Bleu, Blanc Et Pink Slip

When we left the Montreal Canadiens last night, coach Guy Carbonneau and assistant Kirk Muller were chatting it up in the bowels of AAC with Mike Modano, Stephane Robidas, et al. The Montreal boys, with so many Dallas connections dating all the way back to Bob Gainey becoming the father figure of Dallas hockey in 1993, had reason to be relieved and relaxed. They survived a dreadful first period to defeat the Stars 3-1, providing a day’s breathing room in the NHL’s toughest fish bowl.

Not really. Carbonneau was fired this afternoon by G.M. Gainey, who moves behind the bench. (Muller and fellow assistant Doug Jarvis, another ex-Stars guy, stay on.) This happens in the NHL: change your clocks for daylight saving and change your coach, even with a winning record. And your Stars are part of the reason.

The 1999-2000 New Jersey Devils led the Atlantic Division with eight games to play, assured of qualifying for the playoffs. But management was unhappy that Robbie Ftorek’s team was only 5-10-2 on March 23 and canned him.

Larry Robinson took over, the Devils finished fourth in the East, then marched all the way to the Finals and beat the defending champion Stars to win the Cup. Remember Jason Arnott’s overtime goal at Reunion Arena in Game 6?

So, if you can change coaches that late and win it all … Carbonneau, who took the Habs to first in the East last season, is the third NHL coach to be replaced in recent weeks. It happened in Pittsburgh, where the Penguins reached the Finals last season. And Pens fans are giddy that their team is 8-1-1 under Dan Bylsma, accurately described as the team’s interim head coach. The New York Rangers banished Tom Renney, a hero last spring, and brought in former assistant John Tortorella, who won a Cup with Tampa Bay in 2004.

I credit the Chicago Blackhawks for getting ahead of the curve. They fired Denis Savard just before daylight saving time ended last fall, four games into the season. Hey, he was only 1-2-1.