Bob Hartley, innocently, said he was just rewarding three grinders with the night’s opening shift.

John Tortorella said he was just reacting — mainly out of safety concerns for his players.

The result?

Two seconds in. Five fights. Eight ejections.

And unfathomable bad blood.

Hartley explained his decision to start the line of Brian McGrattan, Kevin Westgarth, Blair Jones.

"Those guys are playing well for us," said Hartley, coach of the Calgary Flames. "They got us a goal last game (Thursday against Winnipeg). Obviously, we’re not scoring many goals. We had absolutely zero intentions there. Those guys are playing hard for us. We’re a disciplined hockey club. As far as I know, they were the home team, so they had the luxury of putting whoever they wanted on the ice."

So Tortorella countered Hartley’s opening bid.

The Vancouver Canucks coach opted for a trio of Tom Sestito, Dale Weise and Kellan Lain, a six-foot-six rookie playing in his first game in the National Hockey League.

"I see the starting lineup and I know the other guy across the bench," Tortorella said of Hartley. "It’s easy for people to say, ‘Oh, put the Sedins out there and it’s deflated.’ I can’t put our players at risk that way. With the lineup he had, I’m not going to put those type of players at risk. And that’s what ensues.

"I’m not proud of it. I apologized to every one of the players involved in it. I don’t feel great about it at all. My biggest mistake was putting Lainer in that lineup. I’ll kick myself forever for not having someone else there."

So, to no one’s surprise, fists flew.

"I thought my players responded tremendously," said Tortorella. "Listen — it shouldn’t be in the game, that stuff. I don’t want it in the game. But I have to protect my team, too. So all the pundits, all the people pissing and moaning, they don’t have a clue what a locker-room’s about. They don’t understand the whole circumstance involved in that type of situation."

That had merely been the start of Saturday’s clash.

The first period ended scoreless, but then the teams took it to the alley — or, at least, the corridor — when Tortorella bee-lined to the Flames’ dressing room. His ill-advised trip, caught on camera, was met with resistance. (And it may have ended very badly for Tortorella had goalie coach Clint Malarchuk, incensed, got ahold of him.)

Worried about supplemental discipline?

"I have no idea what’s going to happen," replied Tortorella. "I’m not speaking on that. I’m not going to go there."

Of course, the night’s hopeful formula — gloves drop, fortunes rise — could work for only one team.

And, in the end, it was the Canucks who eked out a 3-2 shootout decision at Rogers Arena.

Scoring in the post-overtime exercise were Joe Colborne for the Flames and Yannik Weber for the Canucks — both of whom connected in the opening three rounds.

Authoring the deciding conversion, in the fifth round, was Canucks winger Chris Higgins.