John Tortorella is fiery. He's competitive. And he hates when you tell him his team doesn't have a chance. That was the message (in a roundabout way) delivered to the players before they took the ice for Game 1 at Amalie Arena.
Tortorella, in an emotional pre-game address, told his players "not to take a backwards step" and that facing the NHL's best team in the Stanley Cup Playoffs is a "great fucking opportunity to stand in there, face-to-face with 'em."
Well, folks, the Blue Jackets did that – and they emerged with a 4-3 comeback win that was nothing short of thrilling from the second period on.
