After just 10 games, Bob Plager decided he had seen enough.
After deciding to resign as coach Thursday morning, Plager agreed to remain behind the Blues' bench one last time. St. Louis then went out and beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 6-4, dealing the two-time Stanley Cup champions their first loss this season."His farewell certainly was quite a feat," Blues general manager Ron Caron said.
Plager, 49, has been in the Blues' front office since 1967. He signed a two-year contract to replace the fired Brian Sutter on May 1, but had been troubled by the slow start of the Blues (4-6-1).
"I don't know if it was a matter of this being too much for him," Blues president Jack Quinn said. "I think Bobby looked at the way the club was performing and Bobby's a very emotional guy."
He was replaced by Bob Berry, 48, who had been an assistant coach with the Blues for four seasons and was appointed assistant general manager last summer.
Berry has a .514 winning percentage in nine years as a head coach with Los Angeles, Montreal and Pittsburgh.
Bruins 8, Kings 3
Adam Oates scored three times and Vladimir Ruzicka and Dmitri Kvartalnov added two goals each for the Bruins, whose only loss in nine games this season was to Los Angeles.
Oates scored twice in the final period, getting the first three-goal game of his career with 28 seconds left.
Nordiques 6, Rangers 3
Quebec ended an eight-game losing streak in Madison Square Garden dating to Jan. 23, 1986, as Andrei Kovalenko scored twice. Quebec got its third road victory, one more than last season's total.
Flyers 5, Blackhawks 5
Jocelyn Lemieux spoiled Eric Lindros' two-goal night, scoring with 2:56 left to give Chicago the tie at home.