John Tortorella Defends Star Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky After Ugly Loss in Tampa

By Dan Dukart on October 18, 2018 at 10:15 am
Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky can't stop a puck as the Blue Jackets took an 8-2 loss to Tampa Bay at Amalie Arena.
Douglas DeFelice – USA TODAY Sports
1 Comment

John Tortorella, in his media scrum on Wednesday, did his part to defend Sergei Bobrovsky from what he felt was undue criticism.

Tortorella left Bobrovsky in for all eight of Tampa Bay's goals in a lopsided 8-2 loss over the weekend, a move that was questioned by some. 

"It was a fluky game. You can't have Bob own all those goals. There was a lot of things happening on some of the goals that you can't blame him. It's an easy thing to do." 

"I'll answer your question right now – Bob's playing tomorrow," Tortorella said Wednesday after practice. "I know that's the question. Bob let in eight goals, is Bob going to play? Bob is playing tomorrow. He's a really good goalie. There's not a chance people can blame him for that 8-2 loss. Not a chance." 

Bobrovsky's hasn't necessarily been sharp or dominant in his three starts to begin the 2018-19 season, and the Blue Jackets have given increased playing time to Joonas Korpisalo, who Tortorella called their "best player" in a 5-4 win over the Panthers.

"I'm not going to get into all the questions on Bob," Tortorella continued. "I'm going to tell you guys right now, throughout the year here, I know that's hanging over our heads and it's around, and I get that, but I'm not going to dissect Bob anymore.

"I understand it's there, the (locker) room understand it's there, but I'm not going to spend a lot of extra minutes dissecting Bob. That's unfair."

Follow 1st Ohio BatteryFacebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube

1 Comment
View 1 Comments