Inconsistent Penguins Send Coach Packing

The Pittsburgh Penguins fired head coach Eddie Johnston after the team lost eight of its past nine games in a season filled with inconsistency.

General manager Craig Patrick, who previously served as interim coach during the 1988-89 season, will take over for the team’s remaining 20 games.

The Penguins, second in the Northeast Division with a 31-26-5 mark and fifth in the Eastern Conference, haven’t advanced to the playoff finals since winning two straight Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992.

“We’ve got a ship right now that’s off course and listing and we’ve got to get it back on course,” Patrick said.

Pittsburgh has the National Hockey League’s top two scorers in Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr and has scored a league-high 220 goals this season. However, the team has managed only 20 goals in its past nine games.

Lemieux, who Johnston drafted with the first pick in 1984, said he was “surprised” by the firing and was unsure if it was the right move for the team.

“This is a sad day for everybody,” Lemieux said. “Time will tell if this is the right move or not. I guess when a team’s not going well, coaches don’t stick around for too long and that’s the nature of the game.”

The team has been beset by injuries for much of the season. Jagr may miss a month with a groin injury.

Chelios out indefinitely

The Chicago Blackhawks’ Chris Chelios will be out indefinitely with a sprained left knee, leaving the team without its captain and top defenseman as it battles for a playoff spot.

Chelios was injured in Saturday’s 2-1 loss to Colorado when Avalanche forward Keith Jones knocked him into the boards with a blind-side hit.

Roy charged in bar fight

Colorado Avalanche goaltender Patrick Roy was charged with fighting after an altercation with a fellow patron in a hotel nightclub bar.

Roy was staying at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs on Saturday night with other Avalanche players and coaches and their families to attend a Sunday charity event for Children’s Hospital of Denver.

Police said Roy and Kevin Morris, 31, a Colorado Springs computer programmer, were charged, ticketed and released. Both face a maximum $500 fine and 90 days in jail.