ODENTON, Md. - The daring move ultimately failed for the Capitals.
The team pulled Bruce Cassidy from the minor leagues 18 months ago, hoping the bright and brash coach with no NHL bench experience could handle the likes of Jaromir Jagr.
But with the Capitals tied for last, Cassidy was fired Wednesday.
"We are in this spiral this season, and I couldn't sit back any longer," general manager George McPhee said. "We still have every intention of making the playoffs. Ten games under .500 this time of year is dangerous. We can't lose any more ground."
Assistant Glen Hanlon will replace Cassidy, and he immediately promised a patient approach that appears a stark contrast from the in-your-face style that hindered Cassidy's adjustment to the big leagues.
"We're not going to make a lot of system changes, but I think we can make some changes overnight in how we approach the game and how we treat ourselves," Hanlon said.
Hanlon joined the staff last season after spending three seasons as coach of the Portland Pirates, Washington's AHL affiliate.
"It's not that the previous coaches tried to make things miserable here," Hanlon said. "It's just that we've lost some hockey games, and we haven't been able to deal with it."
The Capitals are 8-18-1-1 with 18 standings points, tied with Pittsburgh for fewest in the league despite one of the highest payrolls in the league. Washington has struggled with an inexperienced defense and has had trouble scoring despite a lineup that includes Jagr, Peter Bondra and Robert Lang.
Cassidy, 47-47-9-7 overall with Washington, replaced Ron Wilson in June 2002 in a hiring gamble by McPhee. Cassidy had no NHL coaching experience, and the best line on his resume was that he was AHL coach of the year with Grand Rapids.
Cassidy arrived to find his minor-league coaching style didn't always mesh with the NHL's highly paid players. The Capitals made the playoffs last season, but were eliminated in the first round by the Lightning.
THRASHERS 4, KINGS 3 (OT): Marc Savard scored his second goal of the game with 1:23 left in overtime to lead host Atlanta in a matchup of first-place teams.
Los Angeles' Joseph Corvocq found the net with just 4.8 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime.
Savard passed to Ilya Kovalchuk streaking down the left side. Cristobal Huet made the save on Atlanta's leading scorer but couldn't control the rebound, which Savard stuffed in at the side of the net.
BRUINS 1, PANTHERS 1: Ted Donato scored a short-handed goal with 9:08 left in the third to help visiting Boston get a point. Valeri Bure scored for Florida, which had its winless streak extended to six at 0-3-3.
CANADIENS 2, RANGERS 1: Jan Bulis broke a third-period tie and set up another goal for visiting Montreal.
Bulis got free in the right circle and snapped a wrist shot over Mike Dunham's glove at 6:12. Bulis also assisted on Mike Ribeiro's goal. BLUE JACKETS 1, FLYERS 1: Sami Kapanen scored with 1:08 left to lift visiting Philadelphia.
Kapanen's goal spoiled a stellar effort from Columbus goaltender Fred Brathwaite, who stopped 40 shots.
DEVILS 1, ISLANDERS 0 (OT): Patrik Elias scored at 2:09 for host New Jersey.
Elias dropped a pass to Scott Gomez and then went to the net and swatted the return pass into an open net to give Martin Brodeur his league-high sixth shutout.
RED WINGS 7, SABRES 2: Pavel Datsyuk had two goals and an assist, and Curtis Joseph made 23 saves as Detroit defeated host Buffalo.
COYOTES 2, STARS 1: Sean Burke was the difference for host Phoenix, stopping 39 shots. Shane Doan and Daymond Langkow scored for the Coyotes.
MIGHTY DUCKS 3, SHARKS 2: Ruslan Salei and Petr Sykora scored 49 seconds apart in the third period for host Anaheim.
