Murray in, Carlyle out for Ducks
Anaheim Ducks general manager Bob Murray tried to give Randy Carlyle as much time as possible to turn things around. But a seven-game losing streak and freefall into last place in the Western Conference showed Murray that a turnaround wasn’t coming soon.
Murray announced he would be the interim coach for the remainder of the regular season after firing Carlyle yesterday. Anaheim will hire a new coach after the season.
“What has happened here lately and how we have played, it was time for change,” Murray said. “Some people thought I waited far too long, but this team has a history of coming on and charging late. I realized a few days ago that it wasn’t going to happen.”
After no firings last year, the Ducks are the sixth team to make a change this season, joining Los Angeles, Chicago, St. Louis, Edmonton and Philadelphia.
The 62-year-old Carlyle, the winningest coach in Ducks history, was in his second stint with Anaheim. He led the team to the Stanley Cup in 2007 and three appearances in the Western Conference final (2006, 2007, 2017).
Anaheim has made the playoffs six straight seasons but has won just two of its past 21 games.
Blackhawks 5, Red Wings 2 — Dominik Kahun had two goals and an assist, Cam Ward made 43 saves and host Chicago beat Detroit for its seventh straight victory.
Chicago’s second line of Kahun, Dylan Strome and Alex DeBrincat delivered once again to help the Blackhawks continue their surprising push after a lackluster first half of the season. Strome had a goal and two assists, and DeBrincat had three assists to extend his career-best points streak to eight games.
Rangers 4, Maple Leafs 1 — Alexandar Georgiev had a career-high 55 saves to lead host New York past Toronto.
Mika Zibanejad, Jimmy Vesey and Adam McQuaid scored for the Rangers, who finished their five-game homestand at 2-2-1.
Lightning 5, Panthers 2 — Nikita Kucherov had two goals and an assist to lift Tampa Bay past Florida in Sunrise.
Brayden Point, Ryan Callahan and Steven Stamkos also scored for the Lightning. Louis Domingue made 25 saves, and Anton Stralman had two assists.
Jets 3, Sabres 1 — Blake Wheeler scored the go-ahead goal with 3:55 remaining and Winnipeg won in Buffalo.
Connor Hellebuyck made 35 saves to help the Jets end their longest winless streak of the season (four games) and maintain the Central Division lead.
Islanders 2, Wild 1 — Devon Toews scored the tiebreaking goal early in the second period, Thomas Greiss stopped 26 shots and host New York beat Minnesota.
Anthony Beauvillier also scored for Metropolitan Division-leading New York, which has won 4-of-5.
Blues 5, Predators 4 — Vladimir Tarasenko completed a hat trick 16 seconds into overtime and St. Louis won in Nashville to sweep a home-and-home set with its seasonbest sixth straight victory.
Devils 3, Hurricanes 2 — In Newark, N.J., Marcus Johansson scored twice, Keith Kinkaid made 32 saves and New Jersey kept Carolina from moving into a playoff spot.
Nico Hischier set up all three goals to help the Devils snap the Hurricanes’ three-game winning streak.