Story by Alan Snel Photos by Hugh Byrne
LAS VEGAS, Nevada — Kelly McCrimmon was strolling to the media dinner room on the event level at T-Mobile Arena where LVSportsBiz,com mentioned to the Saskatchewan-born VGK general manager that he and Golden Knights coach and Boston native John Tortorella should reboot the “Odd Couple” TV show after both of them yukked it up at a presser before Game 1 of the Vegas vs Colorado Western Conference Final last week.
“Hopefully we can do that one more time for the (Stanley Cup) final,” McCrimmon joked before today’s Game 3 matching the VGK and Avs. Vegas won both games in Denver Wednesday and Friday and lead the Best-of-7 WCF two games to zero.
Tortorella is the not the happiest of campers when meeting his media availability obligations. He responses are typically short — or just a no comment.
It was 2:30 PM on game day today when Tortorella complied with his media availability gig.
Technically, Tortorella was there at the NH: presser. But he didn’t offer much of a response to any question except when asked about whether Knights team captain Mark Stone would be playing later today at the 5:15 PM puck drop. Stone was injured in Game 3 against Anaheim at the Honda Center, missing the last five games.
Yes, Stone is playing, said Torts, who took over for former VGK coach Bruce Cassidy with a mere eight games left in the regular season.
While Tortorella was fined $100,000 for blowing off his media presser after the Knights knocked out Anaheim in Game 6 last week, VGK forward Keegan Kolesar said Torts offered comedy in the video room and has given the Knights back their swagger.
Indeed, Tortorella does have the capacity to be funny, but he’s not exactly chatty when complying with his media duties. He declined to answer some questions, while sometimes showing a surly attitude with responses provided in a churlish manner.
It’s not cheap to get into tonight’s game. The cheapest get-in price for Game 3 is $223 on Seat Geek.
The Knights have not been selling standing room tickets for the flight deck which is the level where the castle staging area is located.
PSA