Islanders fire coach Stirling amid recent skid, sub-.500 mark

The New York Islanders fired coach Steve Stirling on Wednesday night, a person familiar with the decision told the Associated Press.

The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the official announcement wasn’t scheduled until today.

An interim coach will be in place before the Islanders’ home game against Calgary tonight, and it won’t be general manager Mike Milbury, the person told the AP.

The rest of the coaching staff is expected to remain, and Stirling will likely be offered another position within the organization.

He went 38-29-11-4 during his rookie year of 2003-04 and guided New York to its third straight playoff appearance after taking over for the fired Peter Laviolette.

But a recent skid dropped the Islanders out of the playoff picture and sealed his fate.

The final blow came Tuesday when the Islanders lost in Nashville to fall to 18-22-2, fourth place in the Atlantic Division.

Stirling, who ran practice in the morning, was hired as the 11th coach in Islanders history in June 2003 and became the eighth dismissed by Milbury in his 10 years as general manager.

On the ice

Thrashers 4, Predators 3 (SO): At Atlanta, Marian Hossa scored the only goal in a shootout to lift the Thrashers over Nashville for Atlanta’s first shootout victory in five tries.

Blue Jackets 6, Penguins 1: At Columbus, Ohio, Jaroslav Balastik scored twice, Sergei Fedorov and Rick Nash each had a goal and two assists and the Blue Jackets sent Pittsburgh to its fourth consecutive loss.

Flyers 5, Blackhawks 2: At Chicago, Mike Knuble scored on a deflection with 8:33 left in the third period, snapping a tie and lifting Philadelphia over Chicago.

Avalanche 2, Canadiens 1: At Denver, Ian Laperriere’s goal with 3:36 left in the third period capped a comeback as Colorado defeated Montreal for its sixth consecutive victory.

Around the league

Carolina defenseman Aaron Ward will miss three to six weeks after surgery to repair a hernia suffered in the second period of Tuesday’s win over Detroit. … Florida Panthers center Stephen Weiss most likely will miss the rest of the regular season because of a torn ligament in his left wrist that requires surgery. … Pittsburgh goaltender Jocelyn Thibault needs surgery for torn cartilage in his left hip and may miss the rest of the season, prompting the team to recall both its top minor league goalies, Dany Sabourin and Sebastien Caron. … Phoenix recalled defenseman Matthew Spiller after the NHL suspended Sean O’Donnell for receiving his third instigator penalty of the season. O’Donnell must sit out tonight’s game at Buffalo and Saturday’s contest in Toronto. … The New Jersey Devils assigned right wing Alexander Mogilny to their minor league affiliate in Albany, a week after being placed on waivers.