Blues' Hitchcock on Canadiens: 'They make you pay a price'
ST. LOUIS -- One of the things Ken Hitchcock values as the coach of the St. Louis Blues is the chance to play against the best teams in the NHL.
Hitchcock views those games as a great way to evaluate his team, being able to see how it compares and trying to identify areas where the Blues can improve.
Hitchcock will get another chance to do that Tuesday night when the Montreal Canadiens, with the best record in the league, make their only visit of the year to St. Louis.
The Canadiens are 17-6-2, and they have one more point, 36-35, than the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks.
"One thing Montreal does that they don't get enough credit for: They use their speed, but they use it to check, and that's why they're so hard to play against," Hitchcock said. "They've got speed; every team's got speed. They've got quickness; every team's got quickness. But Montreal uses it to put pressure on you to force your mistakes, and that's the difference. That's why they have a winning record.
"They've got a great goalie; a lot of teams have great goalies. But they make you pay a price to move the puck, and they put a lot of pressure on you, and they use your speed as a checking mechanism. And that's why they're always difficult and they always will be."
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As good as the Canadiens have been to start the season, most of their success has come at home, where they are 12-1-1. They are only 5-5-1 on the road but are coming off a big win Sunday in Los Angeles, where they beat the Kings in a shootout.
The Canadiens viewed that game as an evaluation tool of their own and could view the game against the Blues the same way.
"The team definitely hasn't had a lot of success out here, so to get a win here in LA against a big, strong team who every year competes, it's important for us," left winger Max Pacioretty told NHL.com after the game. "This is a measuring-stick team. ... I think teams come in and try to see what they have when they play against a team like this. It shows a lot about our character."
The game against the Blues will conclude a five-city, 12-day trip for the Canadiens. They have split the first four games.
The Blues will be without defenseman Robert Bortuzzo, who suffered a lower-body injury Saturday night and will be out at least two weeks. He will be replaced by Joel Edmundson. Center Jori Lehtera, who was a healthy scratch for Saturday's game, also is scheduled to be back in the St. Louis lineup. Jake Allen will get the start in goal.
The Blues have been almost as good at home this season as the Canadiens, going 9-0-3 in their last 12 games. They have lost only once in regulation in 15 home games.
