With a losing streak of 12 games, the Buffalo Sabers fired coach Ralph Krueger on Wednesday.
Sabers have the lowest number of points in the NHL, with 16. They are in eighth place in the Eastern Division, six points behind Devils, who have two games less.
New Jersey defeated Buffalo 3-2 on Tuesday night. Buffalo’s winning streak is the third worst in team history and is the longest since Buffao lost a direct team record 14 midway through the 2014-15 season.
Krueger, 61, was in his second season at Buffalo. Last season, the team improved a bit with a 30-31-8 mark, but still finished sixth.
This season, star Jack Eichel has lost significant time with an injury, high-priced winger Jeff Skinner has been a huge disappointment and even the big takeover of a free agent, Taylor Hall, has not responded to the hype.
Buffalo is on track to match the NHL record for losing the playoffs in 10 consecutive seasons.
Since Eichel joined the league in 2015-16, he will now skate with his fourth coach and third general manager.
Krueger’s only previous experience in the NHL was training the Edmonton Oilers for 48 games in the 2012-13 season, when they went 19-22-7. Before that, he was coach of the Swiss team. After his stint with the Oilers, he switched to football and held several leadership positions in English Premier League teams.