3 head coaches exact revenge on former teams with series clinchers

It was a day of retribution in the NHL's coaching community.

All three head coaches who won playoff series Saturday did so against clubs they used to work for.

Mike Yeo guided the St. Louis Blues to a 4-3 overtime victory over the Minnesota Wild, eliminating the team that fired him in February of last year.

Alain Vigneault led the New York Rangers to a 3-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens, knocking out the organization with whom he spent parts of four seasons in his first NHL head-coaching job.

Todd McLellan helped the Edmonton Oilers move on to the second round with a 3-1 victory over the San Jose Sharks, who employed him for seven seasons before he joined the Oilers in May 2015.

Vigneault's triumph came on home ice, and he coached the Vancouver Canucks for seven years between his Canadiens and Rangers tenures, but the wins were likely a little sweeter for Yeo and McLellan, who ended their former teams' seasons in their old workplaces.

It's a long way off, but if the Washington Capitals and Nashville Predators can advance to the Stanley Cup Final, Barry Trotz would face the organization with whom he spent 15 campaigns as head coach from 1998-99 to 2013-2014.

If the Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs reach the championship round, Randy Carlyle and Mike Babcock would both be battling their former clubs for a chance to lift Lord Stanley's mug.