LOS ANGELES — The struggling Los Angeles Kings fired head coach John Stevens on Sunday just 13 games into his second season in charge.
Willie Desjardins was named the Kings’ interim head coach by General Manager Rob Blake.
Los Angeles also fired assistant coach Don Nachbaur and hired former Kings forward Marco Sturm to replace him on Desjardins’ staff.
Los Angeles is last in the overall NHL standings after a 4-8-1 start. The Kings have been outscored 45-28, but they had won two of their past three games following a six-game losing streak.
The Kings beat Columbus 4-1 on Saturday in Stevens’ final game in charge, but Blake decided to make his second coaching change in 19 months after LA’s terrible start.
“This is a critical time in our season, and our results to date have fallen well below our expectations,” Blake said in a statement. “With that in mind, this was a difficult decision, but one we feel was necessary. We have a great deal of respect and appreciation for John’s time with our organization. He was a key part of our past success, and we have tremendous gratitude for his many contributions.”
Stevens took over in 2017 after seven years as an assistant in Los Angeles under Terry Murray and Darryl Sutter. The former Philadelphia Flyers head coach was an assistant on the Kings’ Stanley Cup-winning teams in 2012 and 2014.
SUNDAY’S GAMES
LIGHTNING 4, SENATORS 3: Yanni Gourde scored 14 seconds into overtime to lift Tampa Bay a road victory over Ottawa.
Brayden Point tied the score with 27 seconds left in regulation on a two-man advantage off a pass from Tyler Johnson to send the game to the extra period.
Cedric Paquette and Mathieu Joseph also scored for the Lightning.
Bobby Ryan, Maxime Lajoie and Cody Ceci had the goals for the Senators.
RANGERS 3, SABRES 1: Henrik Lundqvist stopped 39 shots and Jimmy Vesey scored twice to lead New York to a victory at home.
Neal Pionk also scored in the Rangers’ third straight win. New York rookie Brett Howden picked up his sixth assist of the season before leaving with an injury in the second period.
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