from Ansar Khan of Mlie,

NHL coaches whose clubs fail to reach the playoffs five years in a row generally are gone well before the streak gets that long.

But Jeff Blashill is returning for a seventh season as Detroit Red Wings head coach, and general manager Steve Yzerman spent a large chunk of his nearly hour-long postseason media address Tuesday explaining why.

He also summed up his decision in a few sentences.

“We need a better team,” Yzerman said. “We need our players to play better and it’s up to management to bring in players that make us a better team. You need good players to win in the league. I could change coaches year after year after year. We need good players, and if we don’t have good players, it’s not going to change.”

He added, “Was it a difficult decision? Not really. I’m comfortable with it.”

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from Shawn Windsor of the Detroit Free Press,

Steve Yzerman is keeping his coach. He has his reasons. They probably aren’t yours.

Mostly because it’s harder for you to see them. Which means, for some of you, your thoughts about Jeff Blashill sticking around another year … or five — Yzerman declined to say how long he was extending his contract — may pit your desire to see Blashill fired against your faith in Yzerman.

It’s a tough spot. Though it wasn’t for Yzerman, especially when you consider what the former Detroit Red Wings star values in a coach:

“We can drive ourselves crazy if we get overly emotional,” Yzerman said Tuesday afternoon. “I like (Blashill’s) methodical approach to this.”

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THREE HARD LAPS

* With more than 9,000 fans at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, and nearly that number at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the Penguins and Golden Knights each claimed home wins to even their respective series at one game apiece.

* Nikita Kucherov moved within one of 100 career playoff points as the Lightning pulled ahead 2-0 in their series with the Panthers as the clubs get set to head cross-state for Game 3 on Thursday.

* The final game of the 2020-21 regular season is slated for this afternoon, with four playoff games to follow including Connor McDavid and the Oilers hosting Mark Scheifele and the Jets in the first postseason game in the Scotia North Division.