By the time John Tortorella turned to face the fans behind his bench last night at Verizon Center, the New York Rangers team he coaches trailed by four goals in the third period. Tortorella had already toyed with his own personnel, benching the player who most annoys Washington Capitals fans, forward Sean Avery, then yanking the man who had mystified the Capitals through the series' first four games, goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.
The agitating that happened next, though, surprised the Capitals fans seated in the first few rows, taking in a Game 5 that would either save their season or end it. With 13 minutes 27 seconds remaining in the game, Tortorella, the fans said, became so angry with them that he hurled a water bottle over the plexiglass that separates the bench from the crowd, a bottle that struck Capitals' season ticket-holder Claudette Chandonia in the head. He then grabbed one of his player's sticks, stepped onto the bench and lunged toward the crowd, with the stick, as his entire Rangers team -- and the four game officials -- stood around him on the bench and on the ice.
"He was losing and he was frustrated, I guess," said Chandonia, who lives in the District. "I couldn't believe it. I looked up, and he was throwing the water bottle -- and then it hit me right here, right in the head, and it bounced off me."
This, then, punctuated a brutal night for the Rangers, who had been in control of the series, leading three games to one, but now face a revitalized Washington outfit that may have done the unthinkable: rattle Lundqvist. In the preceding days, the Capitals had talked not of being beaten by the Rangers as a whole, but being beaten by Lundqvist alone. Last night, Lundqvist allowed two goals on the first four shots he faced, and four on the 14 he saw before Tortorella pulled him.
"It's on me," Lundqvist said. "No question."
Now, though, the pressure may be back on the Rangers, and it began to show during that third period. With Avery -- who had taken 24 minutes in penalties over the first four games -- benched because of a lack of discipline, Tortorella was the one who took on the role of hothead.
Fans in the seats around Chandonia, who said she was struck by the water bottle, confirmed the incident, and an in-house video feed from Verizon Center showed Tortorella throwing the bottle over the outstretched hand of a security guard. Fans also said Tortorella squirted water through two panes of glass before he threw the bottle.
Tortorella, however, would not address the issue -- or what led him to become so incensed -- after his team's 4-0 loss, which forced a sixth game tomorrow in New York.
"Ask me a question about the game," Tortorella said. "That's nothing. Has nothing to do with tonight."
Pushed to address whether he threw anything into the stands, Tortorella said: "Ask me a question about the game. Please."
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