Hitchcock said he wanted to talk to Elliott and make sure his focus was in the right place, but after seeing him on the ice Tuesday taking shots, he needed no more convincing.
"Yeah, I knew yesterday when he came to the rink and stopped pucks, and we talked; I knew what we were going to get today," Hitchcock said. "So, that's what I needed to see. I wasn't jerking anybody's chain about who's starting and all that stuff. I just needed to know how he felt. ...
"We've rode him hard here and he's really had to step up. I just wanted to make sure he was fresh and ready to go. When he came out and stopped pucks, that's kind of the sign for me I already knew and he was ready to go."
Elliott has dealt with adversity during his five seasons with the Blues. He's missed time with injuries and has sat and watched while other goaltenders carried the load in the playoffs. But Elliott has started all 14 games for the Blues this spring and will lead them into their first conference final since 2001.
"It was a great, gusty effort that everybody came to play," Elliott said. "We played that kind of Blues road-style hockey. We got a lead early and then didn't really look back.
"I obviously didn't play that much in [Game 6]. I just wanted to get out there and kind of reset the button. It just takes a little bit to get back into where you're comfortable."