Tortorella spoke a little at length, and stirred the pot. (Getty Images)

When the Eastern Conference final matchup was set between the New Jersey Devils and the Rangers, everybody expected we'd see a lot of hate. Hate and gamesmanship.

It took until Game 3 for us to see some of it, but now it's flowing like water at a car wash.

Part of the reason why things had remained pretty quiet up to this point is the fact that Rangers coach John Tortorella has muzzled himself. We've discussed that one plenty this postseason. His gruff demeanor has been a big conversation while he wasn't doing much conversing himself.

But Tortorella has been more willing to talk after wins. And now he's talking with the Rangers up 2-1 and before Game 4. Perhaps this is why he had been as quiet as a mouse.

What has particularly drawn his ire is the play of the Devils. Oh, and of course the officiating. Torts has been fined plenty for talking about the officiating, it's almost like it's engrained in him. Now he's finally letting it loose. A little bit.

What got him going on Sunday was a question about the hearing for and possible suspension of Brandon Prust. Of course being his coach, Tortorella wasn't happy about it.

"Prust has played probably 300-plus games without any hearing, anything going on with him. He's probably one of the most honest players. I look at Zubrus' elbow to Stralman. I look at Parise launching himself at Del Zotto. Maybe if our players stayed down on the ice, we'll get something."

A subtle shot at the Devils. He continued, dropping some of the subtlety.

"We tell our players don't stay down on the ice. Get up. I hope -- I'll leave it at that. Picking on the power play, set plays, picking on the power play. If we want to start discussing officials with the media, I have a long list here. That's a set play by Jersey. Picking so we can't get to Kovalchuk to block a shot."

Now that's all the further that he went on discussing the officiating. Still, it was enough to get people talking, including Devils coach Peter DeBoer. He took the role of Torts and turned in a one-word answer when asked about it on Sunday.

"Comical," he said when asked for his thoughts on the matter.

I find it very interesting Tortorella would break his silence about this and now. Perhaps he's doing this as a way to get the officials to look more closely for it. I don't know. But his team hasn't had much of a problem with getting in the way of shots so far and keeping the Devils off the score board. In three games the Devils have just three goals, including being blanked twice.

However it is nice to hear him open up and say something to put an extra jolt into this series.

Let the gamesmanship begin.

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