Backes Leads The Hitchcock Way

from of Yahoo, Sometime after 6:30 p.m., Hitchcock called from his car ? probably somewhere on I-70 or I-71 ? as he made the seven-hour drive from his last stop in Columbus, Ohio, to what would be his renaissance in St. Louis. They spoke for about an hour.

Hitchcock told (David) Backes he put a lot of trust in his captains and expected a lot of them, too. He told him to lead by example, to try to inspire others to follow, to make sure the Blues were tough to play against, to never give anyone free ice. He explained what had to change immediately and what would take time.

?It was a good conversation, time well spent,? Backes said. ?As you can see, the results have proven themselves.?

The Blues beat the Blackhawks that Tuesday night, 3-0. They have gone 23-6-7 since Hitchcock?s arrival. They?re in the thick of the NHL?s toughest division ? heading into Friday?s action they are six points behind the league-leading Detroit Red Wings, one point behind the Nashville Predators and tied with the Blackhawks, with three games in hand on all three of them.

And Backes has been a big key.

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Source: http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/hockey/comments/backes_leads_the_hitchcock_way/

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