Jamie Nye: Blue Jackets surprise starts with Tortorella

Admit it, John Tortorella is one heck of a hockey coach.

Yes, he went a bit crazy in Vancouver and he snaps at the media. But he’s a man who wears his heart on his sleeve but let’s also notice that emotion when his team finds success.

I don’t know if you’ve seen a coach as proud of his team as Tortorella was last night as the Columbus Blue Jackets slayed the Tampa Bay Lightning in four straight games.

While I’ve never liked the term ‘outcoached,’ it’s fair to say Tortorella outcoached John Cooper in Round 1.

The first period of the first game saw the Lightning totally dominate and the irate Tortorella called out his team. He asked for more and his players gave it to him in an unlikely comeback. They followed that up with three more solid games for an unlikely upset.

Now, who knows what is coming in these playoffs? The last time a team dominated a President’s Trophy winner in the first round, the upstarts won the Stanley Cup. It was the 2012 L.A. Kings over the Vancouver Canucks.

So if you like an underdog story, welcome aboard the Blue Jackets bandwagon.