Panthers Replace Coach and GM

The Florida Panthers, tied for the fewest victories in the league, fired Coach Duane Sutter and President and General Manager Bill Torrey, two Canadian sports networks reported Sunday.

The team scheduled a news conference for this morning to “announce a series of changes in the operations department,� Panther spokesman Mike Hanson said.

The Panthers replaced Sutter with Mike Keenan and assistant general manager Chuck Fletcher was promoted to interim general manager, TSN and Sportsnet said on their Web sites.

Sportsnet said the Panthers signed Keenan to a multiyear deal. Keenan was fired by Boston after last season.

The Panthers are 14th in the Eastern Conference with a 6-15-2-3 record.

*

Washington 4, Carolina 3--Jeff Halpern scored with 1:36 left in overtime and Washington rallied from a two-goal deficit at Raleigh, N.C.

Dmitri Khristich’s goal with 55.2 seconds left sent the game into overtime.

Rod Brind’Amour, Bates Battaglia and Jeff O’Neill scored first-period goals to give the Hurricanes a 3-1 lead.

St. Louis 4, Minnesota 4--Al MacInnis scored on a slap shot with 2:01 left in regulation to give the Blues a tie at St. Paul, Minn.

MacInnis’ goal came 42 seconds after Andrew Brunette gave Minnesota the lead.

Brunette, who had two assists, scored a power-play goal with 2:43 to play.

But MacInnis’ shot from the right circle got the tie for the Blues, who rallied from a three-goal deficit in the second period.

New York Rangers 1, Tampa Bay 0--Mike Richter earned his second consecutive shutout after going 143 games and nearly three years without one, and Brian Leetch scored at New York.

Richter, who made 20 saves, picked up where he left off in a stellar November, extending his shutout streak to 153 minutes 49 seconds.

The Rangers, who won their third in a row, took over the top spot in the Eastern Conference with 37 points.

Dallas 4, Vancouver 2--Ed Belfour made 26 saves at Vancouver and the Stars extended their unbeaten streak to six games.

Richard Matvichuk, Mike Modano, Martin Rucinsky and Jamie Langenbrunner scored for Dallas.

Langenbrunner’s short-handed score came in the third period.