ST. LOUIS — The worst home record in the NHL led to the end of Andy Murray's tenure as St. Louis Blues coach.
The franchise replaced the 58-year-old Murray on Saturday, hoping a younger man can better motivate a youthful roster that's underachieved. Davis Payne, coach of the Blues' AHL affiliate in Peoria, was appointed interim head coach and was to coach St. Louis at home Saturday night against Chicago.
"We feel going forward that we really need to get our young people to be better players," team president John Davidson said. "One thing we promised our fans is come grow with us.
"Davis has done a nice job this year with the kids in Peoria."
KINGS 2, CAPITALS 1: At Los Angeles, Michal Handzus scored a short-handed goal early in the third period to put Los Angeles ahead, and Ryan Smyth connected on a power play, leading the Kings to victory. Jonathan Quick stopped 26 shots a day after he was selected to the U.S. Olympic team along with Los Angeles teammates Dustin Brown and Jack Johnson.
LIGHTNING 3, PENGUINS 1: At Tampa, Fla., Zenon Konopka celebrated his 29th birthday with a rare goal, and Martin St. Louis and Steve Downie also scored to help Tampa Bay hand Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh its fourth straight loss.
HURRICANES 2, RANGERS 1 (OT): At New York, Ray Whitney scored at 3:45 of overtime to give Carolina a split in the home-and-home series and its third victory in 20 road games this season. Cam Ward made 27 saves, and Tom Kostopoulos had a goal for Carolina, last in the NHL with 29 points. Marian Gaborik scored his NHL-leading 27th goal for New York, 5-1-2 in its last eight. The Rangers beat Carolina 2-1 on Thursday night in Raleigh.
CANUCKS 3, STARS 1: At Dallas, Daniel Sedin scored the go-ahead goal on a power play early in the third period, and Roberto Luongo made 31 saves for Vancouver.
BLACKHAWKS 6, BLUES 3: At St. Louis, Tomas Kopecky scored twice for his third career multipoint game, and Patrick Sharp also had two goals to help Chicago beat St. Louis after the Blues fired coach Andy Murray and replaced him with interim coach Davis Payne. Brian Campbell and Kris Versteeg also scored for Chicago. The Blackhawks have won five of six and are tied for second overall in the NHL, two points behind San Jose.
RED WINGS 4, COYOTES 1: At Glendale, Ariz., Tomas Holmstrom deflected two of Nicklas Lidstrom's shots into the net for his 14th and 15th goals to lead Detroit. Pavel Datsyuk added a power-play goal, and Darren Helm had an empty-netter for the Red Wings, who opened a five-game trip with their second straight win.
FLAMES 3, MAPLE LEAFS 1: At Calgary, Alberta, Curtis Glencross scored the go-ahead goal on a power play midway through the second period and added an empty-netter for Calgary. Jarome Iginla had a goal and two assists, and Miikka Kiprusoff made 24 saves to help the Flames extend their winning streak to four games.
ISLANDERS 6, THRASHERS 5 (SO): At Uniondale, N.Y., Jeff Tambellini and Frans Nielsen scored shootout goals to give New York its third win in five games.
AVALANCHE 3, BLUE JACKETS 2: At Columbus, Ohio, T.J. Galiardi crashed the net and scored on a rebound with just under a minute left to lift Colorado past Columbus.
PREDATORS 3, DUCKS 1: At Nashville, Tenn., Jason Arnott broke a tie with his first goal in 10 games, and Shea Weber and David Legwand also scored for Nashville. Pekka Rinne made 25 saves.