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The St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes that Ken Hitchcock was rumored to be returning to an NHL bench as soon as Monday, but not in St. Louis.

Hitchcock, who was under contract with Columbus and considered a replacement for the struggling Blue Jackets this season, instead joined the Blues late Sunday night, reuniting himself with general manager Doug Armstrong.

The Blues took quick action after the club's 6-7 start, firing Davis Payne and naming Hitchcock the 24th coach in the franchise's history. He agreed to a contract that will run through the 2012-13 season, the club announced. A source said the team's assistant coaches are expected to be retained.

The Blues declined further comment until a news conference at 10:30 a.m. today. Hitchcock did not return a phone message.

Hitchcock, 59, has a long and decorated career and has a history with Armstrong. Hitchcock is 534-350-88-70 in 1,042 NHL games, and he won a Stanley Cup with in 1999 with Dallas, where Armstrong was the assistant GM at the time.

Hitchcock also was an assistant coach for Team Canada at the Winter Olympics in 2002 and 2010, winning gold medals both years. Armstrong was an assistant GM on the staff in 2010.

Payne told The Post-Dispatch late Sunday night that he was looking forward to the upcoming opportunity, but he understood the Blues' decision and even added that he supports it if the move helps the organization.

"It's shocking and it's disappointing, but in the end, you're responsible for all the areas of your hockey team," he said. "There were pieces that weren't firing on all cylinders and it's under my umbrella of responsibility. But I also can say that we were looking at a favorable schedule ahead and ready to turn the corner. That said, if this is what gets things going, then I'm all for it. I wish nothing but the best for the team and this group of guys. They deserve it.

"I'm more than grateful, more than grateful, to this organization for giving me a chance to coach in this league. The things that I learned and will learn from this, I owe a great deal of thanks."

Now the Blues' sculpting will be performed by Hitchcock. He becomes the fourth coach in six seasons under the regime of chairman Dave Checketts and team president John Davidson, following Payne, Andy Murray and Mike Kitchen.

The Blues are expected to go through an ownership transition soon, with Matthew Hulsizer becoming the majority owner, replacing Checketts. Sources said that Hulsizer put the coaching decision in Armstrong's hands and signed off on whatever decision he made.

The Vancouver Province paints a picture that the ketchup is out of the bottle.

David Booth had been told by coach Alain Vigneault that scoring his first goal for the Vancouver Canucks would be like tapping the side of a ketchup bottle. Keep doing it and the offence will slowly come. On Sunday, it finally oozed out in the form of an early power-play goal to help power a convincing 6-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center.

“This was his best game so far with us,” Vigneault said of Booth, who added an assist and had four shots. “Strong on the wall and strong in battling to get to loose pucks. Obviously, I’ve said all along we feel there’s a lot there and tonight was a good sign.”

Booth’s reaction to scoring his first goal in seven games with the Canucks after being acquired from the Florida Panthers was one of relief. After taking a corner feed from Cody Hodgson, the winger forced Corey Crawford to make a tough pad save and then tucked the rebound over the sprawling goaltender. He then did the double-fist pump.

“The win was the biggest part, but it’s good to get the first one,” said Booth. “It was about time. It gives you a bit more confidence. Cody made a great pass. If I miss those then I have no hope and I finally got it up. I had family at the game tonight and I brought my sister to the rink on the day off and she put my jersey on. Maybe that’s why it went in finally. Good luck from her.”

Booth wears No. 7 in honour of his hockey-playing sister, but Vigneault had been more concerned about the winger doing too much. He had preached patience and hinted of trying to actually hold Booth back of doing anything to find the net. The winger does as much work off the ice as on it. He runs the halls, always seems to be on the bike and has pre-game and post-game regimens he adheres to win or lose.

“I just think there’s always room for improvement and that’s the biggest reason why I’m playing in the NHL,” added Booth. “I don’t know if it’s the mindset to be in better shape than anybody else. I owe it to my teammates to be ready to go and maybe it’s a mental thing to tell myself I’m ready by what I do and that I have no excuses. There are certain skills I have to work on.”

The Edmonton Journal points out that written off as a goaltender past his prime, Nikolai Khabibulin is still keeping company with the NHL’s leaders.

Just don’t ask him about the rave reviews he has been receiving.

“I don’t pay attention to any of it,” he said. “I haven’t gone on the Internet. I haven’t read any papers. I haven’t even gone to NHL.com.

“The first couple of years I was in the league, I would go through the stats, but then you are shifting your focus on the wrong things. You don’t need to know that a shooter has 60 points in 50 games. You just need to know he’s good and that you have to be ready.

“As far as having a great save percentage, well, then you start to focus on that instead of what you actually have to do to get there. I really stopped paying attention to all that.

“Plus we’re just 13 games in. Things can change drastically this time of the year. You have a couple of bad games and you’re just normal.

“I’ve seen it so many times. Guys will start out with 15 points in 10 games then they finish the season with 35. How good is that? I mean if it stays this way, great.

“If somehow it starts changing, then I’m not going to be thinking what if. I don’t want to know.”

The veteran, who got the night off against the Phoenix Coyotes so Devan Dubnyk could get in a game, will be back on the job Tuesday when the Oilers play the Montreal Canadiens. He’ll tote his staggering stats –— .98 goals-against average, .963 save percentage and two shutouts — and do what he can to get the team back in the win column. Khabibulin has not lost a game in regulation this season. At 6-0-2, he’s fifth in the win category.

“Things have been good. So far,” Khabibulin said. “Hopefully, they’ll stay that way — for however long that is.

“Hopefully it will be all year, but we’ll see.”

“No, I haven’t gone down that road,” Blue Jackets coach Arniel told The Columbus Dispatch Sunday, saying he has neither sought nor received assurances that he’ll be behind the bench on Thursday when the Jackets host Chicago.. “It’s like I’ve said: Control what you can control. If somebody wants to make a decision, then so be it.

“Really, I don’t give a rat’s (expletive). I mean, I care about my job. I don’t care whatever’s going on outside. I just care about my job as the coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets. I have to find answers. I’m trying to find them the best way I can.

“It started today. We’ll move on to tomorrow. I’ll keep showing up here until somebody tells me I’m not supposed to.”

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review details how with so many Penguins out with injuries, Chris Kunitz has elevated his game and is a big reason the Penguins boast the NHL's most points.

His work Saturday at Staples Center -- Kunitz tied the Penguins' game with the Kings at the 17:03 mark of the third period and won the contest in a shootout -- is further evidence his play has never been better.

"Kuny battles every night," right wing James Neal said. "You know what you're going to get from him every game."

Neal added, "He's got more skill than people realize."

Kunitz, a fast and physical player who doesn't waste energy playing a horizontal game, immediately fit in coach Dan Bylsma's north-south system when he was acquired as part of the Ryan Whitney trade to Anaheim during the 2008-09 season. He recently was given a two-year contract extension.

Bylsma and general manager Ray Shero have long appreciated Kunitz's talents. Shero, when speaking of Kunitz's style last summer, said, "Now that's a Penguin."

Kunitz's responsibilities are many, but he seems to thrive with the heavy workload. He plays left wing on the second line with center Jordan Staal and right wing Pascal Dupuis but also has solidified a spot in front of the net on the top power-play unit.

He is also a strong penalty killer and center Sidney Crosby's presumed left wing whenever Crosby is cleared to return to game action.

"Just such of a good hockey player," Dupuis said. "He is playing some kind of hockey right now."

The Orange County Register recalls that for all the wonder he showed when he entered the NHL as an 18-year-old last season, Cam Fowler's minus-25 rating stuck out like a red dress at a funeral.

Bent on showing that he can do more than skate like the wind, Fowler has made it his mission to become a better player in his own end.

"My main focus coming into this year was trying to complete my game and try and become one of the better two-way defensemen," Fowler said. "Part of that its just being able to play in all situations.

"Whether you're up by a goal or down by a goal or (it's) a big penalty kill. Whatever the coaches need me to do, that's what I'm trying to do. That's all part of completing your game and becoming a good overall player."

The Ducks envisioned Fowler as a future No. 1 defenseman the moment he fell into their lap at the 2010 entry draft, and two years later they're giving him the ice time that a No. 1 usually warrants.

The results so far are mixed. Fowler has looked liked a more confident player on the defensive side and a more respectable minus-2 rating over his first 13 games. But then there are still nights that can be forgettable, such as a rude homecoming Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings in which he was a minus-4 in a 5-0 Ducks loss.

That doesn't bother Ducks coach Randy Carlyle, who said that part of Fowler's improvement on defense is that he has a regular partner in Francois Beauchemin as opposed to several he played with last season.

"The one thing that he's had is he's had the consistency of playing with one partner from the beginning of the year and I think that's been huge for both him and Beauchemin," Carlyle said.

In his sophomore season, Fowler is still trying to find the right balance between focusing on shutting down top forwards and using his vast offensive gifts.

"It's really just picking your spots," he said. "You need to know when you jump up in the rush and when to hang back. But that's part of playing the game.

"You make those reads on the ice. I think there's always things you can improve on. So far I've been able to pick my spots and find out when to go."

Canes general manager Jim Rutherford told the Raleigh News & Observer today that changes needed to be made to "strengthen our team" but said a coaching staff shakeup was not one of them.

The Canes are coming off a 5-1 loss to the Washington Capitals and a 5-2 beating by the Dallas Stars, both at home at the RBC Center. They had a horrendous third period against the Caps and appeared listless coming out against the Stars on Sunday in falling to 5-6-3.

"After losses like that, we don't like to talk about them too soon because it's too emotional," Rutherford said. "Obviously we're very disappointed in the last two games. We will get together over the course of the day and discuss what we need to do to get back on track this week."

On Friday, Canes owner Peter Karmanos Jr. strongly praised coach Paul Maurice and his staff. Rutherford said that in watching practices, he believes the staff has had the team "well-prepared" for games.

"They've done a good job," Rutherford said. "The easiest thing when you've lost a couple of games as bad as we lost them is to start pointing at the coach or the coaches. It takes everybody when it comes time to win, and it takes everybody when it comes time to lose. We need to get back to work and get back to playing to our team playing the style of game it did when we were winning games.

"Now, if we're talking again in a six- or-seven game losing streak, I'll probably be in a different frame of mind and answer those (coaching) questions differently. Let's get back on track. If not, I'll look at all the situations differently."

Rutherford said the return of injured forward Jussi Jokinen, one of the team's most versatile players, also should help. Jokinen missed the last two games with a leg injury.

"We do not have a lot of margin for error," he said. "When we're going, we're a good team and can compete with anybody. When we don't, it makes it a lot more difficult.

"Losing a key player like Jussi has had an effect, but you have to play through it. Good teams figure out a way to play through it. We need to do a better job of that."

The Detroit Free Press notes Red Wings coach Mike Babcock has a simple philosophy: When things go bad, look to the good.

"I'm a big believer you just do good things and over time good things happen," he said. "We believe we've got some guys on this team that score. We believe our power play should be good, and it hasn't been to this point.

"So, when you're pressing as a goal-scorer, you usually pass when you should be shooting, and shoot when you should be passing, and you get thinking too much. You've just got to simplify things. We got to shoot the puck and go to the net and bounce one off your butt, and let's get rolling here."

The Wings stuck to Babcock's philosophy throughout their six-game losing streak that ended with Saturday's 5-0 victory over Anaheim. Babcock never wavered in believing in his players.

"One thing I can tell you I believe about our group is we're a good group of people," he said. "I don't get the feeling we're not working. I don't get the feeling we're not trying or that we're balking at what's going on or pointing the finger anywhere else. So, to me, those are all keys."

Babcock need look no further than his captain for an endorsement of his brand of steady play that helped the Wings end their slump.

"The way to get out of it," Nicklas Lidstrom said, "is by working hard and working right, too; playing within our system and not try to do too much or try to forecheck when you shouldn't forecheck. Just use your smartness and play within our system."

“When you have players on the ice, certain players really make you feel comfortable,’’ Claude Julien told The Boston Globe of Bruins alternate captain Patrice Bergeron. “They always seem to be in the right place. He’s one of those guys that really reads the plays well. Very seldom do I have to go up to him on the bench and correct him or tell him to make certain adjustments. He’s pretty good.

“When he does get caught out of position a little bit, his work ethic just kicks in. He works twice as hard to get back. Those are players that earn the confidence of their coaches as they go along. That’s why right now, he’s known around the league as one of the better two-way players. He’s earned that reputation.’’

The Philadelphia Inquirer says that even though he has been used primarily as a penalty-killer and third- or fourth-line center, Sean Couturier has climbed among the rookie leaders in several offensive categories - and has probably made several teams second-guess themselves for bypassing him in last June's draft.

Couturier slipped to No. 8 - the first-round pick the Flyers acquired as part of the deal that sent Jeff Carter to Columbus - but in the season's first month he has looked like a future star.

In 13 games, Couturier has five goals, which, entering Sunday, was second among NHL rookies. It was one fewer goal than another 18-year-old center, Edmonton's Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the No. 1 overall draft pick in June. Couturier topped all rookies with a plus-9 rating.

"He continues to play solid hockey at both ends of the ice," Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said after Couturier's first two-goal game aided Saturday's 9-2 romp over the hapless Blue Jackets. "Defensively, penalty kill, he does the right things. Offensively, he got some opportunities and cashed them in. He's been really strong."

The Flyers have never had a Calder Trophy winner, but Couturier is a rookie-of-the-year candidate, along with teammate Matt Read (three goals, four assists), who is expected to return to the lineup Wednesday against host Tampa Bay after being sidelined for three games because of an injury.

Email: chris.nichols@sportsnet.rogers.com

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The New York Post says the 27th shutout of Marty Biron's career may have been achieved in a pedestrian affair, but the Rangers goaltender sure wasn't about to downplay last night's 3-0 whitewash of the Jets at the Garden, certainly not when he had gone more than two years without one.

"I used to play it down, but not anymore" said Biron, whose last shutout was a 5-0 victory over the Sabres at the Coliseum on Oct. 31, 2009, while playing for the Islanders. "They're hard to come by in the league, so when you have one, you have to enjoy it very much."

Twenty-seven career shutouts is a fairly substantial accomplishment, given that 57 goaltenders in NHL history have recorded more than that, and, by the way, Mike Richter finished with 24, Chico Resch and Gerry Cheevers finished with 26 each and Mike Liut wound up with 25.

There is no greater asset for a backup goaltender than the ability to win. Biron this year is 3-0 with a 0.95 goals-against average and .963 save pct. The Rangers are 11-6 in the understudy's 18 starts in his two seasons with the club.

"Marty was just so steady," coach John Tortorella said. "He settles the team down. Just the way he plays, it settles the team down."

­Chris Nichols is Sportsnet.ca's fantasy hockey writer.