from Jeremy Rutherford of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch,

Blues coach Ken Hitchcock and goaltender Jaroslav Halak had a heated disagreement outside the club’s locker room the morning of Game 4 in Los Angeles, multiple sources have confirmed to the Post-Dispatch.

The argument was triggered by Halak being late for the Blues’ team meeting before their game-day practice and it escalated when the goaltender vented about his ice time this season, particularly after returning from a groin injury at the end of the regular season.

“These are internal discussions between a player and coach,” Hitchcock said when asked about the incident on Saturday, one day after the Kings eliminated the Blues in the Western Conference quarterfinals.

Halak was unavailable for comment and his agent, Allan Walsh, declined comment.

Halak did not play in the Blues’ final 14 games of the regular season and didn’t make an appearance in the playoffs. Hitchcock said before the series began that Brian Elliott was “the guy we’re going to go with.”

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