Stanley Cup Playoffs - Rangers" Familiar Team-First Refrain Perhaps no other N.H.L. team is as emphatic a personification of its coach's philosophy as the Rangers. That was abundantly clear in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals Monday night. The Rangers persevered through two scoreless periods, then surged in the third, outhitting the Devils and outblocking them, hustling tirelessly in the face-off circle and in the corners, and ultimately winning, 3-0. Afterward, when asked about their individual achievements, the Rangers players talked instead about the team, just as their coach, John Tortorella, did. On Tuesday, Tortorella had a typically succinct way of putting it. "This isn't golf - it's a team sport," he said, already looking forward to Wednesday's Game 2. It is a familiar refrain for Jay Feaster, who was Tampa Bay's general manager in 2004, when Tortorella coached the Lightning to the Stanley Cup. "Oh yeah, that's exactly how he was then," Feaster said. It's never about anyone other than the team. It's never about him, it's not about anybody other than the team, and that's his whole focus. Feaster, now the general manager of the Calgary Flames, is watching with interest as Tortorella's Rangers have been clawing their way through the playoffs. "In "04, we obviously had some tremendously talented hockey players: a world-class goalie in Nikolai Khabibulin; Martin St. Louis, who was the Hart Trophy winner; Vince Lecavalier; Brad Richards, who won the Conn Smythe," Feaster said. But in reality with that team, the whole was greater than the sum of its parts. And I think it's one of the things that Torts excels at is getting that from guys. You look at this Rangers team, and it isn't about any one star player. It's about the whole ensemble, and every guy has to contribute or he's not going to play. On Monday, the ensemble included Ryan McDonagh, who made up for the early errors of Dan Girardi, his defense partner; Girardi, who scored the go-ahead goal and drew the penalty that led to the second goal; and the rookie Chris Kreider, who set up Girardi's goal and scored the second. "It's the little things, the details - that's what Torts insists on," Feaster said. I have to admit as an outside observer watching how Kreider has managed to work his way into John's good graces, it's about doing the little things. You know how much confidence he has in Kreider when he does things like put him out in the last minute of Game 7 against Ottawa. Feaster noted the little things done by Ruslan Fedotenko, a veteran of that 2004 Lightning team. He referred to Game 1 against the Capitals, when Fedotenko fought off two Washington players along the end boards and set up Artem Anisimov for the first goal in a Rangers victory. "That's 2004 John Tortorella coaching - what he expects," Feaster said. All Ruslan did was protect that puck. That's a big thing with Torts. That's one of the reasons we won in "04. It wasn't a fancy play. It wasn't some highlight-reel thing. But it's a hockey play. And it requires commitment and it requires you to be willing to take a pounding. I thought it indicative of how and why we won in "04." Feaster said Richards, who leads the Rangers with 6 goals and 11 points in the playoffs, also complemented Tortorella. "It's one of the reasons why the Rangers wanted Brad so badly this summer," Feaster said. Torts is a believer that you need the players in your locker room to carry the message. It can't be a coach every day, because if it is, after a while, it falls on deaf ears. You need the guys in the room to hold each other accountable. Ryan Callahan does such a good job as captain, and if you get a guy like Brad, with what he's been through with John, he understands what Torts wants. It is no surprise that Richards and Fedotenko, longtime participants in Tortorella's system, are currently No. 2 and No. 3 among Rangers forwards in shot-blocking. Tortorella will be looking for more of the little things from all his players in Game 2. "It has to be," he said. Especially the group of people we've evolved to. That's how we end up staying consistent, and have any chance to win a hockey game - it's to play as a team. Asked when he learned this philosophy, he said, "I don't know." "It's just what it is," he added."It's not learning, it's just what it is."