The New York Rangers won Monday's NHL Winter Classic, an epic affair that required Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist to turn away a heart-stopping penalty shot with less than a minute remaining. But John Tortorella left the game with a sour taste in his mouth and harsh words for the NHL.
The Rangers coach called the officiating "disgusting," referring specifically to calls that went against New York in the final minutes, including the whistle that gave Philadelphia a penalty shot with 19.6 seconds left that could have tied the game.
"I'm not sure if NBC got together with the refs and wanted to turn this into an overtime game," Tortorella said at the podium in the basement of Citizens Bank Park. "I'm not sure if they had meetings about that or what."
"I didn't think the game would come down to that situation," Rangers GM Glen Sather told The Bergen Record. "You see three or four calls that are enough to blow your mind... Look at all of it."
Keep up with SB Nation New York's 2012 NHL Winter Classic for the latest coverage of the event. You can visit Blueshirt Banter for the Rangers perspective. For the Flyers perspective, see Broad Street Hockey or SBNation Philly.