Although Philadelphia Flyers bench boss John Tortorella is well-known for having a short fuse, one of the winningest head coaches of all time can still admit when he's wrong.
Tortorella was asked about backup goaltender Felix Sandstrom's play after a 4-1 loss to the Florida Panthers on Sunday, and the 65-year-old looked stunned by the very reasonable question before leaving the media availability altogether.
John Tortorella doesn’t appear to be pleased with Felix Sandstrom’s performance tonight 👀#Flyers pic.twitter.com/vU3SNsx00s
— Flyers Nation (@FlyersNation) March 25, 2024
The Stanley Cup champion apologized for not answering the question on Tuesday.
“I made a terrible mistake with you guys the other night,” he admitted, according to NHL.com's Adam Kimelman.
“You might have asked me about Sanny. My body language was wrong. What I should have said to you was he tried. Sanny tried. Things happened this year that put our goaltending situation into a state of flux. Sanny did not deserve that from me. You had the perfect right to ask that question. He did not deserve that from me. It was wrong.”
Although Sandstrom didn't have his best game at home on Sunday — he allowed three goals on just 14 shots in the defeat — it was a very tough matchup against one of the league's top teams.
He also hadn't played since a 6-5 loss to the Boston Bruins on March 16, a game where he gave up six on 30 shots.
Flyers goaltending a question mark heading into stretch run
Carter Hart took an indefinite leave of absence from the team earlier this season, forcing Samuel Ersson and Sandstrom to shoulder the load. Neither are a confidence-boosting starting goaltender in a playoff series, although Sandstrom will likely not see any postseason action.
And that's if Philly even gets into the dance.
After holding onto the No. 3 spot in the Metropolitan Division for most of the season, the squad has watched the lead shrink to just two points on the surging Washington Capitals, and six on the New York Islanders.
The Detroit Red Wings are also just three points back, and if the Flyers flounder down the stretch, they could see themselves bumped out of both the divisional berth and wild card race.
That would be a brutal blow for a team that has hung around the playoff conversation all season long, even after losing their starting goaltender. It makes sense that John Tortorella wouldn't be too happy with his team's play as of late; the Flyers have lost six of their last 10 games, and are experiencing a slump at the absolute worst time.
With just 10 games left in the 2023-24 season — and six of them on the road — Philly will need to play much more inspired hockey over the next three weeks to avoid having a postseason berth snatched away in the final month of the campaign.
The Flyers are back in action against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night, with Ersson confirmed to be starting between the pipes.
Follow Us
Subscribe