There are those who would have you believe John Tortorella is a dinosaur.
They see a prickly, old-school coach who wants blocked shots and benches young skill players, a man who represents an NHL of a time gone by when fights reigned and coaches fumed.
Those people, it seems, are not paying attention.
It’s easy to fall into the trap of seeing Torts as a caricature if you’re a league observer. There are 31 teams now, all with their own nuances, and Tortorella’s history precedes itself.
But on the ice, he sees the changes in NHL hockey. It’s faster and more skilled than ever, and for a team to win, it has be the same. It’s one reason he’s repeated the mantra “safe is death” since arriving in Columbus, and why he preaches a north-south game relentlessly using speed and aggressiveness to put pressure on the opposition.
In Thursday night’s 7-3 win over the Florida Panthers, that’s what Tortorella saw.
“I will tell you, that’s as close to an identity that I’d like to see this team play with, and that’s playing fast, north-south, and getting it under the hashmarks,” the head coach said. “We did that more tonight than we have all season long.
“On top of that, I thought our (defensemen) were elusive in the end zone. They were moving all over the place in the offensive zone and not just staying out at the blue line. That’s as close as it’s come to how we want to play.”
The part about the defense might be the most interesting point. Tortorella has given the defensemen – in particular Zach Werenski and Seth Jones – the green light to “rove” in the offensive zone; rather than parking at the blue line as two last resorts of defense, the two are allowed to go wherever they want in the offensive zone.
Is it risky? Absolutely. The head coach admits that having defensemen acting like forwards in the offensive zone will probably lead to a goal against this year. But he also sees it as the best way to make use of two players in Werenski and Jones who have elite and unique skill sets.
“I’m trying to be a team trying to win,” Tortorella said. “I don’t want our team to be perfect defensively. I don’t want us to be. I want us to take some chances. That’s where the game is. You ask me this 10 years ago and there’s not a chance I’d be talking this way. That’s where the game has gone to, especially without a red line. So we’ll see where it goes.”
There was evidence of that on display against the Panthers. The duo combined to carry the puck into the zone five times last night at 5-on-5 and had an edge in shot attempts, shots, scoring chances and high-danger chances according to Natural Stat Trick.
In addition, the squad as Tortorella said was able to make a lot happen down low. The opening goal came from hard work below the dots, with Brandon Dubinsky centering out to Josh Anderson for the goal. On goal No. 2, Markus Nutivaara did his roving part, passing out from the low right corner to Anderson for the score. On goal No. 5, Oliver Bjorkstrand took the puck from behind the net to the wall and out to the slot for a goal in which he undressed most of the Panthers team.
FLA-CBJ Game Report. The Jackets owned this one at 5v5. Did a lot of damage on behind the net plays. #CBJ #FLAPanthers pic.twitter.com/G7fphcCBlN
— Corey Sznajder (@ShutdownLine) November 3, 2017
When you combine talented players, hard work down low and a team that has the green light to take chances, you get what has turned out to be a pretty good team.
"For me, it was just how quick we played," Tortorella said. "We didn’t make many D-to-D plays, our transition game was fast, it was direct, it gave us a chance to play. Tonight’s game was probably the most we played under the hash mark all year long."
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