First-place New Jersey Devils fire coach in final week of regular season

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- Claude Julien was fired as coach of the first-place New Jersey Devils on Monday and replaced by general manager Lou Lamoriello with less than a week to go in the regular season.

Lamoriello will coach the final three regular-season games, starting on Tuesday night against Ottawa, and the playoffs. It marks the second straight season he has taken over behind the bench. Last year, he replaced Larry Robinson in December.

"I don't think we're at a point of being ready both mentally and [physically] to play the way that is necessary going into the playoffs," Lamoriello said outside the Devils' deserted locker room at the Continental Airlines Arena. "I am not saying that is going to change. But I think there has to be better focus going forward."

The firing comes after the Devils won four of their last five games. The team is in first place, a point ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Atlantic Division, after a 3-1 victory over New Jersey on Sunday. The Devils' 47-24-8 record in Julien's first season in New Jersey was the second-best in the Eastern Conference.

"You don't always judge by wins and losses as far as where you are at," said Lamoriello, who has guided New Jersey to three Stanley Cups since 1995, the last in 2003. "The way we put ourselves in this organization, you have to look at the big picture. To say that 102 points today isn't an excellent accomplishment, it's extremely positive. But I have to look at a lot of factors."

-- AP