Blues coach says Kane a scary presence at center

New St. Louis Blues coach Ken Hitchcock watched a lot of hockey while waiting for an opportunity to get back behind the bench of an NHL team.

“Watched every team at least four times,” Hitchcock said at Monday's introductory press conference.

What Hitchcock saw while watching the Blackhawks was Patrick Kane make the successful transition to center, and it left him impressed.

“A player who's that's strong and that competitive and that patient with the puck, we've all kind of dreaded that day when he was going to move into the middle of the ice,” Hitchcock told reporters before his Blues faced the Hawks on Tuesday.

Kane took 4 goals and 11 assists into Tuesday's game.

“We were hoping it didn't come,” Hitchcock said half jokingly. “It's there (so) you have to deal with it. There was a lot of ‘oh, no's' when Joel (Quenneville) decided to move him into the middle of the ice. The game isn't played in the middle of the ice anymore, but he's got enough trust and confidence in his own ability, he knows how to play in there.

“It's a nervous defending time when you have a player with that type of skill level and patience with the puck that can make plays to people.”

Sharp's take:

Many believe the demanding Ken Hitchcock is exactly what the underachieving Blues need.

Hawks winger Patrick Sharp played for Hitchcock while in the Philadelphia Flyers organization and knows how good a coach he can be.

“I played for him for two years and he runs a tight ship,” Sharp said. “His team's going to be well disciplined and they're going to work hard for him. It's still early, but I know down the line they're going to be a team to be worried about. He's a good coach and he got hired for a reason.”

Time for a look:

Joel Quenneville decided to use John Scott and Steve Montador as his third defense pair for Tuesday's game.

Quenneville said he felt it was time to give Scott a shot to play a regular shift.

In his four previous appearances, including time spent as a winger, Scott played more than three minutes only once.

“I think we want to get him in the lineup and want to see how he can play, not just one game, but take advantage of a regular shift and see how he plays,” Quenneville said.

Bickell benched:

Defensemen Sean O'Donnell and Sami Lepisto, and slumping left wing Bryan Bickell were the healthy scratches Tuesday against St. Louis.

Bickell didn't endear himself to Joel Quenneville by crashing into goalie Corey Crawford on Vancouver's critical fourth goal in Sunday's loss.

Bickell is a team worst minus-6 in 14 games with 3 goals and 2 assists. He also hasn't been nearly as physical as the Hawks want him to play.