The Chicago Blackhawks fired coach Jeremy Colliton on Saturday.
With the team mired in a 1-9-2 start, interim general manager Kyle Davidson made the decision, naming Derek King the interim coach.
Chicago has lost two straight since posting its first victory and has allowed a league-high 47 goals.
The decision comes a day after another puzzling effort, a 5-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets. Marc-Andre Fleury, in his first season with the club, made 28 saves but allowed some questionable goals in front a porous defense.
“It’s been hard on the players, the stretch we’ve been going through,” Colliton said after the loss. “We’ve had some good performances we haven’t gotten rewarded for, and it weighs on you. There’s no excuse. We can’t give ourselves a chance to win when you have the type of performance that we did tonight. But all we can do is move onto the next one and come out with energy and compete level and do a better job.”
King will debut Sunday, when the Blackhawks meet the Nashville Predators at United Center.