The worst home record in the NHL led to the end of Andy Murray's tenure as Blues coach.

The franchise replaced the 58-year-old Murray on Saturday, hoping a younger man can better motivate a youthful roster that's underachieved. Davis Payne, 40, coach of the Blues' AHL affiliate in Peoria, was appointed interim head coach and was to coach St. Louis at home Saturday.

"We really need to get our young people to be better players," team president John Davidson said.

Defenseman Erik Johnson and forwards David Perron, T.J. Oshie and Patrik Berglund are all former first-round picks in their early 20s and all have struggled at times. Johnson had a fast start but was a healthy scratch earlier this week, while Perron (11 goals, 22 points), Oshie (seven goals, 19 points) and Berglund (six goals, 12 points) have failed to energize an offense near the bottom of the NHL in goals.

AP