Fearful of falling further out of the contention, both clubs fired their head coaches last Tuesday. The Blues moved first, relieving Mike Yeo of his duties and promoting associate coach Craig Berube. Later in the day, the Oilers brought long-time NHL bench boss Ken Hitchcock out of retirement to replace Todd McLellan.
It’s too early to tell if these moves will bring about a significant reversal of their respective fortunes. The Blues dropped two of their first three games with Berube behind the bench, while the Oilers went 1-1-1 under Hitchcock.