Boko Imama caught Garnet Hathaway off guard, but the officials only gave him a two-minute minor penalty. John Tortorella was absolutely livid, calling Imama’s hit “one of the dirtiest he’s seen in a while.”
The Philadelphia Flyers faced off against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, and while their rivalry has been thrilling in past years, last night’s matchup wasn’t particularly heated—until a questionable hit from Penguins forward Boko Imama changed that in an instant.
Flyers forward Garnet Hathaway had just delivered a big hit on Noel Acciari and was still a bit unsteady on his skates when Imama blindsided him. Imama came in from the blindside and delivered a crushing hit, sending Hathaway to the ice, where his head bounced off the surface upon impact.
John Tortorella absolutely lost it
Hathaway had to be escorted to the Flyers’ locker room, and on the bench, head coach John Tortorella was absolutely furious. Videos of Tortorella berating the referees quickly went viral—and for good reason. The officials only assessed Imama a two-minute minor for interference, despite the hit appearing to cause serious injury.
According to NBC Philadelphia’s John Clark, Tortorella didn’t hold back in his postgame comments.
“It’s one of the dirtiest hits I’ve seen in a while,” he said. “I don’t think a player is trying to injure another player. I’m certainly not going to accuse him of that… but it’s a cheap, dangerous hit.”
Imama was originally assessed a five-minute major, but after review, the penalty was downgraded to just a two-minute minor.
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