John Tortorella was far from being in a good mood, as expected, in the postgame press conference after getting beaten in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. But when the 67-year-old was asked about bringing on goaltender Adin Hill in the third period of the game, he apparently lost his patience.

“Christ, that could be the stupidest question I’ve heard,” the Vegas Golden Knights head coach responded to NHL reporter Jonny Lazarus’ question at the Lenovo Center. They had lost to the Carolina Hurricanes with a 4-2 score line in Game 5 to find themselves behind in the Stanley Cup Final.

Lazarus took to his official X account to give his side of the story on the Daily Faceoff Live podcast with co-host Colby Cohen after getting flamed by Tortorella.

“So, I’ve had a lot of people ask me over the past 12 hours what it’s like to get shoved in a locker by John Tortorella in a press conference. I loved every second of it. Well, maybe not every,” he wrote in his X post, accompanied by a video on Friday, June 12, a day after the game.

In the short clip, Cohen asked Lazarus about how bad he felt after Tortorella called him “stupid” for all intents and purposes.

“Until he got off the podium, I was like f***. My body was like soaking wet [from] sweating,” Lazarus said about what it initially felt like.

“But then, as soon as he left the room, everyone’s head turned, and they go to me, ‘That was a fair question.’ Honestly, people were coming up to me and consoling me. They were like, ‘Hope you are doing okay.’ Other people were like, ‘It’s a badge of honor, be proud of it.’”

Despite that, the NHL reporter professed his love for Tortorella, calling him the best and referring to his outburst as a tactic.

Notably, Vegas’ primary goaltender, Carter Hart, hasn’t been quite at his best in the Cup Final, allowing a few soft goals, including a couple in Game 5.

With that, Lazarus’ question to Tortorella about potentially replacing Hart with Hill wasn’t really that off the mark. Meanwhile, Vegas has little room for error moving forward.

John Tortorella and the Vegas Golden Knights Can’t Afford To Lose Any Of The Remaining Stanley Cup Final Games

With the Stanley Cup Final in favor of the Carolina Hurricanes with a 3-2 margin, John Tortorella and his Vegas Golden Knights have their task cut out. They can’t afford to lose any of the remaining games in the Cup Final to have a chance of winning their second title in history.

If the Hurricanes are able to win either Game 6 or Game 7, if required, then they will be crowned the new Stanley Cup champions.

Game 6 of the Cup Final is set to happen on Sunday, June 14, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. With the Canes putting together their best performance in Game 5 of the best-of-seven series, the Knights are in a really tough spot now.

The injury to their key center, William Karlsson, came at the worst possible time in the last game for Vegas. It will be quite interesting to see how Tortorella recalibrates their vitally important line if Karlsson gets sidelined.

Will the Vegas Golden Knights make a comeback in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final? Give us your prediction in the comments.

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Written by

Arjun Sharma

Edited by

Ankita Yadav