Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella is known for his acerbic tongue. But his podium intimidation fell flatter against the Bruins than one of Craig Carton's standup routines.
Tortorella, who's known for berating reporters in postgame press conferences, guaranteed a Game 7 following the Bruins' victory in Game 5 Saturday night. "We'll be back here for Game 7," he said.
When asked by WEEI's own Scott McLaughlin about why he was so confident in his team's chances, Tortorella walked off. Real mature.
"We'll be back here for Game 7." -John Tortorella pic.twitter.com/xTbC0gkOzM
— #StanleyCup on NBC (@NHLonNBCSports) May 5, 2019This is the second time in two years the Blue Jackets haven't backed up Torts' Game 7 promises. Last season, Tortorella declared Columbus would be back in D.C. for an eventual Game 7 following its Game 5 loss to the Stanley Cup champion Capitals.
The Blue Jackets lost 6-3.
Columbus didn't even put up as much of a fight Monday, losing 3-0 to the Bruins on their home ice. The vaunted canon and "Cee-Bee-Jay" chants that reverberated throughout Nationwide Arena didn't appear to phase the Bruins, who went 2-1 in supposedly one of the most raucous home atmospheres in the league.
While the Bruins opened up the contest with two goals in the third period, Tuukka Rask's goaltending is what ultimately propelled them to victory. It was a decisive statement against Tortorella, who proclaimed just hours earlier his team had "dented" Rask. Tuukka stopped all 39 shots in Game 6 and almost single-handedly kept the Bruins afloat in the second period, when they were outshot 17-5.
Following the game, Rask chalked up Torts' chest-thumping to just being part of the "entertainment industry," and that's exactly right. Throughout this series, Tortorella's antics were a sideshow. His bravado was not prescient, and only led to his team failing on the ice.
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