With the streak of defeats reaching 12 games, the Buffalo Sabers fired coach Ralph Krueger on Wednesday.
The Sabers have the fewest points in the NHL with 16. They are in eighth place in the Eastern Division, six points behind the Devils, who have two games on hand.
New Jersey beat Buffalo 3-2 Tuesday night. Buffalo’s winless streak coincides with the third worst in team history and is the longest since Buffao lost a team record 14 straight in the middle of the 2014-15 season.
Krueger, 61, was in his second season with Buffalo. Last season, the team improved slightly with a 30-31-8 mark, although it finished sixth.
This season, star Jack Eichel has been wasting a lot of time with an injury, high-priced winger Jeff Skinner has been a major disappointment and even the great acquisition of free agents Taylor Hall has not been at the height of the drum.
Buffalo is on track to break the NHL record for losing the playoffs in 10 straight seasons.
Since Eichel entered the league in 2015-16, he will now skate under his fourth coach and third general manager.
Krueger’s only previous experience in the NHL was coaching the Edmonton Oilers for 48 games in the 2012-13 season, when they went 19-22-7. Previously, he coached the Swiss national team. After his stint with the Oilers, he moved to football and held various front-office positions with English Premier League teams.