The Daily: Blues Fire Coach After Losing to Red Wings; Vrana Waived

Craig Berube’s last act as coach of the St. Louis Blues was losing 6-4 to the Detroit Red Wings Tuesday night. He was fired after the game and replaced by Drew Bannister who had been the Blues’ American Hockey League coach in Springfield. Bannister will be behind the Blues’ bench Thursday when the team plays the Ottawa Senators.

Berube is less than four years removed from coaching the Blues to the franchise’s first Stanley Cup championship.

The Blues (13-14-1) have lost four in a row and rank 26th overall in scoring (2.82 goals per game). They are sixth in the Central Division.

St. Louis also made other news of interest to Detroit fans by waiving Jakub Vrana. The Blues acquired him from Detroit last season. The Red Wings are still paying him $2.625 million (half of his salary) this season.

Red Wings In Case You Missed It

• Bob Duff explains why the Red Wings win over the St. Louis Blues was ultra important. Lucas Raymond led the way with a goal and an assist and Joe Veleno had two assists. Jonatan Berggren scored again. Duff believes this win could be a defining moment.
• Here’s a video comparison between Auston Matthews’ two-game suspension act and what David Perron did to earn a six-game suspension.
• Was the Dylan Larkin injury scenario an indictment of the NHL rules? Duff thinks it is.

Red Wings Next Game

Coach Derek Lalonde’s Red Wings (15-9-4) are home Thursday to play the Carolina Hurricanes (15-12-1). The ‘Canes beat the Ottawa Senators 4-1 Tuesday to end a four-game losing streak.  The Hurricanes held a closed-door, players-only meeting Saturday to make sure everyone was on the same page.  Jonatan Berggren has two goals in two games since being promoted from the Grand Rapids Griffins.

Hockey Now Network

Boston: The Boston Bruins will be without top defenseman Charlie McAvoy and No. 1 center Pavel Zacha when they play the New Jersey Devils Wednesday. McAvoy has missed the past two games with an upper body injury and Zacha was injured in Saturday’s game against the Arizona Coyotes. Both players are day to day.

Chicago: Nate Brown writes that Seth Jones is performing at a higher level than fans believe he is and the Chicago Blackhawks younger players have held their own under pressure.

Montreal: General manager Kent Hughes has some interesting takes on how Juraj Slafkovsky’s development is going. Montreal Canadiens. 

New Jersey Devils: James Nichols offers a wish list for the Devils who would like to do some shopping before Christmas. What are the New Jersey Devils’ trade options?

San Jose: William Eklund scores another game-winner as the Sharks down the Winnipeg Jets’ 2-1. The San Jose Sharks are now 6-2-2 in their last 10. Maybe Detroit’s loss to San Jose wasn’t as bad as it looked. Nah, it was as bad as it looked.

Vegas: Mark Stone’s four-point night helps the Vegas Golden Knights extend their winning streak to four games.