Danny Briere sounds off on John Tortorella's shocking lineup scratch

Philadelphia Flyers head coach John Tortorella is known for his ruthless nature as well as lineup decisions, perhaps the most infamous of which was just over a decade ago when he scratched goaltender Roberto Luongo ahead of the 2014 Heritage Classic while serving as bench boss of the Vancouver Canucks. 

Tonight, he's raised eyebrows everywhere by making the decision to scratch newly appointed team captain Sean Couturier, along with veteran center Cam Atkinson and defenseman Denis Gurianov. 

And it sounds like he has the support of Flyers general manager Danny Briere, who knows quite well that Tortorella treats everyone the same and demands the same out of every player, regardless of their position or salary. 

“I can tell you one thing, with John Tortorella, it doesn’t matter who it is,” Briere said. “That’s what he’s known for. He treats everybody the same way. He felt this is where we’re at now. We need to have the team to make the playoffs or try and win some games.”

Tortorella doubled down on his philosophy yesterday, saying that he's going to play the players whom he thinks gives the team the best chance to earn two points. 

“I don’t care the name, the stature, veteran — especially this time of year. I don’t care who you are. I’m going to put the guys who I think give you the best chance to win that particular game,” Tortorella said Monday. ” And they have a right to disagree. They have a right to have a discussion with me. I think that’s how you develop your relationships within a team in a long year.”

The Flyers take on the Maple Leafs tonight at Wells Fargo Center - can they get a win following Tortorella's controversial lineup decisions? 

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