Sorry for commenting on this late — I come in peace waves — but the note about sitting on 1-goal leads struck a nerve. Because although I blog the Islanders, I’m based in St. Louis, and I saw that Coach Q act for eight years.

As coincidence would have it, I attended Coach Q’s debut for the Hawks — as part of a bachelor party for my friend, a Blues fan who just happens to hate Q’s coaching. Said this groom before the game: “I love it! Quenneville returns just in time! I hope they get the lead and blow it, in accordance with the scripture.”

While that’s not exactly how this game was lost, there were some eerie similarities. With the Blues, Q was great at getting overachievement out of lesser players. He obviously was a solid coach. But once the club got him some real horses, he didn’t seem to know how to let them loose. The system that got him leads early in games went out the window when it came time to keep or extend them. As a result, you could see otherwise assertive players sitting back, afraid to lose, trying to withstand waves of attack rather than going for the jugular.

Although I have Blues leanings in me, for Chicago’s sake, and for all the young Hawks stars’ sake, I hope this has changed. I hope Q has adapted a little, and I hope in the non-clutch-and-grab NHL he has better ideas about how to finish teams off.