Bob Francis was fired as coach of the struggling Phoenix Coyotes on Tuesday after leading the team to the playoffs twice in the last four seasons.
The Coyotes have won just two of their last 14 games and are in last place in the Pacific Division and 13th in the Western Conference.
Assistant Rick Bowness, former head coach at Ottawa, was named interim coach for the remainder of the season.
PHOTO: EPA
"We felt that it was time for a change in direction," general manager Michael Barnett said. "Sometimes, good coaches get replaced. Bob is a good coach and we wish him all the best in the future."
Francis, the son of Hall of Famer Emile Francis, is the franchise leader in victories and games coached. He was the NHL's coach of the year in 2001-2002.
Bowness has coached four NHL teams. He led the Winnipeg Jets (1988-1989), Boston Bruins (1991-1992), Ottawa Senators (1992-1996) and the Islanders (1996-1998).
Bruins 0, Islanders 0
In Uniondale, New York, bad ice was the culprit in this tie between the Bruins and the Islanders. The start was delayed 90 minutes because of a hole in the ice around one of the goal creases.
Rick DiPietro made 28 saves for the Islanders, and Bruins counterpart Felix Potvin stopped 33 shots as Boston was shut out for the second straight night. Florida beat the Bruins 2-0 Monday.
Flames 2, Avalanche 0
In Denver, Martin Gelinas' goal on a deflection broke a scoreless tie with 2:19 remaining and Miikka Kiprusoff had 26 saves as Atlanta shut out Colorado.
Kiprusoff, the NHL leader in goals-against average and save percentage, posted his second shutout of the season and fifth of his career.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite