Dallas Stars forward Steve Ott is no stranger to getting in the faces of opposing players. Opposing head coaches, on the other hand?
In his team’s 4-1 loss to Philadelphia on Wednesday night, Ott was involved in an altercation with Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette.
The incident occurred as the two teams were making their way to the dressing rooms at the end of the first period. While the Stars were exiting through the tunnel at the American Airlines Center, Laviolette attempted to cut ahead of the Dallas players instead of waiting for them to pass. Ott, however, blocked Laviolette’s attempt to get by.
The Flyers coach then shoved past Ott and walked through the tunnel.
After the game, Ott said Laviolette should have waited until the Stars had cleared the tunnel before making his way to the Flyers room.
“It’s disrespect of our building, just let our team off, it’s not a big deal,” Ott told the Associated Press. “He obviously thought that he has a higher power than everybody else and a little bit more arrogance. Of all the coaches in the whole NHL, that’s probably the first time I’ve seen that.”
Ott, who is known around the league as an agitator, said he would have acted differently if he was in Laviolette’s position.
“I would never do that if I was in Philadelphia in their building and had to walk through their lineup. Just let us go and show a little respect, that’s all,” Ott added.
During the second intermission, Laviolette chose to take an alternate route to the dressing rom. Instead of passing through the same tunnel again, he walked onto the ice and followed his team through the player’s tunnel, avoiding another potential conflict.
Following the game, Laviolette would not discuss the incident, saying, “We should probably keep it about the game, it was such a big win for us.”
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