Randy Carlyle reached another milestone Sunday, all the while hovering above the proverbial coaching hot seat.
When he stepped behind the bench, Carlyle coached his 700th NHL game. But longevity means nothing compared to victory, and the Toronto Maple Leafs are helping their coach douse fires critics have set.
The Leafs have the NHL's 11th-best record at 20-12-3. As usual, their fans want more. Beating the Florida Panthers on the road isn't enough.
Neither is being in the top 10 in Leafs' coaching victories. Tuesday's 4-0 win over the Dallas Stars was the 90th in career's tenure, which began after Ron Wilson's firing on March 2, 2012.
It has been quite a career for Carlyle, who began his NHL career with the Leafs to start his more than 1,000 games and won the Norris Trophy in 1980-81 while with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He coached the Anaheim Ducks to the Stanley Cup in 2007.
And yet, Leafs fans hit social media with #FireCarlyle hashtags, The Toronto Sun noted on Christmas Day.
Mistakes aren't making matters easier.
"We have to simplify," Carlyle said recently. "Because we are a skating hockey club and when we forecheck and we're on the puck, we can be very effective. What we have to do is focus on making less mistakes than the opposition. It's a game of mistakes."
And the Leafs made plenty of them in their most recent home game, a 7-4 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. "The overall execution of the simplest things was a challenge after the 10-minute mark," Carlyle said after the game. Fans sent a clear message to his team as it left the ice. It went: "Boo!"
With the world juniors tournament in Toronto, the Leafs are on a lengthy road trip. They were without backup goalie Jonathan Bernier, who came down with the flu, so Christopher Gibson was summoned to back up James Reimer.
Leafs GM Brendan Shanahan is being patient with his coach. But a difficult road trip, which continues Monday in Tampa before heading for Boston, will not help improve Leafs fans' mood.