COLUMBUS — The three words that John Tortorella banished from his vocabulary and the philosophy that was anathema when the coach worked behind the Rangers’ bench from late in 2008-09 through the 2013 playoffs are back in vogue.
And there are signs everywhere to prove it, figuratively, in the explosiveness with which his Blue Jackets move the puck and attack; and literally, with the three-word sign affixed above the door through which the team passes on its way to the ice.
“SAFE IS DEATH”
That’s the motto Tortorella espoused in Tampa Bay and that’s the attitude young, talented Lightning like Marty St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards and Dan Boyle embraced on their way to winning the 2004 Stanley Cup.
But when the coach arrived on Broadway, things had changed. The red line had been eliminated from the game. And he didn’t have St. Louis, Lecavalier, Richards and Boyle. Anyone who ever dared utter the words, “Safe is Death,” had his mouth washed out with soap.
Now, though, the old has become new again. The Blue Jackets, 9-4-2 following Friday’s 4-2 victory over the Rangers, seem to be thriving.
And, as seems universal across the NHL, the Jackets’ success is being driven by young talent such as 19-year-old defenseman Zach Werenski, the eighth overall selection in the 2015 entry draft, and 22-year-old center Alexander Wennberg, the 14th selection in 2013 who has taken a bit more time to establish himself.
“I think I’ve learned to let guys go,” Tortorella said when asked about his journey back to the future. “I talked to our GM and our coaches and looked at the talent we have on the team plus the skilled guys we had coming from [AHL] Cleveland, and it became clear that that’s where we needed to go—to go with skill.
“Now, you still always need the grind. That part hasn’t changed. And ‘Safe is Death’ is not about not coming back and playing on the other side of the puck. It’s not just run-and-gun here. With guys we have on the back end like Werenski, it’s not always about chipping it in.
“We’re still learning how to balance it, though. I think sometimes we get caught in between and have three guys laterally down low in the offensive zone and forget about being the high guy. So it’s something we have to continually work on, but yes, I think with this type of talent on this team, that’s the way I need to coach.”
One moment please. If Rangers fans’ heads are exploding at this Old is New Tortorella, compose yourselves. For know this: Marian Gaborik would still be expected to block shots playing for this coach, even if the Jackets block one fewer shot per game than the fancy-pants Rangers.
“Blocking shots is a part of playing defense,” said Tortorella, happily accepting a characterization of him as a shot-blocking zealot. “What it does is to bring everyone’s commitment level up. To tell you the truth, I’m not sure whether the blocked shot or the reaction on the bench to a blocked shot is more important, but for a young team trying to defend, that kind of emotion is so important.
“A lot of this is about mindset, trying to develop a mindset. We have to raise the standards.”
Ah, mindset.
Now there’s a word with which the Rangers and their fans are quite familiar, indeed.
Pavel Buchnevich skated Friday morning for the first time since Saturday’s game in Calgary, and though he was sidelined for the third straight match in the aftermath of suffering back spasms, Rangers coach Alain Vigneault was hopeful the winger would be able to practice Saturday.
Buchnevich, who had scored in four straight games before this mishap, missed five games last month with the same malady.
Adam Clendening has played in only one game since Oct. 22, but Vigneault said “yes and no” when asked if he felt the need to get the club’s seventh defenseman onto the ice. The coach said he would take it “game by game” with the Blueshirts in the midst of five matches in eight days.