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Vancouver Canucks head coach John Tortorella and forward Ryan Kesler (17) talk to the Calgary Flames defenceman Shane O'Brien (55) and forward Lance Bouma (17) and Calgary Flames forward Jiri Hudler (24) during the first period at Rogers Arena.Anne-Marie Sorvin

An altercation broke out near the Calgary Flames' dressing room during the first intermission of their game against the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.

CBC cameras captured Canucks head coach John Tortorella attempting to go into the Flames locker room at Vancouver's Rogers Arena, with Calgary enforcer Brian McGrattan pushing him away.

Flames goaltender coach Clint Malarchuk came out of the Flames dressing room after Tortorella and McGrattan were separated. Malarchuk followed Tortorella, but was restrained by several members of Calgary's staff and McGrattan.

Much of the altercation appeared off camera, but another camera showed Vancouver's Chris Tanev pulling Alex Burrows back toward the Canucks dressing room.

The game got off to a violent start when both teams iced their fourth lines for the opening faceoff. Defenceman Kevin Bieksa took the opening draw for Vancouver and a line brawl broke out as soon as the puck was dropped.


CBC's Scott Oake asked Calgary's Lee Stempniak about the altercation during the second intermission, and the Flames forward said he was "a little surprised" to see Tortorella outside the visiting locker-room.

"I know he said something as it happened on the ice and I was one of the last guys off the ice," Stempniak said. "I came in and there was a big log-jam. I didn't really know what happened. Still not quite sure what happened."

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