Chris Stewart to Play in Game 3

Ken Hitchcock tried to send a message to Chris Stewart by benching him for Game 2 after a rather uninspiring Game 1 effort by the St. Louis forward. Evidently, Hitchcock believes that message has been received as evidenced by the St. Louis head coach stating Stewart will play tonight in Game 3.

After learning of his benching for Game 2, Stewart was sort of surprised that he wouldn’t be playing. He stated that he knew he wasn’t that good in Game 1 but thought he was good enough to earn playing time in Game 2. As for what fans thought of Stewart’s benching, opinion was split 50-50 between those that thought Stewart was solid in Game 1 and those that thought Stewart was a non-factor in Game 1.

Heading into Game 3, Stewart will be in the lineup as reported by Brodie Brazil of CSN. He also reports that Hitchcock believes Stewart will be motivated and ready to go in Game 3 after being a health scratch in Game 2.

Motivation has been a big issue for Chris Stewart in 2011-12. This same problem persisted in Game 1 where at times he looked threatening while at other times he drifted, barely making an impact. This isn’t a new trend for Stewart. Should he have been benched during the regular season? Probably. Will it send a message and get Stewart back to the big offensive weapon we saw at the end of 2010-11? We’ll have to wait and see.