Exiled from Broad Street, Hitchcock a hit in Columbus

"We needed to get on the same page with the way we wanted to play; that was very important," Hitchcock said. "The older players had to start the ball rolling so the younger players could follow."

That apparently didn't require much coaxing. There were some subtle barbs directed at Gallant by Columbus players when he left, and Foote admitted the older guys were looking for a change in operating procedure.

"We wanted to see a different type of system come in and felt we needed it to happen," he said. "We knew we could be a better team than we were."

And rather quickly, when you think about. Hitchcock was hired on Thanksgiving, and the following day was behind the bench, coincidentally against the Flyers. The Jackets, unlike the Flyers, have shown clear signs of improvement from a coaching change.

Columbus hasn't made any personnel changes of note, either, but Hitchcock has his players playing sharper defense and more effectively without the puck, "building better minutes," as he called it.

"We have a lot more poise, a lot more patience," Anson Carter said. "We're playing with better hockey sense."

Still, a postseason berth remains an uphill climb for a team that is eight points behind the final seed. Hitchcock realizes that.

"We've gone against good teams and haven't been outplayed yet," Hitchcock said. "We're treating this as a month-to-month thing, and if we keep playing at this level on a monthly basis, we'll give ourselves a good chance.

"This team has a real good skill level, and it's a matter of us putting it together."