Morning Skate: Bruins’ new coach is NHL’s latest interim success story

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Lace ‘em up. Time for the Morning Skate.

Are you in trouble?

Are you a general manager of an under-performing NHL team fighting on the fringes of the playoff race at midseason?

Are you worried about your job security?

Do you need to shift the blame and focus somewhere else to buy just a little more time?

Well, we’ve got a solution for you! Fire your head coach. Name an interim. Profit.

That seems to be the trend, huh? The Blues, Panthers, Bruins, Islanders, and Canadiens all fired their head coaches by March as the playoffs started slipping away. All of them improved under interim coaches, to varying degrees. The Bruins and Canadiens even survived to make the playoffs.

Now Doug Weight is the official head coach in New York, and the Boston Bruins removed the interim tag from Bruce Cassidy.

Good for them, honestly. Both did terrific jobs in tough situations. But if you thought NHL coaches already had short leashes and shelf lives, the success of interims and in-season staff changes will shrink that even more.

We ranked the best second-round series, according to science.

Again, we are right in our analysis.

Our two Western Conference semifinals get underway this evening. And you might as well read up on the defining matchup between the Ducks and Oilers: how Ryan Kesler can shut down Connor McDavid.

The other key might be Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who became a shutdown center against the Sharks. Can he do it again with the Ducks?

Meanwhile, Nashville will have its hands full containing the Blues forwards.

Catch up on all of the second-round schedules here!

GNARLY INJURY UPDATES

Remember how we gawked at Erik Karlsson playing with two fractures in his foot? Well. Hah.

Joe Thornton basically played on one leg. He is 37 years old. You and I are inferior humans.

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It might feel like Connor McDavid is the runaway Hart Trophy contender, but you’d be wrong. The field is as flooded as ever this season.

Meanwhile, Craig Anderson leads the Masterton Trophy nominations this year. Jack Adams finalists will be announced today!

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