Tortorella, Lightning a surprise

Tampa Bay Lightning head coach John Tortorella, a former University of Maine hockey star, has had his team labeled the “Cinderella club” of this year’s playoffs by opposing coach Pat Burns of the Devils.

Picked by many not to make the playoffs and to finish last in the NHL regular season, the Lightning have earned the title. They began play in the second round last night against New Jersey.

The Lightning are heavy underdogs against New Jersey, and Tortorella says, “That is exactly the way it should be and we don’t mind. It is a tremendous incentive to players to know they are put in that role. I just keep telling them we aren’t even supposed to be here, so relax and go play.”

The players are where Tortorella always places full credit. After wrapping up the Washington series, a reporter tried to give Tortorella some credit for the win. In Game 3 Tortorella put together a line of Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier, and Vinny Prospal. That line scored 10 of Tampa Bay’s last 11 goals and the team won four straight after losing the first two of the series.

Tortorella in his earnest modesty would hear none of it. “It’s the players who win games,” he said. “They get the job done.” Tortorella, like it or not, receives his due credit from opposing coaches and players.

Burns credits Tortorella with the turnaround season for Lecavalier, a No. 1 pick in 1997 who fussed and fumed with coaches and his teammates last year and this to the point of wanting to be traded. Said Burns, “John wouldn’t let Lecavalier be less of a player than he could be. John did a great job with him.”

Lecavalier had been pampered by the organization as its ticket to wins and profits. However, Lecavalier, just 23 now, had not learned the price to be paid in the NHL to attain those goals, and with all the babying going on, there was no one to teach him.

Tortorella started the reversal of that process last year. “You know me,” said Tortorella. “I come straight at you. I’m right in your face.” Lecavalier responded with his best season to date.

Tortorella must coach an inexperienced playoff team against one of the most playoff-savvy teams in the league in this series against New Jersey. The Maine hockey program’s first NHL coach – sounds kinda nice, doesn’t it? Nobody could have worked harder to achieve that accolade than John Tortorella.

The Colorado Avs are out in Round 1. Rarely in sports can you say a team failed. The Avs failed.

There can be no excuse for their early exit. That takes nothing from the Minnesota Wild, but even the Wild players said before that series started that they were overmatched and hoped to win a couple of games.

Wild coach Jacque Lemaire said after his team went down 3-1 in the series that he did not expect his team to be able to come back, but it was not going without a fight.

Sure, there’s a lot of sandbagging going on there, but the Avs knew better than to listen.

Then the Avs lose in seven, including three losses on their home ice. They face the loss of Peter Forsberg, their best player, who wants to return to Sweden to play for his father. Patrick Roy, the greatest goaltender of all time, is contemplating retirement.

The upset of the Detroit Red Wings by Anaheim was the result of one of the greatest goaltending series ever by J.S. Giguere, but the Avs’ loss had no such focal point. Colorado was not ready to play against a team they were confident would lose.

And that’s why the games get played.

Old Town native Gary Thorne is an ESPN and NBC sportscaster.