Golden Knights’ John Tortorella stands firmly behind controversial challenge

The Stanley Cup Final has yet to shift to Sin City, but Vegas Golden Knights head coach John Tortorella was already operating with a gambler’s mindset late in the third period of Thursday night’s Game 2 battle versus the Carolina Hurricanes. Unfortunately for the fiery 67-year-old, the house always wins.

During a tense sequence with five minutes remaining in regulation, Pavel Dorofeyev attempted to poke the loose puck through the net for what would have been a go-ahead goal. The referee whistled the play dead, as uncertainty engulfed the arena, and living rooms around the world. Was it goalie interference? Did Frederik Andersen cover the puck and end the chaos? Or did Vegas take the lead? The officials denied Dorofeyev and the Golden Knights a chance to stomp on the Canes’ heart.

Tortorella vehemently disagreed and challenged the ruling, leaving his squad vulnerable to a penalty kill situation during crunch time. Sure enough, the call was upheld and Carolina took the lead less than three minutes later. Mark Stone sent the action into overtime, refusing to let the refs’ controversial decision demoralize the team, but Seth Jarvis willed the Hurricanes to a series-tying victory early in the additional period. Tortorella is now swimming in a pool of scrutiny.

He is not wavering, however. The 2004 Stanley Cup champion and two-time Jack Adams Award winner fervently believes he made the right choice. “I would make that challenge 10 out of 10 times,” he said after the 4-3 loss, per Ryan Kennedy of The Hockey News.

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