{"id":614267,"date":"2026-04-19T10:39:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T10:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/614267\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T10:39:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T10:39:09","slug":"tortorella-changes-mindset-with-golden-knights-entering-playoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/614267\/","title":{"rendered":"Tortorella changes mindset with Golden Knights entering playoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Some have called the Golden Knights ruthless because of their history of cold and bold moves, but it\u2019s hard to argue with their record. They have made the playoffs for the eighth time in nine seasons since they entered the NHL as an expansion team.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are committed to winning,\u201d general manager Kelly McCrimmon said. \u201cWe treat our people fantastic. The organization treats the players great. I think I\u2019ve had tremendous relationships with players throughout my time as a manager. I know that matters to (president of hockey operations) George McPhee. I know that matters to (owner) Bill Foley.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think our players appreciate that we do what we can do to win. That\u2019s what I feel. They love playing here, and we try to provide them with everything that we can so that we can win.”<\/p>\n

The main thing Tortorella has brought is a more aggressive mindset.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t change a ton of our systems, just a few places where we can be a little bit more aggressive, keep some pucks alive, whether it\u2019s in the (offensive) zone, neutral zone or (defensive) zone,\u201d captain Mark Stone<\/a>\u00a0said. \u201cTry and play a little quicker in the D-zone, which has led to some more possession time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cassidy wanted the Golden Knights to collapse in front of their net and keep shots to the outside. Although they didn\u2019t give up a ton of grade-A chances, they spent too much time in their end, and it wore on them. They became too passive.<\/p>\n

Tortorella wants them to snuff out plays before they start, unafraid to make mistakes.<\/p>\n

\u201cTorts\u2019 whole thing is pressure, pressure, pressure, try and get it out as fast as you can,\u201d defenseman Shea Theodore<\/a>\u00a0said. \u201cAnd when you limit time in your own end, obviously that translates to more offense, and it\u2019s not as taxing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think obviously mistakes are going to be made, but if we can attack and we can have support and guys covering, that limits the 2-on-1s and the 3-on-1s that we were tending to give up. I think we\u2019ve cleaned up things over the last seven, eight games coming into the playoffs, and I think we\u2019re feeling good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tortorella hasn\u2019t coached in the playoffs since 2020 with the Columbus Blue Jackets, and he has won three series, including the 2020 Stanley Cup Qualifiers, in five playoff appearances since 2012, when he led the New York Rangers to the Eastern Conference Final.<\/p>\n

But this is the best roster he has had since his Rangers days (2008-13). The 67-year-old has coached 120 playoff games, 20th in NHL history, and won 56, 25th in League history. He won the Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004.<\/p>\n

Tortorella isn\u2019t trying to help a team rebuild or develop, like he did with the Vancouver Canucks (2013-14), the Blue Jackets (2015-21) or the Philadelphia Flyers (2022-25). He\u2019s trying to help a team win now.<\/p>\n

Vegas has a high standard. The Golden Knights are tied with the Edmonton Oilers for the highest playoff-game winning percentage (.585) and series winning percentage (.667) in NHL history.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is different, and I\u2019m very excited,\u201d he said. \u201cI think we\u2019re a really good team. I do. I think the mindset is right. I think we\u2019re coming into this part of it on a note mentally that I think we\u2019re strong. Anxious to be with them, and really excited to be part of the playoffs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hear that?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Some have called the Golden Knights ruthless because of their history of cold and bold moves, but it\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":614268,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-614267","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=614267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614267\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/614268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=614267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=614267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=614267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}