Ken Hitchcock
Ken Hitchcock
Kenneth S. Hitchcock, nicknamed "Hitch", is an NHL hockey coach and pro scout, currently coaching the St. Louis Blues. He has also served as head coach of the NHL's Dallas Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, and Columbus Blue Jackets. He coached the Stars to a Stanley Cup victory in 1999...
ProfessionCoach
Date of Birth17 December 1951
CityEdmonton, Canada
built cannot emotional focus hard hoping physical playing second setting team
I think everyone is hoping physical play will be allowed. Our team is built that way. You cannot play in an emotional setting without getting physical. Over 82 (regular-season) nights, there are times it's hard to get physical. But when your focus is on playing the same team every second night, it's hard not to get physical.
gathered great hairy ourselves second
Even when things get a little hairy like they did in the second period, we gathered ourselves and did a great job.
giving goal hockey last lose seconds tough
It was a tough way to lose a hockey game, giving up a goal in the last 5 seconds when you're not in any real danger. That last one was a tough one.
coach felt longest period question second skate speed whether
That second period felt like the longest period I've ever been through as a coach. The first question was whether we could skate with them. We can. They've got speed and so do we.
building committed facility fans players practice quality second stuff talk winning
It's quality of life. The players already know the building is full, the building is loud, the fans are knowledgeable, the organization is committed to winning and the practice facility is second to none. Players talk about that stuff all the time.
goal second took winds
That power-play goal at the end of the second took the winds out of our sails.
bizarre
It was a really hard, really bizarre game.
category lead league nature
It's the nature of our season. We're in first place in one category. We lead the league in the unfortunate category of injuries.
plus
It's huge. He's a point-a-game guy, a big-time plus player.
pulled saw sore talking
He has a sore groin. I saw him talking to the trainers so I pulled him out.
checking checks dangerous hockey injuries player puck ready suspect type
That's a dangerous play in hockey when you're checking the player with the puck and he checks you. The checking player doesn't suspect that and he's not ready for it. I think you see a lot of injuries when that type of play happens.
bizarre hard
That was a hard, bizarre game. It was really hard and it was really, really bizarre.
dealing eight fire game giving good level penalties period rules seven team third took
It's still not good enough. We know the rules and we took two penalties in the third period that we can't take, not when the game is on the line. You're just dealing with an unbelievable level of fire when you're giving a team like that six, seven or eight penalties.
allowed biggest bit chasing difference game lead
I think the biggest difference for us was that we got the lead. We weren't chasing the game. We had the lead the whole game. It allowed us to play our game a little bit better. I think that was the biggest difference.