Hitchcock: Blues lacked 'killer instinct'
/Blues coach Ken Hitchcock, via stltoday.com, reflected on his team's failure in the playoffs.
“Everybody’s going to talk … about the loss in Game 6 in Chicago, and Los Angeles (in 2013), but the series wasn’t lost in Game 6,” Hitchcock said. “Sure, we played our best period of hockey in the second period in Chicago (Sunday), but that wasn’t where we lost the series, and it wasn’t where we lost the series in LA.
“We lost the series in Games 3 and 4, when we had the opportunity in both series. … We weren’t able to create the gap in Games 3 and 4 and win on the road, which you have to do in the playoffs. That’s the killer instinct that you need to have. We weren’t able to do it in either series, and it hurts.”
Hitchcock, as always, holds himself accountable and discussed how to help his team find that knack.
“It’s not God-given, it’s developed from within your group,” Hitchcock said. “If you’re going to start the fight, you need to know you can finish it. That’s just the confidence that goes within the group that has to come with us, and it’s really important we develop that mindset. … It’s that killer instinct.”