Midseason coaching changes are as much a part of NHL culture as playoff beards.

But how teams respond to the first phenomenon has a lot to do with whether they even get to grow the second.

Of the seven teams that made a coaching change this season, five reached the playoffs. Four play in the Eastern Conference, with the Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Rangers and Montreal Canadiens joining the Carolina Hurricanes among the revived teams in the playoffs. The fifth team, the Chicago Blackhawks, is in the Western Conference.

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