Even after the official end to the series, the rivalry between the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals continues to heat up after comments made by Caps head coach Adam Oates Thursday on 106.7 The Fan in Washington. Oates is not happy about New York Rangers coach John Tortorella characterizing the Caps' complaints about officiating as whining.
"Well, I think he's out of line," Oates said on Washington's 106.7 The Fan. "[Tortorella] should be worried about his own series. We didn't whine once during the series. I never complained. I don't know, did you guys ever hear me complain about officiating?"
When co-host Chad Dukes responded that no, he had not heard Oates complain during the series, the Capitals coach continued his tirade.
"No? Ovi did after Game 7. No one complained before any game. I met with a supervisor before Game 7. You meet with a supervisor before every single game. We never complained about anything."
Oates seemed so frustrated that when asked by host and former Redskins linebacker LaVar Arrington whether he could beat up Tortorella. "Yes," Oates said, "easily."
Following their loss on Monday night, Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin was critical of the officiating and talked about there being some sort of league-wide conspiracy in Game 6 to get the series to a decisive seventh game. Caps gm George McPhee then came out on Wednesday and said: "I don't think there's a league conspiracy, but it sure didn't feel right. Alex wasn't wrong."
The comments weren't lost on the Rangers coach as Tortorella wasted no time in firing back.
"We get everybody and their brother whining out there in Washington about what happened in that series and I think that's a big reason why they lose that series," said Tortorella on Wednesday.
Oates' full interview with Dukes and Arrington can be found here.
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