Let out a sigh of relief: Ken Hitchcock is going to stop milking that goal review controversy. For now.
He urged his St. Louis Blues to move on as Game 3 rapidly approaches in Chicago on Sunday, as the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
“That’s probably for summer time conversation,” Hitchcock said. “I’m sure there’ll be lots of discussion. That (offside call) will be a video that will get played over and over again, but for right now, all I know is it’s a call that went against us and we need to move on and get ready for (Sunday) afternoon.”
It’s amusing to see Hitchcock basically follow the coach’s blueprint for situations like these.
Step 1: Plead for make-up calls either implicitly or explicitly (Hitch was pretty close to outright demanding them).
Step 2: Change course and act like you’re above the fray.
Step 3: ?
Step 4: Profit
Well, the process goes something like that.
In all seriousness, it would be silly for Hitchcock to leave any stone un-turned, particularly with patience for a Blues’ first-round exit likely at an all-time low. If his reactions inspire a ref not to blow a whistle with the fear of looking “one-sided” even once during the rest of the series, it’s worth every word Hitchcock uttered in reaction to that memorable fiasco.
It might be beneficial for those comments to stick in the mind of officials, but Hitchcock’s justified in hoping that the Blues focus on their world-class opponent in the Blackhawks.