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Senators try to get back on track with new coach

Feb 28, 2008 - 1:51 PM Ottawa (36-22-6) at Philadelphia (31-25-7) 7:00 pm EST

PHILADELPHIA (Ticker) - The Ottawa Senators looked like they were going to run away with the Eastern Conference in the middle of January. Six weeks later, the coach has been replaced and the team is in turmoil.

General manger Bryan Murray returns to the Senators bench on Thursday when they visit the Philadelphia Flyers.

The club fired coach John Paddock on Wednesday and replaced him with Murray, who will retain his position as general manger.

Murray coached the club last season but was dismissed at the end of last season despite leading the Senators to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history. He was then moved into the front office, replacing John Muckler.

"(The change) comes certainly because of performance lately," Murray said. "I think the results that we'd been having or not having was an indicator that some adjustment, that some emotion had to be brought back to the team."

With 16 years of coaching experience, the 65-year-old Murray has been behind the bench for more than 1,300 regular season and playoff contests. He has a regular-season mark of 100-46-18 with Ottawa.

With the Senators in a funk for more than a month, Paddock's job reportedly had been in jeopardy for some time. The last straw came on Tuesday, when Ottawa was blanked for the second straight game in a 4-0 loss to the Boston Bruins.

The Flyers have been performing just as poorly lately, gaining just four points in their last 11 contests. They snapped a 10-game winless streak on Monday with a 4-3 overtime victory over the Buffalo Sabres.

Philadelphia's poor play has them on the outside looking in at the Eastern Conference playoff race. The club has 69 points and is currently ninth in the East, two points behind Buffalo (31-24-9) for the eight and final playoff spot.

The Flyers won the first two meetings of the season between the teams, but the Senators claimed a 3-2 shootout win in the last meeting, on February 19.