gave in. The Flyers were unraveling, down big on the scoreboard, and losing control on the bench. Meanwhile, the Lightning kept rolling.