Eddie Olczyk, expected to win immediately after being given a much more accomplished team to coach, was fired on Thursday as the coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins and replaced by former Montreal Canadiens coach Michel Therrien.
Olczyk, a former team broadcaster and player who had no coaching experience at any level before being hired in 2003, was let go following a run of eight losses in nine games that dropped the Penguins' record to an Eastern Conference-worst 8-6-17.
Only St. Louis (6-4-17) has fewer wins in the NHL, and general manager Craig Patrick decided to fire Olczyk after a dismally played 3-0 loss to the Blues on Tuesday in which the Penguins did little to support an excellent game by goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.
PHOTO: AFP
Olczyk, 39, is the first NHL coach to be fired since the league resumed play following a one-season labor impasse and the fourth Penguins coach to lose his job in six seasons, joining Kevin Constantine, the late Ivan Hlinka and Rick Kehoe.
Therrien, who coached the Penguins' Wilkes-Barre/Scranton farm club to a record AHL start, was to run the team's practice Thursday and coach his first NHL game since the 2002-2003 season Friday night against Buffalo. He coached Montreal from 2000-2003.
The 42-year-old Therrien expected to bring a much more disciplined approach to a team that has been criticized for its lazy work habits and inability to stick to a system. He emphasizes controlling the puck and creating turnovers in the transition game.
The Penguins had a league-worst record during Olczyk's first season as coach in 2003-2004, including an 18-game losing streak that would be an NHL record except that one loss came in overtime. But the pressure on Olczyk to begin winning increased when the Penguins won the NHL draft lottery in July and chose 18-year-old Sidney Crosby, considered Canada's best prospect since Penguins owner-player Mario Lemieux.
With Crosby's addition causing ticket sales to jump dramatically, the Penguins rushed to take advantage of the NHL's small market-friendly salary cap system by acquiring established players Sergei Gonchar, Jocelyn Thibault, John LeClair and Ziggy Palffy during a rapid summertime rebuilding project.
But the Penguins got off to a terrible start by losing their first nine games and have never gotten untracked as Gonchar, Thibault and LeClair have been major disappointments. The 40-year-old Lemieux also had another medical setback, being diagnosed last week with a heart disorder. Crosby has averaged a point a game but also has been slumping with only one goal in eight games.
Penguins assistant coaches Joe Mullen and Randy Hillier also were fired.
Rod Brind'Amour scored twice and Martin Gerber made 25 saves to help Carolina hold off the Columbus Blue Jackets 2-1 on Thursday, giving the Hurricanes consecutive home victories for the first time since early last month.
It was Brind'Amour's first multi-goal game in two months.
Mike Rupp scored his first goal of the season for the Blue Jackets to cut the deficit in half early in the final period, but the Hurricanes held on behind Gerber.
It was the third loss in four games for the Blue Jackets.
Stars 2, Senators 0
At Ottawa, Marty Turco earned his second shutout of the season, and Brenden Morrow scored his 10th goal and assisted on Jere Lehtinen's 17th, leading Dallas over Ottawa.
Turco stopped 25 shots for his 23rd career shutout. Dallas has gone 14-3 -- including a pair of five-game winning streaks -- to surge into first place in the Pacific Division.
Senators rookie Ray Emery made 25 saves, losing his second straight game after setting an NHL record by winning nine straight to begin his career.
Canucks 5, Flyers 4
At Philadelphia, Anson Carter scored twice in the third period, lifting Vancouver over Philadelphia.
Markus Naslund, Trevor Linden and Nolan Baumgartner also scored for the Northwest Division-leading Canucks, who won their fourth straight game.
Michal Handzus, Kim Johnsson, Mike Knuble and Sami Kapanen scored for Philadelphia, which had won two in a row.
The injury-depleted Flyers lost two more players when forward Mike Richards went out with a concussion, and fellow rookie Jeff Carter left after getting hit in the head by the puck.
Predators 5, Blackhawks 3
At Nashville, Tennessee, Pekka Rinne made 35 saves and earned a victory in his NHL debut as Nashville beat Chicago.
Rinne is the fourth goaltender used by the Predators this season. He was recalled from Milwaukee of the AHL after Nashville backup Chris Mason sustained a groin injury during warmups Tuesday night at Florida.
The Blackhawks tested Rinne early as Mark Bell scored a short-handed goal on a wrist shot from low in the slot that went in at 2:29 of the first period.
Paul Kariya tied it for Nashville 92 seconds into the middle period.
Martin Erat put Nashville ahead 2-1 at 10:32 of the period. Yanic Perreault gave the Predators a two-goal lead 6:17 later. Vernon Fiddler made it 4-1.
Bruins 3, Wild 2
At St. Paul, Minnesota, Marco Sturm scored his fourth goal in six games as visiting Boston edged Minnesota.
Sturm, who came to the Bruins from San Jose in the Nov. 30 trade that sent captain Joe Thornton to the Sharks, tipped David Tanabe's shot midway through the third period as the Bruins recorded their first win over the Wild.
Minnesota is 2-5-2 in its last nine games and has failed to score more than two goals in any of the losses.
Former Bruins forward Brian Rolston had a goal and an assist in his first game against his former team.
Sergei Samsonov gave the Bruins their first lead in the second period when he tipped in Tom Fitzgerald's shot.
Thrashers 3, Devils 2, OT
At East Rutherford, New Jersey, Marc Savard scored a power-play goal with five seconds left in overtime and Atlanta beat New Jersey just over a minute after failing to win it on a penalty shot.
New Jersey defenseman Dan McGillis pulled down Marian Hossa during a breakaway at 3:31 of the extra session. Hossa didn't convert on the attempt, but the Thrashers immediately went on a power play as McGillis was also called for roughing.
Michael Garnett made 24 saves for Atlanta, and Martin Brodeur stopped 30 shots.
Ilya Kovalchuk and J.P. Vigier had the Atlanta goals in regulation.
Scott Gomez and Alexander Mogilny scored for the Devils.
Panthers 3, Red Wings 2, OT
At Sunrise, Florida, Olli Jokinen scored a power-play goal 1:36 into overtime, pushing Florida past Detroit.
It was Florida's first win over Detroit since Dec. 1, 1996. The Panthers were 0-5-7 since.
Gary Roberts and Rastislav Olesz also scored for the Panthers, who have won four of five at home. Roberto Luongo made 34 saves.
Dan Cleary and Henrik Zetterberg scored for the Red Wings. Chris Osgood made 27 saves but lost for the first time in 17 games in the state of Florida (11-1-5).
Lightning 3, Coyotes 1
At Glendale, Arizona, Vincent Lecavalier netted a short-handed goal, and Fredrik Modin also scored to lead Tampa Bay past Phoenix.
Ruslan Fedotenko also had a goal for the Lightning, who won for the 11th time in 14 games. Sean Burke made 26 saves against his former team for his fourth win in seven starts.
Geoff Sanderson scored and Curtis Joseph made 25 saves for the Coyotes, who have lost two straight after a season-best, three-game winning streak.
Oilers 5, Canadiens 3
At Edmonton, Alberta, Ethan Moreau's power-play goal with 1:23 left in the third period led Edmonton over Montreal.
Fernando Pisani netted his second goal of the game -- capping a three-point night -- by scoring into an empty net. Pisani's first came early in the third and tied it at 3. Marc-Andre Bergeron and Raffi Torres also scored for Edmonton.
Chris Higgins had a goal and assist, and Garth Murray and Michael Ryder also scored for Montreal.
The salary cap for NHL teams will rise next season, from the current US$39 million to between US$40 million and US$45 million, commissioner Gary Bettman said on Thursday.
Bettman presented the news to owners at the end of a two-day meeting at a north Scottsdale resort. Bettman projected overall revenues of over US$2 billion.
"Clearly the cap is going up and that's good for everybody," Bettman said when the session ended.
The salary cap is based on league revenue.
If the cap goes to US$45 million, the maximum salary for a player would rise from the current US$7.8 million to US$9 million.
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