The Chicago Blackhawks win led to an NHL coach firing

The Chicago Blackhawks had a big win on Wednesday night. They are for sure not going to the postseason but it was a big game because the team still wants to go out strong and be ready for whatever decision the front office makes.

A new GM might think that rebuilding is a good idea. If that is the case, some people might want to prove that they deserve to be there in the long term. If they go with a continued (bad idea) retool, people will want to be good enough to stick around as well.

That is why it is good to see everyone working hard despite the lack of success this season. They have a long way to go in terms of talent acquisition but getting big wins like this down the stretch would be nice. It may get harder if Marc-Andre Fleury is traded away.

The team on the other side of the big win was the Edmonton Oilers who are going through a different kind of struggle. They were the best team to start the season but have fallen off mightily. At 23-18-3 (49 points), they are five points below the playoff line.

The Edmonton Oilers are in a bad way after a loss to the Chicago Blackhawks.

With players like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl leading the way, this team needs to be in the playoffs. It is getting to the point where it is ridiculous that this team isn’t competing for Stanley Cups. Hockey fans want to see these guys have a chance to make deep postseason runs.

It is clear that things weren’t working so Edmonton decided to make a change. Following their really bad loss to the Blackhawks on Wednesday, they have fired Dave Tippett as their head coach.

It is a bit strange to blame him if we are being honest. Yes, they were never able to get past having their elite top-end talent and awesome power play but Tippett didn’t build the team. They also probably would have won this game against the Hawks if it weren’t for Marc-Andre Fleury.

Edmonton has never had an elite starter either in the Tippett/McDavid era which makes it very hard. This isn’t the greatest situation for him but it is also understandable that the team wanted to do something before things get too bad.

The Oilers now joined the Blackhawks as two of six teams that have fired their coach this season. Scoring only one goal in two games on back-to-back nights was enough to make Edmonton do the deal. As far as the Blackhawks are concerned, it is good that they got the win. From a hockey point of view, it would be nice to see McDavid in the playoffs.