Blues aim to get on track vs. Columbus
by Chris Pinkert / St. Louis Blues
ST. LOUIS - Despite a 1-3-1 record in their last five games, the Blues say the mood in the locker room is good.
"We're fine, I think we're good," center Paul Stastny said. "We digested the loss, had a few good talks and we know what we've got to do to get back to work. There's nothing better than being back at home and playing with the fans and using their emotion to get us back on the winning track."
Tonight the Blues will host a Columbus Blue Jackets team that not only handed the Montreal Canadiens their first regulation loss of the season last night, but also did it in convincing fashion with a 10-0 rout.
"Obviously things were cooking last night when they put up 10," said goalie Carter Hutton. "But it's only one game. We don't need to worry about that. We're more worried about what we do in here than what they do over there."
The Blues struggles of late have been obvious: they're not scoring enough goals and they're giving up uncharacteristically too many.
Blues Head Coach Ken Hitchcock hopes to fix those issues with better puck management from his club, saying more support from the entire five-man unit on the ice will solve much of what's ailing the team recently.
Video: Blues look to get back on track vs. Columbus
"The League is so close, and this division and this conference is so good, you need to be on the mark all the time or else you crack," Hitchcock said. "That's what we're learning right now. The puck management, in order to have success offensively, has to just be perfect."
"Just play complete games," Hutton added. "We show flashes of it but we haven't been able to put it together completely. That's something we'll focus on tonight, a hard-working mentality and doing the right things. That will lead us to success.
"It's a long season," he added. "There's a lot of hockey left to be played. Considering how tough it's been, we're still in pretty good shape here."
Hutton Starts Tonight
With back-to-back home games this weekend, Hutton will get the start in tonight's 6 p.m. game against the Blue Jackets, while Jake Allen will start Sunday afternoon against Colorado.
This will be Hutton's first career game against the Blue Jackets, but he's been highly successful against Eastern Conference teams by posting an 18-8-2 career record along with a 2.36 goals-against average and a .918 save-percentage.
"You always try to contribute any way you can, sometimes it's not how many (saves) you make but the timeliness of it. You can't go out there and try to win the game yourself, you just try to compete and give yourself a chance to win."
Quote of the Day
"They're the hottest team in the league."
- Stastny on the Blue Jackets' 10-0 win against the Montreal Canadiens last night.