Michel Therrien

Martin Biron knew what to expect from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Biron became the first NHL goalie in 8 years to win 12 consecutive starts, and Chris Drury scored on a rebound in overtime, helping the visiting Sabres ruin Michel Therrien's debut as the Penguins' coach with a 4-3 victory last night. Drury and Ales Kotalik each had a power-play goal and two assists as the Sabres won their fifth in a row and 13th in 15 games despite allowing Ziggy Palffy's tying goal with 2:17 left in regulation.

Pittsburgh Penguins coach Michel Therrien said he will bench goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and start backup Jocelyn Thibault when the Penguins visit the Florida Panthers tonight. Therrien has been openly critical of Fleury since Monday's 6-5 loss to the New York Islanders. "We're not satisfied. He's got to upgrade his game and he knows it," Therrien said. Fleury, the first overall pick in the 2003 draft, is 29-13-7 with a 2,92 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage.

Former player Eddie Olczyk was out and disciplinarian Michel Therrien was in as the Pittsburgh Penguins' coach yesterday. The Penguins are 8-17-6 and thought they would contend for a Stanley Cup this season. Since Olczyk moved from the TV booth to behind the bench in 2003-04, the Penguins are 31-68-14 with losing streaks of 18 games and nine games. Therrien, known for his stern discipline, was 77-77-13-13 as Montreal's coach from 2000-03. Meanwhile, Penguins owner-captain Mario Lemieux practiced yesterday, the first time since he went to the hospital on Dec. 7 with a rapid heartbeat.

If Dan Bylsma can't turn around the Pittsburgh Penguins in their final 24 games, the defending Eastern Conference champions will be in the same sorry state as the lowly New York Islanders - out of the playoffs. Bylsma stepped behind the Penguins' bench yesterday for the first time as an NHL head coach, 1 day after taking over for the fired Michel Therrien. The result was not much better as visiting Pittsburgh fell to the Islanders in a shootout, 3-2. Frans Nielsen and Jeff Tambellini scored shootout goals, and Joey MacDonald turned aside Penguins stars Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby in the tiebreaker to snap the Islanders' 0-4-1 skid.

The start was everything the Phantoms hoped for last night. The finish, however, was a nightmare. Kris Beech snapped a 4-4 tie with 4 minutes, 21 seconds left in the third period to lift the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to 5-4 victory over the Phantoms at the Wachovia Center. The Penguins trailed, 4-1, early in the second period but rallied to win Game 1 of the Calder Cup East Division finals. Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is set for 7:05 p.m. tomorrow. "We had some major-league breakdowns, and there's no excuse for it," Phantoms coach John Stevens said.

The Montreal Canadiens have turned once again to an NHL coaching novice to lead them back to their winning tradition. Claude Julien became the franchise's 26th head coach yesterday. He replaced Michel Therrien, fired yesterday by general manager Andre Savard after Montreal won just twice in its previous 12 games. Julien coached the Canadiens' AHL affiliate in Hamilton, Ontario. He's the fourth consecutive choice by Montreal without NHL head-coaching experience. "To be able to realize a dream of having the privilege and the honor to coach this team is unbelievable," Julien said.

Montreal general manager Andre Savard was fined $50,000 and coach Michel Therrien was hit for $25,000 by the NHL yesterday for confronting game officials after the Canadiens lost to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday. Referee Kerry Fraser disallowed a Montreal goal by Mike Ribeiro in the first period and allowed Joe Nieuwendyk's game-winning, third-period goal even though Canadiens goaltender Jeff Hackett was knocked down by the Devils' Jeff Friesen. Savard and Therrien shouted at Fraser as he left the ice at the end of the game and Savard had to be physically restrained from going into the officials' dressing room at the Continental Airlines Arena, in East Rutherford, N.J. Fraser told a pool reporter that a goalie can be bumped when he's out of his crease and playing the puck.

PITTSBURGH - In their BB - Before Bylsma - dark period, when the Penguins went 12-19-1 in midseason to fall into 10th place in the Eastern Conference, defenseman Rob Scuderi occasionally thought of his final collegiate season at Boston College. "There were times when we weren't playing very good, but nobody got down because of our experience - so, there's something to be said for having it, absolutely," Scuderi said of that 2000-01 campaign, which Boston College capped with an NCAA title after losing championship games the previous two seasons.

Michel Therrien, his team fading in the Eastern Conference playoff race less than a year after making the Stanley Cup finals, was fired as the Pittsburgh Penguins' coach last night and replaced by minor league coach Dan Bylsma. General manager Ray Shero decided to fire Therrien after a 6-2 loss in Toronto on Saturday in which the Penguins led 2-1 going into the third period. The Penguins are 27-25-5 after winning 47 games each of the last two seasons. "I didn't like the way, the direction the team was headed," Shero said on a conference call not long after giving Therrien the news.

A LOT OF truths tend to get told when game follows game follows game, every other night, for as long as the mathematics allow. Flaws are exposed and excellence is revealed, but it isn't that, not exactly. Mostly, a best-of-seven series is where preconceptions go to die. In this one, gone now is the notion that the Pittsburgh Penguins are all about Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, that they are superstars driving a lightly populated bus. This is so wrong. The Penguins are a team, in every sense.

PITTSBURGH - In their BB - Before Bylsma - dark period, when the Penguins went 12-19-1 in midseason to fall into 10th place in the Eastern Conference, defenseman Rob Scuderi occasionally thought of his final collegiate season at Boston College. "There were times when we weren't playing very good, but nobody got down because of our experience - so, there's something to be said for having it, absolutely," Scuderi said of that 2000-01 campaign, which Boston College capped with an NCAA title after losing championship games the previous two seasons.

If Dan Bylsma can't turn around the Pittsburgh Penguins in their final 24 games, the defending Eastern Conference champions will be in the same sorry state as the lowly New York Islanders - out of the playoffs. Bylsma stepped behind the Penguins' bench yesterday for the first time as an NHL head coach, 1 day after taking over for the fired Michel Therrien. The result was not much better as visiting Pittsburgh fell to the Islanders in a shootout, 3-2. Frans Nielsen and Jeff Tambellini scored shootout goals, and Joey MacDonald turned aside Penguins stars Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby in the tiebreaker to snap the Islanders' 0-4-1 skid.

Michel Therrien, his team fading in the Eastern Conference playoff race less than a year after making the Stanley Cup finals, was fired as the Pittsburgh Penguins' coach last night and replaced by minor league coach Dan Bylsma. General manager Ray Shero decided to fire Therrien after a 6-2 loss in Toronto on Saturday in which the Penguins led 2-1 going into the third period. The Penguins are 27-25-5 after winning 47 games each of the last two seasons. "I didn't like the way, the direction the team was headed," Shero said on a conference call not long after giving Therrien the news.

A LOT OF truths tend to get told when game follows game follows game, every other night, for as long as the mathematics allow. Flaws are exposed and excellence is revealed, but it isn't that, not exactly. Mostly, a best-of-seven series is where preconceptions go to die. In this one, gone now is the notion that the Pittsburgh Penguins are all about Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, that they are superstars driving a lightly populated bus. This is so wrong. The Penguins are a team, in every sense.

Pittsburgh Penguins coach Michel Therrien said he will bench goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and start backup Jocelyn Thibault when the Penguins visit the Florida Panthers tonight. Therrien has been openly critical of Fleury since Monday's 6-5 loss to the New York Islanders. "We're not satisfied. He's got to upgrade his game and he knows it," Therrien said. Fleury, the first overall pick in the 2003 draft, is 29-13-7 with a 2,92 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage.

Martin Biron knew what to expect from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Biron became the first NHL goalie in 8 years to win 12 consecutive starts, and Chris Drury scored on a rebound in overtime, helping the visiting Sabres ruin Michel Therrien's debut as the Penguins' coach with a 4-3 victory last night. Drury and Ales Kotalik each had a power-play goal and two assists as the Sabres won their fifth in a row and 13th in 15 games despite allowing Ziggy Palffy's tying goal with 2:17 left in regulation.

Former player Eddie Olczyk was out and disciplinarian Michel Therrien was in as the Pittsburgh Penguins' coach yesterday. The Penguins are 8-17-6 and thought they would contend for a Stanley Cup this season. Since Olczyk moved from the TV booth to behind the bench in 2003-04, the Penguins are 31-68-14 with losing streaks of 18 games and nine games. Therrien, known for his stern discipline, was 77-77-13-13 as Montreal's coach from 2000-03. Meanwhile, Penguins owner-captain Mario Lemieux practiced yesterday, the first time since he went to the hospital on Dec. 7 with a rapid heartbeat.

The start was everything the Phantoms hoped for last night. The finish, however, was a nightmare. Kris Beech snapped a 4-4 tie with 4 minutes, 21 seconds left in the third period to lift the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to 5-4 victory over the Phantoms at the Wachovia Center. The Penguins trailed, 4-1, early in the second period but rallied to win Game 1 of the Calder Cup East Division finals. Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is set for 7:05 p.m. tomorrow. "We had some major-league breakdowns, and there's no excuse for it," Phantoms coach John Stevens said.

The Montreal Canadiens have turned once again to an NHL coaching novice to lead them back to their winning tradition. Claude Julien became the franchise's 26th head coach yesterday. He replaced Michel Therrien, fired yesterday by general manager Andre Savard after Montreal won just twice in its previous 12 games. Julien coached the Canadiens' AHL affiliate in Hamilton, Ontario. He's the fourth consecutive choice by Montreal without NHL head-coaching experience. "To be able to realize a dream of having the privilege and the honor to coach this team is unbelievable," Julien said.

Montreal general manager Andre Savard was fined $50,000 and coach Michel Therrien was hit for $25,000 by the NHL yesterday for confronting game officials after the Canadiens lost to the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday. Referee Kerry Fraser disallowed a Montreal goal by Mike Ribeiro in the first period and allowed Joe Nieuwendyk's game-winning, third-period goal even though Canadiens goaltender Jeff Hackett was knocked down by the Devils' Jeff Friesen. Savard and Therrien shouted at Fraser as he left the ice at the end of the game and Savard had to be physically restrained from going into the officials' dressing room at the Continental Airlines Arena, in East Rutherford, N.J. Fraser told a pool reporter that a goalie can be bumped when he's out of his crease and playing the puck.