BERNIE BITS! Interim coach Drew Bannister was behind the bench for two consecutive wins after taking over for the ousted Craig Berube. It was a nice restart for the Blues but nothing unusual. Teams often get an immediate bounce after changing coaches. Bannister...
NHL coaches come and go so often, teams should keep a UPS truck parked outside the arena, waiting to haul the discarded gaffer to the recycling plant. There’s an old saying: coaches are hired to be fired. In the NHL, coaches are fired so they can be fired again at...
BLUE NOTES The bizarro Blues did it again on Thursday night. The circuitry in their on/off switch went crazy. On, off. On, off. On, off. Inspired hockey, followed by Insipid hockey. Leads taken, leads blown. The Blues show determination, then no-show and disappear....
Former Blues coach Ken Hitchcock will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame tonight. Congratulations to one of the greatest coaches in franchise history. Though it’s just a coincidence and nothing planned, the 2023-2024 Blues are honoring Hitch by doing a helluva...
The Blues are wide awake. Energetically so. The boys are scoring goals like crazy, winning games and smiling again. This is an interesting, surprising twist in what appeared to be a throwaway season. With their overall 34-34-6 record the playoffs are out of reach. But...
What a fantastic time for St. Louis sports. As usual the Cardinals are the core, but there’s plenty of space for other teams to build a strong identity, foster a loyal audience and rouse excitement. Guided by the impressive leadership of first-year basketball coach...
BERNIE BITS The Missouri Tigers have a three-game winning streak going, and they’re doing it the Stormin’ Norman way. That’s right. I’m referencing Mizzou coaching legend Norm Stewart. His teams were tough. They’d fight you for 40 minutes … or for as long as it took...
Thank you for everything, Ryan O’Reilly. Good luck, Vladimir Tarasenko. And a round of enthusiastic applause for Blues manager Doug Armstrong. He’s making trades without blinking, or lapsing into sentimental bunkum that would leave the Blues drifting deeper into...
The Blues are on break until returning to game action on Feb. 11. They’re having a good rest, which kind of describes the intensity of their effort in recent weeks. The Note is 23-25-3 for a points percentage (.480) that ranks 25th among the 32 NHL teams. They swerved...
