By Jordan Long
The St. Louis Blues sit at 7-9-3 with a total of 17 points, last in the Central Division. They have the second least amount of points in the NHL, only the L.A. Kings are worse with 15 points. With the season starting to slip away, the Blues decided to fire Head Coach Mike Yeo.
The Blues hired Yeo 32 games into 2017. This was after letting go of Ken Hitchcock on February 1st, 2017. They ended up going 22-8-2 under Yeo, making the playoffs as the 3rd seed in the Central Division. The Blues advanced to the 2nd round before falling to the Nashville Predators.
Last season, St. Louis had a chance to make it back to the postseason. In game 82, all they had to do was earn 1 point against the Colorado Avalanche. A Colorado Avalanche win in regulation, and they would be heading to the playoffs for the 1st time in 4 years. Colorado beat the Blues 5-2 and earned the 2nd Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.
This year, Yeo needed to make the playoffs to keep his job. Unfortunately, they aren’t playing well. The Blues haven’t been able to generate offense. When they have scoring chances, Blues’ skaters are checked off the puck and opponents steal the puck away. The Blues score 2.95 goals per game, 19th in the NHL.
Their power play keeps them in games. When rival teams take a penalty, the Blues are able to set it up. They take advantage and score on 24.2% of the time they have the man advantage, ranking 9th in the NHL.
On defense, the Blues are allowing teams to dictate the play. Opponents’ have scoring chances. The Blues are not knocking the skaters off the puck. This permits them to control the puck. Teams are taking advantage, scoring 3.11 goals per game, not a recipe for success.
The power play kill is the only area where the Blues are playing well. When they take a penalty, the Blues kill it off by shooting the puck to the other end of the ice. They kill 81.0% of the penalties they take.
The Blues decided Yeo wasn’t doing his job with-in game adjustments. St. Louis knows the season isn’t over, but if they keep playing poorly, they won’t make the playoffs. The Blues interim Head Coach for the rest of the year is Craig Berube.
Berube has NHL coaching experience with the Flyers from 2013 to 2015. The Flyers went 75-58-28 with one playoff appearance with him. The Blues are hoping he can turn this year around. If he can and the Blues make the postseason, Berube will be behind the bench next season. If they fail to make the playoffs, they will be searching for a new coach next summer.
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