Playoff-starved Sabres fire coach Granato

BUFFALO — The Buffalo Sabres fired head coach Don Granato on Tuesday, making him the seventh coach to be ousted during what’s grown into an Nhl-record 13-season playoff drought.

The move was announced by the team after the Sabres closed their season with a 4-2 win at Tampa Bay. They finished with a 39-27-6 record and had been eliminated from playoff contention last week.

Granato completed his third full season in Buffalo after taking over on an interim level in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic-shortened 2021 season after Ralph Krueger was fired. And the move comes with the 56year-old Granato still having two seasons left on his contract, which featured an extension that kicked in to start next season.

Buffalo stumbled through a season in which the team won three straight games just twice and were too often unable to overcome slow starts. Attendance: The NHL said Tuesday it had set a single-season attendance record with more than 22.5 million fans filling arenas and stadiums.

The league said the new mark of 22,560,634 was set with 18 games remaining in the regular season, saying buildings so far have been filled 97% to capacity. The season ends Thursday and the playoffs begin Saturday. Bodyarmor: The NHL and NHL Players’ Association on Tuesday announced a multiyear agreement with Bodyarmor to be the league’s official sports drink.

Bodyarmor replaces Biosteel in that department after Biosteel filed for bankruptcy last year.

Bruins: Jack Edwards is retiring after 19 years as Boston’s play-by-play announcer, the team announced.