To be fair to Hitchcock, 2 of the last 4 years in the playoffs the Blues lost to the eventual SC Champions, the LA Kings and the Chicago Blackhawks. Not exactly good draws there.

They won one other series and then last seasons exit was a huge screw up, that is true.

There are a ton of 90 point plus teams with GOOD coaches. But to get to the top, just few of those teams will have what it takes to go deep and win the really big games needed along the way. Hitch has done that as a coach and there's no sense trying to minimize it, because it could well be a factor to winning the Cup.

Lastly, I do think Hitch has adjusted his coaching style a bit as of late. Not so much X and O's but other things. My guess is this is likely going to be his last year no matter what might happen.

In the end, Championship teams are made by championship players. A GOOD coach can take the right talent a long way. While I am the last guy to agree with Hitch on maybe even a lot of things, he's definitely good enough for this team to win. Ironically, as I see it, after all this time under Hitch, a good part of that with this group is for him to keep it macro and simple and now just let them play.