A new era is officially underway, and it’s off to a good start!

Robert Thomas scored twice and earned an assist as the St. Louis Blues won Drew Bannister‘s coaching debut 4-2 over the Ottawa Senators Thursday in St. Louis.

The Blues fired coach Craig Berube after their 6-4 loss to the Detroit Red Wings Tuesday. Bannister, who was coaching the Blues‘ AHL affiliate in Springfield, was promoted to his role in St. Louis as interim coach.

The Blues started fast, producing the first 10 shots on goal and outshooting the Senators 14-6 overall while taking a 1-0 lead. Thomas put them on the board by taking a home-run pass from Faulk and scoring on a breakaway with a shot through Korpisalo’s pads.

“It was a great game by everyone,” Thomas said. “You know, we came together as a team, everyone pulled their weight. Everyone did a great job from start to finish.”

The lead eventually broke out to 3-0, before the Senators finally were able to get on the board.

“Obviously, they came out real hard,” Senators coach D.J. Smith said. “You know, we turned over two or three in the first period that allowed them to have a lot of zone time, gain momentum. And they came out way sharper than we did.”

The game was a difficult one for Jordan Kyrou, however, who was booed by the home crowd whenever he touched the puck. Berube, who led the Blues to the Stanley Cup in 2019, was beloved in St. Louis. Many blame Kyrou’s poor performance as a reason behind it.

Kyrou also made a comment after the morning skate that some interpreted as critical of Berube. He clarified after the game that he meant no disrespect to Berube.

“Yeah, I definitely heard those,” an emotional Kyrou said of the boos. “That’s not easy obviously, but I see where they’re coming from of my comments (earlier in the day) on it. That’s definitely tough. I love playing here, I love playing in front of the fans.”