St. Louis Blues forward Jordan Kyrou has watched a week full of emotions come and go.
Kyrou, interim coach Drew Bannister and the Blues will open a two-game road trip through Florida when they face the host Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night.
All eyes were on Kyrou when the Blues returned to practice after firing sixth-year coach Craig Berube last Tuesday. That dismissal came after St. Louis had lost its fourth straight game, falling 6-4 to the Detroit Red Wings.
Kyrou kept his thoughts to himself after the move.
“I’ve got no comment,” he said. “He’s not my coach anymore.”
That did not sit well with Blues fans, who saw Berube — a team favorite — lead the franchise to a 2019 Stanley Cup title against the Boston Bruins.
They let Kyrou, 25, have it on Thursday, booing passionately every time the Toronto native had the puck during a 4-2 win over the Ottawa Senators.
Kyrou was in tears in the dressing room afterward, but the relationship was mended on Saturday night.
Already with a goal and an assist, Kyrou pushed a rush himself and tried to jam home the game-winning shot against the Dallas Stars in overtime. It was stuffed, but Colton Parayko popped in the rebound for the win and another assist for Kyrou.
“I love playing here, I love this rink and it was a great win by us (Saturday),” said Kyrou, who was greeted by a crescendo of cheers as he came onto the ice after being announced as the game’s first star. “(Linemates Pavel Buchnevich and Robert Thomas) are always setting me up for great plays.”
The Lightning return home after a 2-3-0 Western Conference road trip that started poorly in Nashville and got better when they went west. But the trip ended on a downer, as Tampa Bay suffered a 4-2 setback on Saturday against the Calgary Flames, who broke a four-game losing streak.
Tampa Bay will play five of its next six games at home to cap a December in which it is 4-4-0 through eight games and has been outscored 29-23.
However, the most disturbing stat revolved around the Lightning’s play in the second period during the road swing, as they were outscored 12-0 in the frame.
“That’s a question you probably need to ask the guys — why the first and third are different than the second,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said of the scoring discrepancy. “But in the end, it’s probably easier to play the third when the other team’s got a big lead.”
Cooper said the road trip was overall a letdown, especially since his group has only 14 victories in 32 outings this season.
“You come out here. It’s a long way to go and a lot of days to come away with four points. We left points on the table, but in the end, it comes down to puck management,” Cooper said. “We’ll go through video with them, and they’ll watch their shifts and stuff like that, but some of the decision making we’ve made on this trip has been tough and it’s cost us.”
Tuesday marks the second meeting of the season between the teams. St. Louis beat the Lightning 5-0 on Nov. 14.
–Field Level Media
