Flyers pull goalie approximately 1 minute after being eliminated, gift Caps playoff spot

[Ted Hoffman]

@895 is pointing out that technically they weren’t. If Detroit pulls their goalie in OT and loses then they forfeit the loser point and are sitting on 90, and Philly would jump them and the Caps with a regulation W. Semantics as Detroit shouldn’t have had a reason to do that, but a situation arising like the Detroit staff screwing up the math and doing just this while Torts decided to lay down - would we be having threads about how stupid Torts was to worry about other games when he knew had to beat the Caps in regulation first to even have a chance?

No, we'd have threads about how stupid the Detroit staff was for pulling the goalie in OT and giving up the guaranteed point when a win in the shootout would have been just as good, especially if Washington had gone on to lose in any way to Philadelphia.

 

[Toby91ca]

@895 is pointing out that technically they weren’t. If Detroit pulls their goalie in OT and loses then they forfeit the loser point and are sitting on 90, and Philly would jump them and the Caps with a regulation W. Semantics as Detroit shouldn’t have had a reason to do that, but a situation arising like the Detroit staff screwing up the math and doing just this while Torts decided to lay down - would we be having threads about how stupid Torts was to worry about other games when he knew had to beat the Caps in regulation first to even have a chance?

Perhaps it’s something that was technically possible of happening but at the same time 0.00%, can’t get less than that otherwise I’d say a negative chance of occurring….an OT win puts DET in no better position than a SO win…the only thing you could argue is that they absolutely needed a win and like their chances with empty net in OT vs SO, but no one on earth makes that call.

 

[TooManyHumans]

Penguins fan here. The Capitals and Flyers don't owe shit to the other teams trying to make the playoffs. If the Wings and Pens wanted in they had 82 games to make it. Perhaps the Penguins should have gotten a coach who can coach the power play.

 

[thefutures]

Torts really blew it down the stretch. Where are the truthers

 

[gtrower]

Perhaps it’s something that was technically possible of happening but at the same time 0.00%, can’t get less than that otherwise I’d say a negative chance of occurring….an OT win puts DET in no better position than a SO win…the only thing you could argue is that they absolutely needed a win and like their chances with empty net in OT vs SO, but no one on earth makes that call.

I don’t disagree with any of this. Just pointing out that there’s a lot going on in the span of like 60 seconds and the only thing Torts knows for absolute sure at that moment is that he needs to beat WAS in regulation for any of it to matter.

 

[Warden of the North]

Because coaches have a scoreboard in their back pocket.


Give me a f***ing break.

Also, WTF should Torts care about someone else's team? He wants his team to win.

The lesson here is take care of your own business and not rely on someone else losing to make it.

 

[Toby91ca]

I don’t disagree with any of this. Just pointing out that there’s a lot going on in the span of like 60 seconds and the only thing Torts knows for absolute sure at that moment is that he needs to beat WAS in regulation for any of it to matter.

Agreed....those suggesting Torts should have been watching the scoreboards closely towards the end are DET and PIT fans, it's those teams that it's critical to....for him, it was win in regulation and hope for the best, otherwise your season is over.....so he wouldn't be paying much attention to anything else other than going for that win. Having that win not matter doesn't change anything for them, only other teams, so why watch so closely?

Penguins fan here. The Capitals and Flyers don't owe shit to the other teams trying to make the playoffs. If the Wings and Pens wanted in they had 82 games to make it. Perhaps the Penguins should have gotten a coach who can coach the power play.

Or a coach that gets Crosby out in OT. Of course there are many, many other games in the year you can point to for them (lots of 2-3 goal leads blown)....but with that OT game being so recent and potentially missing the playoffs by a single point.....would be kinda funny no?

 

[nturn06]

Penguins fan here. The Capitals and Flyers don't owe shit to the other teams trying to make the playoffs. If the Wings and Pens wanted in they had 82 games to make it. Perhaps the Penguins should have gotten a coach who can coach the power play.

Or not trade Guentzel.

 

[Metroid]

Who cares if it's wrong or whatever, end result is funny. Let people have fun with the conspiracies, this one is harmless.

 

[joestevens29]

Also, WTF should Torts care about someone else's team? He wants his team to win.

The lesson here is take care of your own business and not rely on someone else losing to make it.

Seems like a sure fire way to get in the good books of another team if you are worried about job security

 

[tarheelhockey]

I’m sure the folks up in the press box were watching the Detroit game, but that last-second goal needed to be contemplated for a stunned moment, then relayed down to the bench, then communicated to Torts. Bearing in mind that the decision had already been made to pull the goalie… it’s not like you can get the information to Torts 3 seconds before the goalie leaves the net. He still needs time to understand what’s being said and relay it to his players.

It would have been one thing if Detroit were cruising to an easy win. In that case it would have been realistic for everyone on the Flyers bench to get on the same page. But the way it played out, it’s not realistic to think everyone was going to snap into perfect motion to change their strategy instantly.

 

[Woodrow]

Can't blame Torts at all. Everything was happening so fast . He knows he needs a regulation win to have a chance to get in. Imagine a scenario where the Red Wings hadn't already eliminated them but Torts misheard reports or was given wrong info...it would be a complete disaster. Basically you have nothing to lose by pulling the goalie.

 

[GreatSaveEssensa]

Nothing wrong with the Red Wings, you must have a serious problem if you think its fair that any team ever goes out through on an empty net goal in a tied game, cant help you if you are that daft that you dont find that unfair!

Then the Red Wings should have gotten more points through out the year. Would have solved your problem.

 

[Section 104]

Torts really blew it down the stretch. Where are the truthers

There are some bizarre thing he did like benching Courterier. OTOH who back in October expected them to be in a position (a faint hope to be sure) to make the playoffs on the last game of their season?

Some friends of mine were talking about the death of baseball’s Whitey Herzog and how it was better when he and other managers of his era had personality and tried different ways to build a winner. Maybe Torts is kind of like that in NHL in the 20s (does the decade have a name like like the Roaring Twenties one hundred years ago did?)

Still Philadelphia and Detroit looked like they had playoff positions a couple weeks ago but they faltered while the Islanders and Capitals stepped up and made it.

 

[orby]

I assume Tortorella didn't know what the score was in the Montreal-Detroit game. He strikes me as the kind of coach that doesn't want that kind of scoreboard-watching going on from the bench. I'm not a huge Torts fan but I don't fault him for this.

 

[Ace Card Bedard]

Can't blame Torts.
Flyers overachieved this year.

If I'm coaching that team I tell my assistants "Don't tell me what's going on in the other games. Our job here is to win in regulation. No distractions."

 

[dirtydanglez]

torts isn't sitting there refreshing his phone. this is a nothing story.

wings choked down the stretch.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

One of the most self-obsessed posts I've seen in awhile.

A Detroit fan actually thinks Torts is sitting on the bench, with his team in the midst of the last 5 minutes of a game that might get them in the playoffs (that they have to win in regulation to have a chance) and the fan thinks that Torts is so in tune with the Detroit game that within about a minute of the Detroit game going to OT, he rapidly decides to pull his goalie just to F Detroit?

The OP is not a Wings fan.

 

[Saskatoon]

torts isn't sitting there refreshing his phone. this is a nothing story.

wings choked down the stretch.

Yup and if the Flyers would have scored with the goalie pulled Wings fans would have been plenty happy

 

[tarheelhockey]

There are some bizarre thing he did like benching Courterier. OTOH who back in October expected them to be in a position (a faint hope to be sure) to make the playoffs on the last game of their season?

It’s as simple as: Flyers make the playoffs if Carter Hart hadn’t done some shady shit six years ago.

Since Hart’s arrest, the Flyers goalies have collectively posted .863. To give a sense of how bad that is — Hart was mediocre at .906 this season, but .906 instead of .863 means 39 additional goals saved over 36 games. Given that 9 of the Flyers’ 23 losses during this period were by one goal, it seems almost certain they would have won at least 2 of those games with Hart in net, thus making the playoffs.

 

[BiolaRunner]

Pittsburgh are 3 points behind the Red Wings in the standings, so Detroit was the team that was eliminated, not the Penguins.

Regardless it does matter what team it was, it just cant be allowed to happen that after 81 games it comes down to a team being gifted a win!

Flyers had to take a risk to win in regulation to make the playoffs. There is no way they would be scoreboard watching at that point in the game. They'd be focused on what they could control, not what they couldn't. They wouldn't have known the Wings tied it up a minute before the decision to pull the goalie was made. It's a tough break for the Wings but Torts did what he had to do to go after what little hope his team had to make the playoffs,

 

[Rpenny]

The only thing I can think of is the Flyers were trying to win in regulation. If the flyers had won in regulation? Wings are in the playoffs and not the caps.

Unless I am wrong. Flyers win in regulation means that caps miss the playoffs. Pts meant nothing to the flyers but meant everything to the caps. Caps would have gone all balls out in OT. I can see the logic in why he did what he did

 

[Ezekial]

I'm not mad, it's hard to say that Philly coaching staff knew the Wings tied it with 3 seconds left in their game.

We knew this was a possibility the night before, I texted my brother and a couple group chats about it and we all hoped it wouldn't come to it and it did.

Wings should've gotten another point against the pens or caps a week prior, or against the coyotes in either of those games in March.
Shit happens, our young players better understand the importance of every point and regulation win now.

 

[GhostfaceWu]

I've got some news for you.
In many sports where the outcome of a different game can affect your own fate the coaches ban anyone to communicate the current events with the players as to not to interfere with their own play and attitude.

It really isn't far fetched to think Torts has instructed staff to not say a word and pretend that no matter what Philly needed the reg W.

I've got news for you just because some might do that doesn't mean everyone does that. Torts even said the video guys knew.

 

[tarheelhockey]

The only thing I can think of is the Flyers were trying to win in regulation. If the flyers had won in regulation? Wings are in the playoffs and not the caps.

Unless I am wrong. Flyers win in regulation means that caps miss the playoffs. Pts meant nothing to the flyers but meant everything to the caps. Caps would have gone all balls out in OT. I can see the logic in why he did what he did

Flyers needed to win in regulation, and needed the Wings to lose in regulation.

With 3 minutes left the Flyers and Caps were tied, and Detroit was losing with seconds left.

Pulling the goalie made sense. The Flyers would have been eliminated if they went to overtime. They had 3 minutes to score a goal or be eliminated, no matter what happened.