Rangers coach suspended for Game 6 today
New York Rangers forward Sean Avery was benched for Game 5 because of his lack of discipline play in Game 4…and now the Rangers will play today’s potential series closeout Game 6 without head coach John Tortorella behind the bench due to his lack of discipline on Friday night.
The NHL imposed a one-game suspension on the Rangers head coach for his tantrum during a confrontation with a fan behind the team’s bench. His actions included Tortorella firing a water bottle into the stands that hit an innocent bystander and grabbing the hockey stick of Rangers forward Aaron Voros to use as a sword.
In the league’s statement about the suspension:
“We do not take this action lightly,” said league disciplinarian Colin Campbell. “It is the result of an entire day of investigation and evaluation that included the retrieval and review of videotape of the incident and discussions with Mr. Tortorella, other Rangers’ bench personnel and a number of other people, including the security personnel at the Verizon Center. That investigation revealed that Mr. Tortorella squirted a fan with water before Mr. Tortorella was doused with a beverage. While it is a difficult decision to suspend a coach at this point in a playoff series, it has been made clear to all of our players, coaches and other bench personnel that the National Hockey League cannot — and will not — tolerate any physical contact with fans,” added Campbell.
Assistant coach Jim Schoenfeld will direct the team in Tortorella’s absence. He is the only other head coach in league history to have been suspended in the playoffs. As the coach of the New Jersey Devils, Schoenfeld sat out Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals as a result of his famous “Have another doughnut” comment to referee Don Koharski following a Game 3 loss to the Boston Bruins.
Follow the Scores Report editors on Twitter @clevelandteams and @bullzeyedotcom.
This is a good thing for hockey even though it could cost the Rangers a playoff series. I believe that the reason that hockey has lost its luster as a major sport in the United States is that fans do not want to go to a riot, aka sporting event. This might look great on Sportscenter, but not when I am spending top dollar for a NHL playoff game.
When I look at the prices of NHL games (especially seats on the ice), fans are already spending a large amoung and now have to worry about flying water bottles coming from the opposing bench. This is reason why soccer (the world’s game?) is not considered a major sport in our country. Look at the NBA, the riot err game between the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers almost killed (no pune intended) this league (look at recent attendence figures, it might have).