The St. Louis Blues were incredibly physical in their game one matchup with the Chicago Blackhawks. Apparently it wasn’t enough.
Ken Hitchcock, the Blues head coach, said after the game that his team passed up on several chances to hit the Blackhawks and they could not do that. He went on to say he wants at least 70 hits.
Hitchcock is a great coach, regardless of what anyone wants to tell you. He’s done great things including winning a Stanley Cup and led an injury ravaged Blues team this season to the second best record in the conference and third best in the league.
However, on this issue he is crazy. The Blues probably did have a few chances to hit the Blackhawks and may have passed up on it, but 41 is a big number.
Maybe you get up to 50 or 55, but 70 is just crazy. Even Joel Quenneville, the coach of the Blackhawks realized this. He told reporters that he hopes the Blues try to hit his team 70 times because that means Chicago has won the possession battle, which plays right into their game.
Q on Hitchcock saying he wants 70 hits: "I hope he tries to get to 70. That means we have the puck the whole game." #Blackhawks
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) April 14, 2016
What is somewhat troubling is that Hitchcock even knew the real stat. He knew his team had 41 hits in the opening game of the conference quarterfinals.
He knew his team had done a pretty good job roughing up their opponent but he still said at least 70 hits. It’s just not an attainable number while still trying to encourage more offensive output, which Hitchcock is also doing.
It’s one thing to want your team to keep up the intensity and make Chicago pay for every mistake or loose puck. It’s fine to want your team to go into all the corner battles and give some bumps.
However, to implant the idea that 70 is an absolute must is putting too much emphasis on hitting when Chicago is just too fast and talented. Coach Quenneville is right too.
If the Blues actually did attain 70 hits, even if you include reverse-hits and offensive zone forechecking, it means the Blues didn’t have much of the puck. You cannot let Chicago dominate the possession battle and expect to win.
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The amount of hits Hitchcock is asking for has even caught the attention of national media. Needless to say, it caused some eye rolling there too.
The Blues need to focus on the offense and keep everything else at a high level. The Blues compete level was off the charts in game one. They blocked shots and kept the ‘Hawks along the perimeter for long stretches.
Could they go for a few more hits? Sure. There’s always a few more bodies that can be taken out. There’s always the chance to stand up some players at the blueline. But to put all your focus on the physical aspect isn’t smart.
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Hitchcock is a very cerebral coach. He might be just setting a high bar so his team knows to keep the physical part of the game alive and not let Chicago have any comfortable areas. Speaking to the media, he tried to explain better that he didn’t mean “just running into people”.
Let’s hope that’s what he means anyway. As much as we all love hockey and love the hitting, the Blues could put themselves in bad positions if they go for too many hits and smart hockey is what the team needs more than anything.