By Justin Worsley,
Trying to save the season before it is too late, the New Jersey Devils have fired head coach John MacLean on Thursday.
Jacques Lemaire will return as the head coach for New Jersey for a third time. Lemaire, 65, was the head coach at New Jersey last season, which ended with an early playoff exit, but retured at the season's end.
Under MacLean, the Devils went 9-22-2 and were the lowest scoring team in the league, averaging only 1.7 goals per game. The Devils have been shut out four times so far this season. Last year, the Devils were only shut out six times in the entire season.
Lemaire led the Devils to their first Stanley Cup in 1995 and is 588-441-124-60 in his career as a head coach. Last year, the Devils won the Atlantic Division after going 48-27-7.
Along with their anemic offense, the Devils have also had their fair share of injuries. Goaltender Martin Brodeur has missed time with an elbow injury and captain Zach Parise has been on injured reserve since Nov. 8 with a knee injury.
Without Parise, teams have been able to focus solely on high-scoring winger Ilya Kovalchuk. The Russian Sniper, who was given a 15-year, $100 million deal last summer, has only scored eight goals in 32 games.
Lemaire is expected to return to the ice Thursday night when the Devils host the New York Islanders.
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