Tortorella apologizes to Flyers G Sandstrom for Sunday reaction: 'It was wrong'
Published
Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella said Tuesday he apologized to goaltender Felix Sandstrom for his reaction following the team's loss on Sunday to the Florida Panthers.
Tortorella was asked postgame about Sandstrom, who allowed three goals on 14 shots in Sunday’s loss, and did not reply, but raised his hands in a questioning manner and banged the podium before walking off.
"I made a terrible mistake with you guys the other night.... My body language was wrong," Tortorella said on Tuesday. "What I should have said to you was he's trying. Sanny's trying.
"Things happened this year that put our goaltending situation into a state of flux. Sanny did not deserve that from me. You had the perfect right to ask that question. He did not deserve that from me. It was wrong."
Sandstrom was making just his third start of the season on Sunday, with the loss dropping his record to 1-2-0 with a .823 save percentage and a 3.87 goals-against average.
With Carter Hart no longer on the Flyers roster, the team has largely leaned on Samuel Ersson over the past two months. Sandstrom has playing the role of backup, while Cal Petersen is also seeing spot starts.
Ersson has a 21-14-6 record with an .898 save percentage and a 2.66 goals-against average. He turned aside 18 of the 20 shots he faced in a win over the Boston Bruins on Saturday, leaving Sandstrom to play in the second half of the back-to-back set.
The Flyers continue to fight for their playoff spot, currently sitting third in the Metropolitan, just two points ahead of the Washington Capitals with two more games played.