Flyers coach John Tortorella suspended for refusing to leave bench after ejection

Philadelphia Flyers coach John Tortorella was suspended for two games and fined $50,000 for refusing to leave the bench after he was ejected Saturday.

The league cited him for unprofessional conduct directed at the on-ice officials. He was ejected with his team down 4-0 to the Tampa Bay Lightning, and he didn't go quickly or quietly.

Referee Wes McCauley gave Tortorella a bench minor and game misconduct with 9:11 left in the first period. It followed Brayden Point's power-play goal after a tripping call against Ronnie Attard. Tortorella had objected to that penalty, making a "dive" hand gesture. During that Lightning power play, Philadelphia's Garnet Hathaway got a misconduct for shoving Anthony Cirelli on a line change.

Cameras didn't catch what Tortorella did to get booted. But once he was, he didn't leave right away and continued arguing from the bench. He eventually left after close to two minutes.

Tortorella didn't talk after the game, but associate coach Brad Shaw addressed the issue.

"I think he was just trying to make a point that we felt like we might not have been getting our fair shake," Shaw said. "It's an emotional game at times and we all get elevated blood pressure."

On the tripping penalty, Shaw said: "It just looked like two guys skating, hustling for a puck and their skates hit together and one fell down and one didn't. I wasn't very excited about it myself."

Tortorella turned down an opportunity during a Monday news conference to discuss the situation.

"There's no sense in commenting," he told reporters. "We're moving on and getting ready for San Jose."

Tortorella won't be behind the bench Tuesday against the Sharks and Thursday against the Toronto Maple Leafs before returning Saturday at the Boston Bruins.

Tortorella is known for his intensity and fiery ways. As coach of the Vancouver Canucks in 2014, he was suspended for 15 days for attempting to go into the Calgary Flames' dressing room to object to a line brawl. He was fined $25,000 for leaving a Columbus Blue Jackets postgame news conference early during the 2020 playoffs and has been fined other times in his career.

In addition to the Stanley Cup win, Tortorella was coach of the year in 2003-04 and 2016-17. He has been mentioned as a candidate for winning the award again this season for his work with the Flyers.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Flyers' John Tortorella suspended for tirade after he was ejected