The Anaheim Ducks fired head coach Randy Carlyle on Sunday, the team announced. General manager Bob Murray will take over on an interim basis.

Anaheim has lost 19 of its last 21 contests and was handed a seventh consecutive defeat Saturday.

"We thank Randy for everything he has done for the organization," Murray said. "Leading the team to a Stanley Cup and three conference final appearances, he has accomplished so much in Anaheim. Difficult decisions need to be made when times are tough, and our play has clearly been unacceptable. We have a tradition of success in Anaheim and we need to get back to that."

Carlyle had two stints as Ducks head coach, the first stretching from 2005-12 and highlighted by a championship in 2007. After four-plus years in Toronto, he landed back in Anaheim in 2016-17 and made the playoffs in each of his first two campaigns before the wheels came off this season.

Anaheim currently sits in 28th place with 51 points through 56 games but owns the league's worst goal differential by a wide margin at negative-55. The Ducks also rank dead last in shots per game (27.5) and 29th in shots against per game (34.3) while owning the 29th-ranked power play at 14.9 percent.

Murray has never coached at the NHL level, but he'll guide the Ducks down the stretch until the club begins its search for a full-time replacement in the offseason.

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James Neal will be booking a dental appointment in the near future.

The Calgary Flames forward lost some chiclets when he was caught up high by the stick of Vancouver Canucks defenseman Alex Biega midway through the third period of Saturday's game.

Biega was assessed a double minor for his errant stick, while Neal was able to finish the game.

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Ken Hitchcock criticized his Edmonton Oilers players at length following a 5-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.

"At this time of year, the coaches can't want it more than the players," the head coach told reporters postgame. "At the end of the day, it's going to be decided whether we want to play the right way because it's successful, or whether we just want to do our thing. (This) was a game (in which) we just wanted to do our thing and paid dearly for it."

The Sharks jumped out to a 2-0 lead through 20 minutes, outshooting the Oilers 12-5 in the opening frame. Edmonton played a better middle stanza, but the Oilers trailed 3-1 through two periods. Then they allowed two more San Jose goals, including Kevin Labanc's third of the game.

"We didn't even give ourselves a fighting chance," HItchcock said. "The game was over. When you turn it over that many times and you make casual plays like that, you give yourself no chance. We did it on the first (and) second goal(s), we did it on the fourth goal.

"...We can't play this way and actually expect to win hockey games."

The Oilers defeated the Minnesota Wild 4-1 on Thursday night, but Edmonton has now lost seven of its last eight contests.

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Randy Carlyle has seen a lot in his coaching career, but even he is surprised by how prolonged the Anaheim Ducks' slump has been.

"You don't expect to have to live through this stuff for this extended period of time," Carlyle told reporters after a 6-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, according to NHL.com's Adam Kimelman.

The defeat was the Ducks' seventh straight and 19th in their last 21 contests..

General manager Bob Murray has been reluctant to fire Carlyle. Last month, after Anaheim's 11th consecutive loss in what was ultimately a 12-game skid, Murray said he wasn't considering a coaching change "at this time."

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PHILADELPHIA (AP) Carter Hart made 30 saves for his eighth straight victory, Sean Couturier had a goal and two assists and the Philadelphia Flyers scored four times in the first period to rout the slumping Anaheim Ducks 6-2 on Saturday.

Michael Raffl, Oskar Lindblom, Phil Varone, Nolan Patrick and Travis Konecny also scored for the Flyers, who have won nine of 10.

Adam Henrique and Nick Ritchie scored for Anaheim, which lost its seventh in a row and 19th in the last 21 while ending a forgettable six-game road trip. The Ducks have been outscored 37-8 during their skid.

Ryan Getzlaf had two assists while playing in his 967th contest, which set a club record for most games with the Ducks.

The 20-year-old Hart tied an NHL record for most consecutive victories before turning 21, matching former Quebec netminder Jocelyn Thibault's performance in March 1995. Hart helped the Flyers to a fast start, denying Jakob Silfverberg on a breakaway with a glove save 1:15 into the contest.

Hart rested in favor of Anthony Stolarz in Thursday's 3-2 shootout loss to Los Angeles that snapped Philadelphia's eight-game winning streak.

Kevin Boyle made 24 saves in his NHL debut in his relief of Chad Johnson, who was lifted after the first period for allowing four goals on 14 shots. Johnson was in net in place of All-Star John Gibson, who suffered an upper body injury in the third period of the Ducks' 4-0 loss at Ottawa on Thursday.

Varone got the goal-barrage started in the first by scoring from close range with a shot over Johnson's right arm 2:44 into the contest.

Couturier's wrist shot from the left circle went off the post and in with 9:36 left in the period to make it 2-0, and Raffl added another with a short-handed tally 1 1/2 minutes later with a wrist shot that beat Johnson on the glove side after a great outlet pass from Scott Laughton.

And Lindblom finished Philadelphia's first-period burst with a bit of luck, as Couturier's pass in front went off Lindblom's skate and over the goal line with 2:14 left in the period.

Boyle kept the Flyers off the board with a solid, 13-save second period, and the Ducks got a power-play goal 51 seconds into the second when Henrique finished Ritchie's pass from behind the net.

Notes: Philadelphia traded F Dale Weise and D Christian Folin to Montreal for D David Schlemko and F Byron Froese. Schlmeko and Froese will report to Philadelphia's AHL Lehigh Valley affiliate. . The Flyers swept the season series. They also won at Anaheim, 3-2 on Oct. 30. . Hart has allowed 19 goals on 290 shots during his winning streak.

UP NEXT

Anaheim: Play first of three straight at home vs. Vancouver on Wednesday.

Philadelphia: End five-game homestand against Pittsburgh Monday.

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The Montreal Canadiens have traded defenseman David Schlemko and forward Byron Froese to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for forward Dale Weise and defenseman Christian Folin.

The Canadiens welcome back a friendly face in Weise, as the 6-foot-2 power forward played 152 games from 2013-16 for Montreal. Weise enjoyed his best hockey with the Habs, registering a career-high 29 points during the 2014-15 campaign.

Folin has played in just 26 games this season, recording two assists for the Flyers. The Swedish blue-liner signed a 1-year, $800,000 deal with Philadelphia at the beginning of the season and will become a UFA on July 1.

A knee injury at the start of the campaign kept Schlemko sidelined until Nov. 10. He's appeared in 18 games for Montreal this season, splitting time with the Laval Rockets of the AHL. When healthy, Schlemko can provide some depth on defense for a Flyers team looking to make a late playoff push.

After a 48-game slate with the Canadiens last season, Froese spent all of 2018-19 with Laval. With 110 games of NHL experience under his belt, the 27-year-old could be an option should the Flyers run into injury trouble down the stretch.

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