Blues News & Rumors: Berube, Kyrou & More

Here’s the latest news and rumors surrounding the Blues.

Blues Relieve Berube of Coaching Duties; Bannister Named Interim Head Coach

The Blues made a change in the guard relieving Craig Berube as head coach of the team. After the Blues’ 6-4 loss to the Detroit Red Wings, Blues president of hockey operations and general manager Doug Armstrong announced the team had relieved Berube of his coaching duties and named Springfield Thunderbirds head coach Drew Bannister as interim head coach.

Bannister, 49, has spent the past three seasons with the Blues’ American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate in Springfield, leading the team to a 93-58-19 regular-season record. The Belleville, Ontario, native has also guided the Thunderbirds to consecutive playoff appearances, including 2021-22, when they won the Eastern Conference and reached the Calder Cup Final.

As a player, Bannister’s career spanned over 20 years and included 164 NHL regular-season games between the Tampa Bay Lightning, Edmonton Oilers, Anaheim Mighty Ducks, and New York Rangers.

The Week That Was

Blues vs Red Wings

The Blues opened up the week against the Detroit Red Wings. Despite scoring the first goal only 5:56 into the game, the Red Wings went into the first intermission up by a score of 2-1. Veteran forward Brandon Saad scored his sixth goal of the season on a snap shot beating former Blues goaltender Ville Husso from below the right circle off a cross-slot pass from Pavel Buchnevich. Less than 10 minutes later, former St. Louis defenseman Jake Walman tied the score 1-1 on a sharp-angle rebound over the left shoulder of Jordan Binnington. Two minutes later, it was Jonatan Berggren who put the Red Wings up 2-1 to take the lead.

The game was a back-and-forth affair as the Blues took a 3-2 lead only 2:11 into the second period thanks to back-to-back goals by Kevin Hayes scoring his seventh and eighth of the season. Detroit defenseman Moritz Seider scored his fifth of the season to tie the game once more 3-3 from a snapshot only 9:47 into the period. St. Louis continued to show resilience and determination throughout the game and was finally rewarded by defenseman Marco Scandella as he reclaimed the Blues lead at the 16:53 mark.

It took only 48 seconds into the third period for Detroit to tie the game thanks to a goal by Lucas Raymond as he scored on a one-timer shot that went five-hole. The Blues were scored on once again by a former teammate, Robby Fabbri, as the Red Wings reclaimed the lead 5-4 by a deflected shot from Raymond. With only a few minutes left in the game, Berube pulled Binnington for a 6-on-4 power play opportunity. However, the gamble did not pay off as Michael Rasmussen scored a short-handed goal into an empty net at 18:21 for the 6-4 final.

After the game, Berube said of his team:

“We got beat at our blue paint tonight for three goals,” Berube said. “We did a lot of good things in the game, scored enough goals to win, but we didn’t do a good enough job in the blue paint tonight.”

Berube was fired following the game.

Blues vs Senators

With interim head coach Bannister set to coach his first game in the NHL, the Blues took on the struggling Ottawa Senators at the Enterprise Center.

The Blues did not take long to get to work for their new boss as Robert Thomas scored only 8:20 into the first period scoring his 11th goal of the season. The home team nearly doubled up Ottawa’s shots on goal during the first 20 minutes of play outshooting them 14-6. Thomas, again, scored to extend the Blues’ lead 5:17 into the second period with a backhand shot past Joonas Korpisalo.

Saad scored the club’s third goal of the evening just over three minutes later off of a one-timer. The Senators stopped the scoring frenzy by the Blues as Dominik Kubalik broke up the shutout by Binnington at the 10:22 mark. He and Matthew Joseph scored the two goals by the Senators while Buchnevich added the fourth goal of the game for the Blues.

“It was a great game by everyone,” Thomas said. “We came together as a team, everyone pulled their weight. Everyone did a great job from start to finish. … The whole game I thought we played great. Kudos to everyone.”

Bannister collected his first win as an NHL head coach.

Blues vs Stars

Overcoming an early 2-0 deficit thanks to goals scored by Mason Marchment and Ty Dellandrea, the Blues secured their second win in a row beating their division rival, the Dallas Stars. Blues forward Saad scored his eighth goal of the season on the power play 12:53 into the first period and his third goal in as many games.

Forward Jordan Kyrou scored only 1:36 into the second period to tie the game up for the Blues on a breakaway goal after taking defenseman Torey Krug’s pass, beating goaltender Scott Wedgewood. The Blues continued to battle throughout the middle frame and converted a rebound shot by Alexey Toropchenko as Hayes scored to give his team a 3-2 lead.

The Stars continued to push back against the Blues and ultimately found success with Evgenii Dadonov tying the game tipping defenseman Miro Heiskanen’s shot from the top of the right circle.

Heading into overtime, the Blues only needed 37 seconds with defenseman Colton Parayko giving his team a 4-3 victory. After a streaking attack by Kyrou, Wedgewood was left sprawled on the ice leaving Parayko available to pick up a loose puck and lift it over Wedgewood for the game-winning goal.

Here’s a look at where the Blues rank statistically among the rest of the NHL:

Blues Recall MacEachern; Vrana Sent to Springfield

On Wednesday, Dec. 13, the Blues announced they had recalled forward Mackenzie MacEachern from the Thunderbirds with the demotion of Jakub Vrana as a corresponding move. MacEachern, 29, is currently in his second stint with the Blues organization after signing with the Blues on July 1, 2023, to a one-year contract. This season, he has scored four goals and 12 points through 22 games with the Thunderbirds.

Vrana, 27, has dressed in 19 games with the Blues this season, recording six points (two goals, four assists) and eight penalty minutes. In his first game with the Thunderbirds, he recorded two assists while finishing with a plus-1 rating and two shots on goal. He slotted in as the team’s second-line right wing with Zachary Bolduc on the left wing and Nick Suzuki ( Carolina Hurricanes loan) as their center. Vrana last played in the AHL during the 2022-23 season with the Grand Rapids Griffins appearing in 17 games scoring six goals and 11 points.

The Blues kick off a three-game week as they head to Florida to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, Dec. 19. The team will remain in Florida to take on the Panthers before heading home to play the Chicago Blackhawks on Dec. 23 at 7 pm CST.