Philadelphia Flyers head coach sounded defeated after the 9-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens but put their struggles into perspective.
Philadelphia Flyers head coach sounded defeated after the 9-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens but put their struggles into perspective.
"This is rock bottom tonight for us," Tortorella said postgame. "[I] hate to see us, at this time of year, be playing this way after all the good minutes we put in throughout the year."
The Flyers are on a freefalling eight-game losing streak, and their playoff hopes are dwindling quickly. Tortorella showed sympathy to his team but recognized the letdown.
"We are not as gifted as some teams. We have a process that we are going through; we can't forget that. We are still building here," Tortorella said. "I appreciate all the work they've done to put us in these spots to play these types of games, but we just have not been able to elevate our game."
The bench boss has been critical of his team during this losing streak. He's called them out and pleaded for players to step up.
Somberly, Tortorella took the blame for not being able to get his team to the next level, as any head coach should do.
"It's my responsibility to put them in that spot and try to get them to elevate their game. Have not done it," he said. "These are hard lessons. One great thing about this league, and we're on the wrong side of it, it's unmerciful. When they get you, it's unmerciful, and I love that about the league. We just happen to be on the wrong end of it right now."
Tortorella didn't want to blame fatigue as a primary cause, saying that every team is tired at this time of the season.
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Source : thehockeynews.com
