NHL suspends Flyers coach John Tortorella for 2 games after he refused to leave the bench following his ejection

The NHL has suspended Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella for two games after he refused to come off the bench following his ejection from Saturday’s 7-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The league announced the suspension Sunday, along with a $50,000 fine for Tortorella, who the league said “conducted himself unprofessionally toward officials by refusing to leave the bench area after being found to be in misconduct during the game.”

The incident occurred in the first period on Saturday after Tampa Bay had taken a 4-0 lead with less than 11 minutes remaining in the game. Referee Wes McCauley called Tortorella for a game misconduct on the heels of Tampa Bay’s fourth goal, a penalty that carries an automatic ejection. Tortorella had argued that it was a tripping penalty that preceded the Lightning’s power-play goal.

But Tortorella didn’t leave the bench when he was ejected. Instead, he stood at his post and yelled at McCauley.

“I’m not,” Tortorella appeared to say to McCauley, along with a few polite words. He continued to exchange words with officials while refusing to leave the bench. After nearly two minutes, he finally relented and went back into the tunnel.

The incident occurred in Tampa as the Lightning were celebrating their 2003-04 Stanley Cup championship team, which Tortorella coached. Players from that title team in attendance watched and laughed in their box as their former coach told officials off.

Tortorella will miss the upcoming games against the San Jose Sharks (Tuesday) and Toronto Maple Leafs (Thursday). The 33-24-8 Flyers are in third place in the Metropolitan Division playoffs with 17 games remaining.