John Tortorella Holds Yet Another Entertaining Presser: "We're Here! Face it!"

Currently riding a five-game losing streak, the Philadelphia Flyers are now clinging to their playoff lives with a one-point lead on the Washington Capitals for third place in the Metropolitan Division. Needless to say, vocal and volatile head coach John Tortorella is not happy with the way things have been going. And he's been calling out his troops the past few days. 

Wednesday, he was at it again, this time going through exactly what he's trying to do with his group right now, and how he operates. And for those who don't like it — he couldn't care less.

It always comes down to, 'oh, they're going to quit on him'. It follows me around. And so be it. If a player is going to quit on me, or players are going to quit on me because I'm trying to make them better people or better athletes, you've got the wrong damn coach here, and you've got the wrong damn people here. My job is… I'm going to push athletes.

Not many expected the Flyers to be competing for a playoff spot this season as they continue their rebuild, but Tortorella doesn't want to hear any of that talk:

I hear the narrative...'They're young, they're not supposed to be here...' That's bullsh*t! We're here! We're here! Face it!... Let's not fade away and say 'we're not supposed to be here.' That sucks!

Let's be better. And I don't think we're ready to be better. That's my problem with us right now. And that's my job... I haven't done a good enough job to make them understand we have to be different now. We have to be at a different level. That's my frustration with me, and that's my frustration with them.

Philly's last two losses have stung especially hard; a 5-1 drubbing at the hands of the lowly Chicago Blackhawks, and then a 5-4 overtime loss to the New York Islanders in what wound up being Ivan Fedotov's debut in goal. 

Next up: back-to-back games in Buffalo against the Sabres and in Columbus against the Blue Jackets. Both are clearly winnable games, and we will see if Torts' group is "ready to be better."

Photo: James Carey Lauder-USA TODAY Sports