New York Rangers fire coach Peter Laviolette after missing the playoffs

Peter Laviolette was fired as coach of the New York Rangers on Saturday, ending his tenure after two seasons, the second of which was a massive underachievement of missing the playoffs.

General manager Chris Drury made the move less than 48 hours after the finale of a lost season that followed a trip to the Eastern Conference final last year and set the stage for Stanley Cup-contending aspirations. Instead, the result was inconsistent, uninspired hockey that caused New York to get eliminated from contention, finish six points out and cost Laviolette his job.

Assistant Phil Housley was also fired. Owner James Dolan and Drury are expected to start the search for a full-time head coach soon, and roster changes are all but certain to happen in the coming weeks and months.

Greg Cronin fired as coach of Anaheim Ducks after 2 seasons

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Coach Greg Cronin was fired by the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday after two losing seasons, with general manager Pat Verbeek saying his team needs a new voice to achieve significant results from its lengthy rebuilding process.

Verbeek refused to disclose any concrete reasons why he fired Cronin, although he told reporters that the Ducks’ 35-37-10 record in their seventh consecutive non-playoff season was not the cause. He also said the Ducks’ dressing room culture wasn’t a problem, and he didn’t fire Cronin because of his inability to end Anaheim’s long-term struggles to score goals.

“There’s things that we can easily point to,” Verbeek said. “You could probably look at the power play. You can look at the penalty killing. But I didn’t look at that. There was other reasons, and I shared those with Greg, and they were private conversations that I want to remain private as to why.”

Verbeek also said he expects the Ducks to make the playoffs next season, making that declaration for the first time in his 3 1/2-year tenure in their front office — but the team with the third-fewest goals in the NHL this season will move in a new direction behind the bench.

It’s a girl! 2-way star Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers is now a father

ARLINGTON, Texas >> Two-way star Shohei Ohtani is now a father.

The Los Angeles Dodgers slugger posted on Instagram on Saturday that his wife gave birth to a girl. Manager Dave Roberts also acknowledged the news in an in-game interview during LA’s 4-3 loss at the Texas Rangers on Saturday.

“Congratulations Sho!” Roberts proclaimed while saying he wasn’t sure what the baby’s name was.

The 30-year-old Ohtani missed the first two games of the series matching the past two World Series champions. Before the game Saturday, Roberts said he didn’t have an update on the baby, but was hopeful Ohtani would rejoin the club for the series finale Sunday.

The Japanese star had said he and his wife, 28-year-old former professional basketball player Mamiko Tanaka, were expecting a baby in 2025.

“I am so grateful to my loving wife who gave birth to our healthy, beautiful daughter,” Ohtani wrote on Instagram. “To my daughter, thank you for making us very nervous yet super anxious parents.”

— The Associated Press