5 NHL coaches under the gun

Peter Laviolette is the only Eastern Conference conference coach who has won a Stanley Cup, but he faces challenges in Carolina. (Gerry Broome/Associated Press) Long-haul hope springs eternal for NHL clubs in October, but there's also a need for most coaches to post immediate results, or else. Two seasons ago, St. Louis, Columbus, Philadelphia and Chicago all made coaching changes before December. Some of those teams made modest gains after the switch, but none compared with how the Washington Capitals fared last season when Bruce Boudreau took the helm after 21 games. Boudreau took an uninspired crew and infused an offensive style, with the team winning two-thirds of its remaining games for the franchise's first playoff berth in five years. You can debate whether a 61-game NHL coaching neophtye should win the Jack Adams... [read full story]