He has been here before. Faced this situation.
Understands the position.
John Tortorella knows what it’s like to sweep the best team in hockey during the Stanley Cup playoffs, an opportunity his Vegas Golden Knights have when facing Colorado in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena.
It was in 2019 when Tortorella coached Columbus to a first-round sweep of Tampa Bay, one of the most improbable upsets in NHL history. The Lightning had produced a 128-point regular season. They went 62-16-4. They were a juggernaut.
Tortorella is now the first coach to lead a best-of-seven series 3-0 against the No. 1 seed multiple times.
But what, if any, similarities exist between then and now?
How does this Vegas team compare to what he had in Columbus?
“It’s tough for me to answer that question because I haven’t been around,” said Tortorella, who took over the Knights with eight games remaining in the regular season. “I’ve been here such a short time with the team. What it speaks to, it’s the playoffs, right?
“And I believe the coaching staff, the other team that we’re coaching against, feel the same way. The regular season is the regular season. The playoffs — a lot of things can happen.”
Outplayed by Vegas
Colorado finished this season with 121 points and, like Tampa Bay seven years ago, owns a Presidents’ Trophy for the best regular-season record.
The Avalanche have your usual assemblage of stars when defining such a team.
They were thought by many capable of steamrolling through these playoffs to hold aloft the Stanley Cup.
Hasn’t worked out that way.
They have been outplayed by Vegas through three games.
It’s do-or-die for Colorado now.
It is likely impossible for Vegas players not to think about what’s at stake Tuesday, sitting a win from a spot in the Stanley Cup Final.
But one of the things Tortorella has done best since taking over is instill a thought process about never glancing beyond the current moment.
“We’re not trying to look at this any differently,” forward Brett Howden said. “We’re trying not to approach this game any differently. Just stay with the same mindset.”
I also don’t believe it’s mere lip service.
They seem to have genuinely bought into Tortorella’s message. Makes sense. When you’re having this much success, the easiest thing to do is not mess with what’s working.
“The fourth win is always the hardest to get (in a series),” defenseman Shea Theodore said. “Whether it’s the first round, second round or conference final. We’re going to expect their best. It’s win or go home for them, so we have to match that intensity from the start. I think we have to have a better start than we did in Game 3 and just keep building our game from there.”
Tortorella again made his pitch rather simple: That his team is merely getting ready to play another hockey game. That it had a prolonged film session Monday and will need to be better. That’s how they approach things.
That he trusts his players and knows they get it. That’s how they’re going about preparing for Game 4.
And it has worked beyond what they could have hoped.
The next play
It’s a different story for Colorado, which hasn’t been able to produce the one goal or key stop that defined its incredible season. The Avalanche always stepped up when needed. Always made the next play to secure wins.
But Colorado hasn’t capitalized on mistakes like Vegas. The Avalanche haven’t been able to replicate what led to 121 points.
“Our team has played with more intensity and more desperation as the series has gone on, but it hasn’t worked out for us yet,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “I think with the hill to climb, it’s definitely a tough one, right? It just doesn’t happen very often, and we’re certainly understanding of that, but I think we have a lot of pride and a lot of character in our room.
“I think it boils down to not letting the disappointment overcome you. … This will be our most difficult challenge, but I believe that we will show up and be ready to play, ready to compete for a win.”
If not and Vegas completes the sweep, John Tortorella will know the feeling.
Has been here before.
Ed Graney, a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for sports column writing, can be reached at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.
