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
advantage deserved fate good mistake mistakes seemed team teams ton took
It seemed like every mistake we made went in our net. We deserved a better fate. We had a ton of things go right. We out-shot them. We out-chanced them. We outplayed them, but they're an opportunistic team and they took advantage of the mistakes we made. That's what good teams do.
against beginning concern critical game goal good great lose penalties period played poor power second special teams three took
First of all we took some poor penalties at the beginning of the second period to let them in the game. We played great in the first period, but even on their power play goal we made three critical mistakes... There are two things that really concern me right now. Against the good teams we lose the special teams game and when you can't kill a penalty, that's a big concern.
eaten taken teams top
They're the top dog. They've taken on all comers and really eaten up some teams this year.
against concern good losing major special teams
Against the good teams we're losing the special teams game, which is a major concern right now. And when you can't kill penalties, that's a big concern.
chances create four high lines playing score special teams
They have it all. They're playing well offensively and defensively, their special teams are playing well, they have four lines that can all score and all create chances and they're playing at a very high level.
both closely hard playing teams
It's a best-of-three now. This is two teams that are very closely matched. Both are playing really hard right now and there's not much difference.
against bears looking playing reason teams wounded
When you're playing against teams who are wounded bears or desperate, they're looking for a reason to play and when you give them a reason, they keep going.
allowing both everybody focus football good scoring spend teams time trying
We put a lot of focus on not allowing scoring chances, but (also) spend a lot of time trying to use everybody offensively. Both our teams were very, very good offensively in junior. To win, you have to play defense, just like in basketball, football and baseball. But we would like to win 6-0, not 6-5.
edge looking speak teams
We don't do it. That's not to say that other teams don't. We don't speak about it. Some teams do it because they're looking for every competitive edge they can find.
anybody looking scoring special team teams ton whining
I don't think anybody was looking for the penalties. I said it before ... the first team that adjusts is going to be the winner. You end up with a ton of scoring chances, a ton of special teams and you're going to have to get better and you're going to have to adjust. Whining about it isn't going to do anything. It's not going to go away.
biggest fans goal stands sure
I'm sure the fans in the stands were, 'Oh no, here we go again. I think for us, that was the biggest goal of the series.
change guy job three
I know a guy like Simmer, he could do the same job as two or three other guys, but it's working right now. I don't want to change it if it's working.
good happens hockey next playing start trying waiting weekend whatever
I know about playing back-to-backs, and they're up there waiting for us. Whatever happens in that game, if we play the right way, we'll feel good about it. You don't want to start next weekend trying to find your hockey game.
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.