The Blackhawks were officially eliminated from playoff contention on Tuesday night when the Colorado Avalanche gained two points against the Edmonton Oilers. Jeremy Colliton spoke with the media following the morning skate on Wednesday to reflect on no postseason for Chicago, despite a major turnaround in play during the second half of the season which had them briefly in a spot on Feb. 20, then fighting for one down the stretch.
"Well, we'd rather be in," said Colliton. "I think we've had a pretty good second half but the hole was a little too deep. We still have big games here. St. Louis is in a fight for the division title and we've got a full rink to play in front of so we want to play well and play hard."
The Blackhawks have three games remaining on their regular season schedule, beginning Wednesday against the visiting St. Louis Blues.
"We have a lot of pride, I think, in our room, a lot of competitors, and you go out on the ice in front of a full building of our fans," said Colliton about staying motivated. "We want to play hard and play well and compete. There's a team over there that has a pretty good lineup and they've been playing well for a long time, they're trying to win the division, so it's a big challenge for us."
BLOG: Colliton on not making the playoffs
Head Coach Jeremy Colliton spoke with the media following morning skate on Wednesday
