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Ken Hitchcock climbs to eighth all-time in coaching wins

Ken Hitchcock

Ken Hitchcock smiles as he is introduced as the new head coach of the St. Louis Blues hockey team Monday, Nov. 7, 2011, in St. Louis. Hitchcock was introduced a day after the firing Davis Payne following a 6-7 start.(AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

AP

The St. Louis Blues dismantled the Dallas Stars 6-1 on Saturday, giving Ken Hitchcock the 621st regular season coaching win of his career, bumping him to eight all-time ahead of current Ottawa Senators GM Bryan Murray.

Hitchcock is now 621-385-86 with 88 ties (or 621-385-88-86, if you want to make your brain melt and include ties) in 1,180 games coached.

It’s fitting that Hitchcock moved up the charts against the Stars, the team that gave him his first NHL head coaching gig. You may recall that Hitchcock guided Dallas to its only Stanley Cup victory in 1999 and the Stanley Cup Final in 2000, as well.

If you’re wondering, Hitchcock is second among active NHL coaches with those 621 wins. He might struggle to catch up with Chicago Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville, who’s shooting for win 676 tonight. (The ‘Stache recently passed Mike Keenan for fifth all-time.)

In another nod to Stars nostalgia, Brenden Morrow collected an assist against the team he recently captained, which gives him at least one point against every NHL team, according to NHL.com’s Lou Korac. It was also his 250th goal.

This extends the best start in Blues’ franchise history at 16-3-3, so things are pretty golden for St. Louis tonight.

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins