Flames coach Bill Peters quits; accused of slurs, abuse

Bill Peters resigned as coach of the Calgary Flames after it was disclosed he directed racist slurs at a Nigerian-born player in the minors a decade ago and kicked and punched players behind the bench during his recent time with Carolina.

General manager Brad Treliving said he received a resignation letter from Peters on Friday that wraps up a weeklong investigation into the veteran coach’s behavior. He refused to discuss whether Peters would continue to be paid, saying only, “He’s no longer with the organization.”

“We consider the matter closed,” Treliving said at a news conference in Calgary. “It’s been a difficult time. But we are going to move forward.”

Peters did not immediately respond to a text. He was in the second season of a three-year contract.

Assistant Geoff Ward takes over as interim coach with the Flames 12-12-4 and in ninth place in the Western Conference.

Peters has not been on the ice or behind the bench with his team since former player Akim Aliu leveled the accusations of racist slurs Monday night on Twitter.

Treliving said he had been in communication with the NHL this week. The league said Friday its review is ongoing and is scheduled to meet with Aliu and others in the coming days.

CAPITALS 4, LIGHTNING 3 » Dmitry Orlov scored 3:03 into overtime, and the Washington Capitals rallied to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 on Friday.

Orlov, Jakub Vrana and Evgeny Kuznetsov each had a goal and an assist for Washington, which trailed

3-1 after two periods. Alex Ovechkin tied the game with his team-leading 17th goal 11:36 into the third. BLUE JACKETS 5, PENGUINS

2 » Gustav Nyquist scored three times to lead Columbus to the victory. PREDATORS 3, HURRICANES

0 » Nashville’s Pekka Rinne made 31 saves for his third shutout of the season and No. 58 for his career. GOLDEN KNIGHTS 2, COYOTES 1, SO » Vegas’ Alex Tuch scored in regulation and added the shootout winner.

Golden Knights goaltender Malcolm Subban stopped 35 shots in his third straight start, including two monster saves in the final 12 seconds of regulation, and two more in overtime.

AVALANCHE 5, BLACKHAWKS 2 » Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and three assists, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 on Friday. BRUINS 3, RANGERS 2 » David Krejci scored 1:40 into overtime, David Pastrnak scored his league-leading 24th goal and Boston earned its sixth straight win.

JETS 3, DUCKS 0 » Connor Hellebuyck made 24 saves for his second shutout, leading Winnipeg to its third consecutive win.

SHARKS 4, KINGS 1 » Martin Jones made 33 saves for San Jose, and Noah Gregor scored his first career NHL goal.

AVALANCHE 5, BLACKHAWKS 2 » Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and three assists, leading Colorado to its second straight win.

WILD 7, SENATORS 2 » Defenseman Jared Spurgeon had a goal and two assists, and Minnesota scored three goals in a 4:13 span of the second period.

SABRES 6, MAPLE LEAFS 4 » Jack Eichel had two goals and an assist, powering Buffalo to the victory.