John Tortorella left the tarmac at John Wayne Airport without saying a single word. The coach of the Vegas Knights skipped talking to the media on Thursday night after they beat the Ducks in Game 6.
This choice surprised some people. There was also a practical reason for it that no one wanted to mention.
John Wayne Airport has one of the strictest rules about noise in North America. Planes need to take off by 10 p.m. or they have to wait until morning. Teams have been trying to beat this deadline for a long time.
The Knights had just won their game 5-1 to finish the series. After the handshake, getting changed, taking a shower, and taking the bus, 10 p.m. comes up quickly.
So the team quickly left. Tortorella chose not to hold his press conference. The locker room stayed off-limits. One player was taken aside for a brief chat, and then they headed straight to the bus.
Reporter Jesse Granger was the first to notice. Then Jesse Montano provided details that explain why teams quickly leave Orange County during the playoffs.
“John Tortorella did not want to talk to the media after making it to the Western Conference finals. ”
The Golden Knights also didn’t talk to the media in the locker room after the game. They took one player into a side room to talk, along with two players who spoke at the press conference.
“I’ve been covering the NHL for nine years, and I’ve never seen either of those things happen before. ”
– Jesse Granger
Why Vegas used the curfew to avoid the media
The situation still looks bad. Tortorella has been doing this since March 29 when the Vegas Knights hired him to be the coach mid-season. Reporters were hoping to hear what he thought about the series.
Instead, they ended up with quietness and an empty space. The curfew is for real, but not talking to the media after finishing a second-round series? That decision is up to the coach.
It feels different when the team has been struggling all spring. The Knights had a record of 39 wins, 26 losses, and 17 ties during the regular season.
Not talking to the media isn’t a serious crime. However, Tortorella is known for choosing his media battles wisely, and this decision will stay with him in the next round, whether he discusses it or not.
The bigger question now is what kind of Knights team will show up in the conference finals. Kelly McCrimmon’s team has won six out of their last eight playoff games. The next opponent won’t wait around like the curfew does.
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