Glen Sather stepped down as coach of the slumping New York Rangers on Wednesday, staying on as president and general manager of a team facing the prospect of missing the NHL playoffs for the seventh consecutive season.
The Rangers announced the move by issuing a news release at practice. Assistant coach Tom Renney was promoted to interim coach.
Sather met with team owner James Dolan on Tuesday and decided to relinquish his coaching responsibilities, the New York Post reported.
With 20 games remaining, it appears the Rangers will miss the playoffs despite a roster loaded with expensive stars such as Mark Messier, Jaromir Jagr and Eric Lindros.
When Sather said he'd remain the Rangers' coach on Feb. 17, he didn't rule out stepping down for a while to concentrate on his GM duties as the March 9 trade deadline approaches.
"Anything is possible," he said. "Let's just wait and see what does happen."
The Rangers are 22-29-7-4 -- 14 points behind the New York Islanders, who hold the eighth and last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Rangers, 4-13-2 in their last 19, play the Islanders on Thursday night.
The 60-year-old Sather has been booed recently by disgruntled fans, and chants of "Fire Sather!" have been common at Madison Square Garden.
Sather was 33-39-11-7 in 90 games with the Rangers.
Renney, coach of the Vancouver Canucks from June, 1996 to November, 1997, becomes the 32nd coach in Rangers history.
Panthers 4, Maple Leafs 0
Juraj Kolnik had two goals and an assist, and Roberto Luongo made 33 saves for his second consecutive shutout to help the Florida Panthers beat Toronto 4-0.
"Every time I get a chance to get a shot I try to put the puck on the net," said Kolnik, who has nine goals in his last 17 games. "Tonight, I got three shots and two goals."
It was the sixth shutout of the season for Luongo, who beat Boston 2-0 Monday night. Luongo came in leading the NHL in saves and ranked second with a .934 save percentage.
Matt Cullen had a goal and an assist for the Panthers, unbeaten in their last five (3-0-2). Florida moved within seven points of the idle New York Islanders for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
Blackhawks 4, Blue Jackets 3
In Columbus, Ohio, Tuomo Ruutu had two goals and an assist and Kyle Calder added the winning score and two assists as Chicago edged Columbus.
Columbus scrambled back from a 3-1 deficit to pull even early in the third period. But Calder redirected Ruutu's slap shot from the top of the right circle with 3:50 left.
Stephane Robidas added a short-handed goal and an assist for the Blackhawks, who are averaging four goals over their last six games.
Rick Nash had a career-high three assists for Columbus.
Hurricanes 2, Capitals 1
In Washington, Erik Cole and Jeff O'Neill had goals Carolina's first win in six games against Washington this season.
Cole tipped a shot past Washington goalie Sebastien Charpentier late in the first period to gave Carolina a 1-0 lead. O'Neill's goal, with the Hurricanes holding a two-man advantage midway in the second period, put Carolina up 2-0.
Washington scored on Robert Lang's 29th goal with 37 seconds to play in the second period. Lang has a point in his last 13 games.
Devils 8, Sabres 2
In East Rutherford, New Jersey, Martin Brodeur became the first NHL goaltender to win 30 games in nine straight seasons as New Jersey thrashed Buffalo.
The Devils had their highest-scoring game since October 2000.
Brodeur (30-17-10) had to make only 20 saves in moving ahead of recently retired Patrick Roy for consecutive 30-win seasons.
The Devils won their third straight and moved within four points of first-place Philadelphia in the Atlantic Division.
New Jersey has played two fewer games.
Lightning 4, Thrashers 2
In Atlanta, Vincent Lecavalier sneaked behind the Atlanta defense with 1:24 remaining for his second goal as Tampa Bay beat Atlanta to win at Philips Arena for the first time in eight games.
Brad Richards scored early in the third period, Cory Stillman added an empty-net goal and Nikolai Khabibulin stopped 23 shots.
The Lightning improved to 11-2-0-3 in their last 16 road games. Tampa Bay has lost in regulation just twice in 24 games overall.
Brazil has four teams, more than any other country, in the expanded Club World Cup that kicked off yesterday in the US, but for SE Palmeiras, the competition holds a special meaning: winning it would provide some redemption. Under coach Abel Ferreira since 2020, Palmeiras lifted two Copa Libertadores titles, plus Brazilian league, cup and state championships. Even before Ferreira, it boasted another South American crown and 11 league titles. The only major trophy missing is a world champions’ title. Other Brazilian clubs like Fluminense FC and Botafogo FR, also in the tournament, have never won it either, but the problem for Palmeiras
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