Blues' Winter Classic follow-up: Just a regular old game against Carolina
ST. LOUIS -- Still basking from their win over the Chicago Blackhawks in the Winter Classic, the St. Louis Blues were back at practice on Wednesday hoping to build momentum from that victory.
The Blues host the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday looking to win back-to-back games for the first time in a month, last doing so when they had a three-game winning streak from Nov. 26 to Dec. 1.
"We've already moved on," said coach Ken Hitchcock. "We're ready to go. We've got three home games left (on the current homestand). Three really important home games before we really go to play a lot of road games. I think that really gets your attention. I think having the extra day allows us to have a quality practice."
What will be key for the Blues against the Hurricanes is to play as well as they did against the Blackhawks without being involved in such an emotional, high-profile game as the Winter Classic.
"We've definitely been able to enjoy the high of winning that game," defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk said. "Today was a chance to come back down to earth and get back to work, and I think we did a pretty good job in practice of keeping focused."
Defenseman Joel Edmundson does not believe the Blues will have trouble moving on from the Winter Classic win.
"It's always tough after a big, emotional game like that and the big event they threw on," Edmundson said. "But I think our team is a bunch of pros in here. We know what's on the line. It's another game with two points. We obviously want to win it, and it's going to be a good game."
The Hurricanes could have one new player in their lineup, and he did not have to leave St. Louis to join his new team. Carolina claimed forward Ty Rattie off waivers from the Blues. The 23-year-old Rattie has been a healthy scratch in all but four games this year, and the Blues had to expose him to waivers to try to send him back to the American Hockey League.
"He's a good player, he's been a good soldier here, part of the organization for four years now," Hitchcock said. "He's got to get a chance to play, and if he wasn't going to play here on a regular basis, then give him a chance to play somewhere else."
The Hurricanes lost their last game, 3-1 to the New Jersey Devils at home on Tuesday night.
"I don't think too many guys in the room were happy with the way we played as a team," coach Bill Peters told NHL.com. "We can't play like that and expect results. "There's reality there. It's not like we're sitting there thinking we played well and deserved a better fate."
The Hurricanes will go from St. Louis to Chicago, where they will play the Blackhawks on Friday night.
"We haven't played as well coming off the break, and that's disappointing. That's just the reality," Peters said. "We haven't played as well as we were going into the break, so we have to find a way to get that back."
