NHL
Head Coach Mike Yeo May be Facing the Most Pivotal Week of His Career
The St. Louis Blues under Head Coach Mike Yeo have struggled to start this season. After starting the 2018-19 campaign with a lousy 4-4-3 record in their first ten, The Blues have not done much to counteract the start and it shows in the 3-4-0 record in the last 7. After the first ten games this season, many thought it was time to let Mike Yeo go. However, Blues GM Doug Armstrong has decided to keep Yeo, and nothing has changed. This week may prove to be the toughest and most important week of the season.
What’s on Tap?
Starting tonight the Blues begin a week that will see the team play four games over six nights. The Los Angeles Kings are in town this evening. Tonight’s matchup marks game 19 of the season and even though the Kings are the worst team in the league, this is a must-win game for the Blues. If the Blues lose tonight there is a possibility they will go 0-4 this week. After tonight, St. Louis has an off day, followed by a home-and-home against the Nashville Predators. Finally, the week wraps up with a Saturday night game against the Winnipeg Jets.
Notes for the Week
- Last 10 for St. Louis: 5-5-0
- Home Record: 5-5-1
- Road Record: 2-3-2
- Goals For: 56
- Goals Against: 57
Three Game Road Trip Stats
On the three-game road trip that started last Wednesday (11/14), the Blues went 1-2-0. While playing three games in four nights, St. Louis was outscored 6-4. The power-play went 0-for-7 while the penalty kill was 6-for-8. The offense wasn’t there either as the Blues scored just four goals, all in one game. Jake Allen played two games and was sensational going 1-1 and stopped 50 of the 52 shots, which is good for a .962 Save Percentage and a 1.00 Goals Against Average. Allen should have gone 2-0 but had a puck go in off of Jay Bouwmeester in the game versus Chicago.
- 11/14 @CHI 1-0 Loss
- 11/16 @VGK 4-1 Win
- 11/17 @SJS 4-0 Loss
Mike Yeo’s Situation
Mike Yeo has been coaching the team since Ken Hitchcock was fired on January 31, 2017, and holds a record of 73-48-11. While making the playoffs in 2017, many may think it was because of the systems that were still used after Hitchcock was relieved. This could be the case. Starting the 2017-18 season, the Blues came out firing on all cylinders but by December they were burned out and ended up missed the playoffs.
Coming into this year Doug Armstrong added great assets which gave the Blues the look of a Stanley Cup Contender. But Mike Yeo and the Assistant Coaches under his system have been coaching the same way that was in place towards the end of last season. The same way that coached the team into missing the playoffs for the first time in six years.
This week will be a tough test for Mike Yeo and the Blues. If Yeo coaches this team to win tonight, it is possible that the Blues will need to win one to two more for him to be safe. In an ideal scenario, the Blues win at least three and Mike Yeo does not have to worry about his job security. What is likely to happen, however, is the Blues winning tonight…and only tonight. On the other side of the downward spiral, if the Blues lose tonight against the Kings, there will be a high possibility that Yeo could see his short tenure as Blues head coach end.
The Team’s Situation
With at least three wins this week, the Blues could turn around their season and begin to gel well and start winning. If St. Louis takes a loss tonight or win tonight but lose the next three, the team will be in a terrible spot past the quarter mark of the year and Doug Armstrong will need to make a trade that will shake up the core of the team. While this may not be the best idea, it is usually a first resort effort for a team that is on the verge of firing a coach and falling out of playoff contention.
Who will be held accountable if the Blues lose tonight?
Will it be the players?
The Captain?
Or will it finally be Mike Yeo?
Other Blues News
- Jaden Schwartz missed the game in San Jose with an upper-body injury and will miss this week’s games.
- Carl Gunnarsson left the game in San Jose early and will miss this week’s games with an upper-body injury.
- Alexander Steen missed the past two games and is listed as day-to-day.
- Robert Bortuzzo and Patrick Maroon are back skating and may be back by the end of the week.
Social Media
Follow Jared on Twitter @jared_pettus_00
Photo Credit
Photo courtesy of Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
