The Philadelphia Flyers announced the firing of general manager Ron Hextall on Monday after three-plus seasons.Team president Paul Holmgren issued a statement:"The Flyers organization has decided to relieve Ron Hextall of his duties as executive vice president and general manager. We thank Ron for his many significant contributions Anaheim Ducks T-Shirts Authentic , but it has become clear that we no longer share the same philosophical approach concerning the direction of the team.In light of these differences, we feel it's in the organization's best interests to make a change, effective immediately. I have already begun a process to identify and select our next general manager, which we hope to complete as soon as possible."Philadelphia is 13th in the Eastern Conference and seventh in the Metropolitan Division, having lost of five of their past six games. The two-time Stanley Cup champions also have the second-worst goal differential in the East.The Flyers made the playoffs in two of Hextall's first three seasons as GM but were eliminated in the first round each time. The franchise has missed the postseason only four times since 1994-95.Coach Dave Hakstolvoiced his opinionto the media onHextall's firing:"It's a tough morning, a tough morning for all of us. Certainly for me, personally. Ron brought me here to do a job Anaheim Ducks Hoodies Authentic , and I'm going to continue to focus and work at doing that job to the best of my abilities. That's what I told the players. We've got a job to do today. Let's go out and do it to the best of our abilities. We're not where we want to be. We have a better hockey team than we're at record-wise. We all got to own that."Players seemed to be taking the news hard as well."I don't know what's going to be the next step, but we can tell that nobody is safe, and it's all about winning," forward Jake Voracek told the media. Columbus Blue Jackets (44-30-4, fifth in the Metropolitan Division) vs. Buffalo Sabres (31-37-10, sixth in the Atlantic Division)Buffalo, New York; Sunday Anaheim Ducks Hats Authentic , 6 p.m. EDTBOTTOM LINE: Buffalo comes into the matchup with Columbus after losing six games in a row.The Sabres are 17-24-8 in conference games. Buffalo scores 2.6 goals per game, the least in the Eastern Conference. Jeff Skinner leads them with 37 total goals.The Blue Jackets are 22-14-2 on the road. Columbus has given up 30 power-play goals, killing 84.8 percent of opponent chances. In their last meeting on Jan. 29, Buffalo won 5-4. Evan Rodrigues recorded a team-high 2 points for the Sabres in the victory.TOP PERFORMERS: Jack Eichel leads the Sabres with 77 total points, scoring 27 goals and adding 50 assists. Casey Mittelstadt has recorded 4 points over the last 10 games for Buffalo.LAST 10 GAMES: Blue Jackets: 6-3-1, averaging 3.4 goals, 5.1 assists Custom Anaheim Ducks Jerseys , 2.3 penalties and 5.2 penalty minutes while giving up 1.8 goals per game with a .936 save percentage.Sabres: 1-8-1, averaging 1.7 goals, 2.9 assists, 2.9 penalties and 6.1 penalty minutes while giving up 3.9 goals per game with a .881 save percentage.Sabres Injuries: Marco Scandella: day to day (foot), Zach Bogosian: day to day (undisclosed), Rasmus Ristolainen: day to day (illness).Blue Jackets Injuries: Adam McQuaid: day to day (head).
