Tortorella cuts postgame presser short to avoid 'touchy-feely stuff'

Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella wasn't interested in finding the silver lining after his club was eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Wednesday.

"You know what, guys? I'm not going to get into the touchy-feely stuff and the moral victories and all that," Tortorella said before cutting his postgame press conference short after two questions.

He added: "You guys be safe."

The Blue Jackets fell behind 2-0 early in their must-win game but rallied back with four unanswered goals. Their lead was short-lived, though, as the Tampa Bay Lightning scored twice in the third period before Brayden Point ended the series in overtime.

Columbus played its most complete game of the first round but wasn't able to find a way to win. The Blue Jackets recorded 53.6% of the shot attempts, 61.54% of the scoring chances, and 65.12% of the expected goals at five-on-five Wednesday, according to Natural Stat Trick.

This is the second instance Tortorella has been particularly blunt during the 2020 postseason. Columbus' coach repeatedly answered, "Toronto was really good. We sucked," when asked to dissect what went wrong in the club's Game 2 qualifying-round loss to the Maple Leafs.

Tortorella has been the Blue Jackets' head coach since 2015-16 and has led the team to the playoffs in each of the past four seasons. He's currently a finalist for the Jack Adams Award.