From his days in Dallas to his time in Philadelphia, Ken Hitchcock gained a reputation for being a demanding coach.

Not much has changed in his two-plus seasons of trying to forge a winning identity for the Blue Jackets. His public remarks after a loss can be cutting and critical of his team.

But Hitchcock said yesterday that accountability extends to the coaches' offices, as well. And with the Jackets only one point out of the Western Conference basement, he and staff have room for improvement.

"We are much harder on ourselves than anybody else," Hitchcock said. "We're demanding of ourselves, and we accept the responsibility that goes with it."

Hitchcock said the rebuilt Jackets, which bear his stamp of approval, are still searching for a signature win within the conference and need a means to improve their struggling special teams.

The Jackets rank last among the league's 30 teams on power plays and 23rd in penalty killing. But Hitchcock says he has no plans of transferring responsibilities within his staff.

Claude Noel runs the power play, and Gord Murphy is in charge of the penalty killers.

"That's an easy way out, and that never works," Hitchcock said.

"We look at every aspect of our teaching every day. I don't look at it as, 'Geez, I need to improve this area.' We break down every area of the team game. For us, right now, we must find a way to help the special teams get better."

The Jackets have begun two days of individual player meetings with the coaches. Players were greeted by sign-up sheets on the locker room grease board when they arrived yesterday morning.

Hitchcock said it's the second time this season that such intimate chats have been conducted, and it's only a coincidence they follow a stretch in which the Jackets have lost five of seven games.

"You have these one-on-ones to measure their pulse and see where they are at," Hitchcock said. "Every team goes through what we are going through."

Hitchcock said the Jackets had to "deal with the debris" of a 3-2 loss to San Jose on Thursday night that began a three-game slide. The loss came a week after they squandered a 3-3 tie in the final two minutes in Detroit and fell 5-3 to the Stanley Cup champion Red Wings.

"Down the line, we need to prove to ourselves we can beat teams -- not only teams ahead of ourselves in the standings, but the really good teams," Hitchcock said. "That's where your confidence develops and grows."

Jackets captain Rick Nash and forward Jason Chimera said they understand why Hitchcock has been so critical of the veterans in recent days, especially on the topic of yielding goals at inopportune times.

Hitchcock, who owns a 73-78-20 record in Columbus, doesn't sound like a coach ready to abandon his approach.

"Players can handle it," he said. "There are times you can be hard and demanding and times you have to be supportive, and to me that's important.

"It's not easy getting your team to increase expectations overnight. It's a gradual process, and that's what we are doing, increasing expectations."

treed@dispatch.com