The third period of Monday’s Winter Classic saw some questionable officiating, and during his post-game press conference, John Tortorella wondered aloud whether a conspiracy might be afoot. Said the coach: “I’m not sure if NBC got together with the refs and wanted to turn this into an overtime game,” before adding, “For two good referees, I thought that game was reffed horribly.” As you’d imagine, the league doesn’t appreciate it when a coach questions the integrity of its refs and suggests that maybe they’re trying to nudge the game in a certain direction. So to the surprise of no one, the league handed down a fine last night. The amount: $30,000. Tortorella, meanwhile, apologized for the comments yesterday, explaining that they were intended to be “tongue in cheek.” Said the coach: “They were sarcastic comments by me at the wrong time, and it was frustration on my part.” And also: “Not for a second, in no way, time, shape or form did I think anything like that goes on with our league, or ever will.” He added that he felt he “tainted the Classic with my mouth,” but that might be taking things a little too far. If nothing else, it provided HBO with one final story line for tonight’s finale of 24/7. [Slap Shot/NYT]