SAN JOSE, Calif. — Some coaches might have been stubborn and refused to make any serious changes, especially to a team in a conference final and only down one game in a series that was still early. Not Ken Hitchcock.
The coach of the St. Louis Blues is not afraid to change with the times. One of the first things he did when assuming control of the Blues in 2011 was reassess his relationship strategies with younger players. He didn't think he knew enough of their world anymore, so he became a regular watcher of the Palladia Channel (now known as MTV Live) to better understand the millennial mindset.
When his Blues were shut out a second straight game of this Western Conference Final against San Jose on Thursday, he said: "I'm going to have to change tactics, do something completely different than we've done in the first two series."
Saturday, Hitchcock changed his starting goalie, inserting Jake Allen for Brian Elliott, tinkered with his line combinations and adjusted his checking scheme some. The Blues looked like a completely different team in a 6-3 drubbing of the Sharks at SAP Center. The best-of-seven ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Adrian Dater
Ken Hitchcock’s Game 4 Coaching Wizardry Helps Blues Flip Momentum in Series
May 21st, 2016 by Adrian Dater Leave a reply »
Advertisement