John Tortorella is one of the NHL’s premier gum-flappers, and he proved as much before Game 6 between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Boston Bruins.
After his team lost Saturday night in Game 5, Tortorella guaranteed the Jackets would beat the Bruins on Monday to force a Game 7 in Stanley Cup playoff second-round series. And that might have been a misguided decision, considering the loud-mouthed head coach’s history with guaranteeing playoff wins.
That brings us to Monday morning when Tortorella said Columbus has “dented” Boston goalie Tuukka Rask.
Check out this tweet from The Boston Globe’s Matt Porter:
Tortorella convinced his team's flurry in the third period of Game 5 will give Columbus a boost.
"We dented their goalie. … The dented our goalie, but we dented their goalie.
"I think we've put a dent in Rask coming into Game 6 here. That's so important."
— Matt Porter (@mattyports) May 6, 2019
Two things here:
1. Tortorella might be right, as Rask had appeared superhuman before allowing three third-period goals Saturday night.
2. Bruins fans can’t complain, as Boston defenseman Brandon Carlo basically said the same thing about Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky after Game 3.
The Bruins, who hold a 3-2 edge in the best-of-seven series, can advance to the Eastern Conference finals with a win Monday night. Puck drop at Nationwide Arena is set for 7 p.m. ET.
