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John Tortorella says Caps should stop “whining” about getting hit

John Tortorella

If there’s anything you can count on in the NHL its for Rangers coach John Tortorella to not hide his feelings. Whether he’s being animated on the bench or in a press conference with a writer that won’t stop pestering him he doesn’t hide his feelings very well and that’s why we love the guy.

This week when Caps coach Bruce Boudreau took time out to sound off about Madison Square Garden and to campaign for a few more calls, especially in regard to recently returned from a concussion defenseman Mike Green. With so much talk floating around lately, it would be tough for Tortorella to stay silent in regards to all the chatter.

Thankfully for us he didn’t stay quiet for long as Katie Carrera of The Washington Post found out today. Tortorella apparently isn’t such a big fan of the kind of verbal campaigning we’ve seen out of Boudreau.

“Our mindset is just focusing on what we need to do, how we play – play the right way and get ready for Game 4,” Tortorella told reporters after the Rangers’ practice in Greenburgh, N.Y. “We have confidence in the league, we have confidence in the officials that they won’t be influenced by all the whining going on here right now.

“We’re staying away from it, and we’re focused on what we need to do,” Tortorella said. “And like I said, we have confidence in the league that this doesn’t affect the series. It’s a pretty good series. Two pretty good teams, going at it pretty hard.”


Whining is one way to put it that’s for sure. “Gamesmanship” might be the word used more by Caps fans or neutral observers as well but for now, we’ll take it from Tortorella’s perspective on this and run with it. You see this sort of thing happen all the time through the playoffs. Get a writer’s ear, say a few outlandish-seeming things, let it run like wildfire through the media.

This time around, Tortorella fired back with some shots of his own and why not. After all, in Game 3 his team got the benefit of the officiating considering how many power plays they got in comparison to Washington (seven for New York compared to three for Washington). From his perspective everything is OK. It’s all the more reason why Boudreau has been such a darling the last few days with his own words.

It’s not quite a game of chess between these two but it is far more entertaining and quotable. Here’s to hoping it lasts a little bit longer.