," Ruff said. The Blackhawks went up 3-0 on Saads

OTTAWA -- The Florida Panthers have been put on notice, and the players say the message has been received. The Panthers fired head coach Kevin Dineen and assistants Gord Murphy and Craig Ramsay on Friday after the team got off to a dismal start to the regular season. More changes could still come if the team doesnt soon find a way to improve its on-ice performance. The Panthers have lost ten of their last eleven games, sit seventh in the Atlantic Division with a 3-9-4 record and are 27th in the league heading into Fridays games. "Its easier to fire a coach than to fire 23 players," general manager Dale Tallon said on a conference call earlier in the day. "But were on the phone constantly and were going to make changes as we go. We want people that want to be Panthers, and if they dont want to be well accommodate them. Right now Im dissatisfied with the effort from most of the guys and we need to be better." Peter Horachek, who had been coaching the teams American Hockey League affiliate in San Antonio, was named interim coach. Director of player development Brian Skrudland and professional scout John Madden will serve as assistant coaches. The Panthers took part in their first practice Friday with Horachek at the helm. Afterwards they said they were disappointed by Dineens firing and know its up to them to turn things around. "I think for us as players we definitely share or take most of the blame for what has gone on, but were trying to look forward now," said defenceman Brian Campbell. Players are well aware of the situation and say they control their own fate. "Who knows whos safe and what not, but now its just going out and playing the right way as a team," said Erik Gudbranson. "Weve put ourselves behind the eight ball early in this season and the only way that we can get out of it is within our dressing room and going out there and playing hard and playing the right way." When asked about Tallons comments on potential trades, Campbell admitted such things shouldnt even need to be said at this point. "I dont think Dale needs to say a word about that," said Campbell. "Us as players should realize that, but hopefully it can bring us together closer and we can think about the good times we had with Kevin and then move forward to hopefully great times ahead." Tallon met with reporters in Ottawa late Friday afternoon and said, "we need our better players to play better or I have to get better players." Rumours had been swirling for weeks that a change was likely imminent and Tallon said he felt a change was necessary. "Youve got to do something, you cant sit still when were doing this poorly," he said. "We have new ownership and they have high expectations of excellence and performance and so weve got to make sure and we had to change direction." Panthers owner Vinnie Viola, who bought the club in late September, wrote a letter to fans saying the change in direction was "absolutely necessary." "With 66 games remaining this season our expectations remain the same," Viola wrote. "We expect a team that plays hard, that sacrifices for each other, that gives everything they have for our fans and supporters, and a team that wins hockey games. By the end of this season we expect to be competing for a place in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and we expect to have taken a significant step toward achieving the goals and objectives we have set for this franchise." With the Panthers playing the Senators Saturday afternoon Horachek, known as a no-nonsense coach, has little time to implement many changes, but he does hope the days events resonate with players. "I think the guys know theres a talent there, theres ability there and they have pride and they have to understand that theres a big responsibility on their backs for where they are and whats gone on," said Horachek. "I think theres a professionalism and they have to move forward here and do all the things necessary to be a competitive team, be where we need to be and how we need to play and I think they realize that. They feel good about committing and being part of that journey right now." Horacheck says its up to the players to look in the mirror and take responsibility for the situation. "We have to take a bigger, better approach on how we approach our day and how we approach ourselves," he said. "Are we prepared to practice, are we prepared to play? And how we want to go about that. What kind of team do we want to be? Do we want to be individuals or do we want to start playing the way were capable of playing?" When asked what the biggest problem has been this year Campbell summed it up fairly easily. "I think our consistency definitely," said Campbell. "We can be more consistent throughout a game, shift to shift. Expectations put on yourself, but also accountability. I dont think theres enough accountability right now put on each and everyone of us. I think thats something we need to change and expect everybody playing on the same page and nobody taking shortcuts." Tallons message to the players was simple. "Win a fourth game and go from there. Win the next game and be ready to play hard in that particular game." Dineen was 56-62-28 in parts of three seasons, leading the Panthers to the 2012 Southeast Division title and guiding the team into the playoffs for the first time since 2000. Tallon said Dineen has been offered a spot within the organization. -- With files from The Associated Press. Dexter Fowler Jersey . Thats what he did over the past 2 1/2 years with the Washington Wizards. 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Locke overcame a shaky start to pitch seven innings and Josh Harrison had three hits to extend his hot streak as the Pirates beat the Miami Marlins 7-3 on Wednesday night.DALLAS -- Patrick Sharp is having a big season -- and thats just counting his stats against the Stars. Sharp extended his domination of Dallas with two more goals that sent the Chicago Blackhawks to a 6-2 victory Tuesday night. Brandon Saad also scored twice for Chicago, which has won three of the four games between the teams. One victory was in a shootout. Sharp has four goals and four assists against the Stars this season, with one goal at home and the other seven points in three games at Dallas. In his last eight games versus the Stars, he has eight goals and seven assists. "Weve had some success here, but its still a tough place to play and the Stars are a tough team to play against," Sharp said. "I thought we did a good job of sending a lot of pucks on net. Not too many prime chances, but the ones we had, we made sure we capitalized on them." Patrick Kane had a goal and two assists for the Blackhawks. Defenceman Michael Kostka returned after missing 24 games because of a foot injury to score Chicagos first goal. The Central Division-leading Blackhawks (22-6-5) reached six goals for the fifth time this season, and second in a row. They defeated Florida 6-2 on Sunday. Dallas has given up six goals in three different losses. Antoine Roussel scored in the second period for the Stars (14-10-5) to end Antti Raantas shutout bid. Roussel was credited with another goal when he deflected Sergei Gonchars drive into the net with 19 seconds remaining in the game. "I thought when we scored our first goal, we kind of got the momentum. But then they bounced back again. Theyre a hard team to play against," Roussel said. Three of Roussels seven goals have come against Chicago. "Hes the one bright spot," Stars coach Lindy Ruff said. "They hate playing against him, and he showed why. He wasnt afraid to get into dirty places and he got rewarded for being in the right place. I admire the way he plays the game." Ruff couldnt find much else to say about his team that was positive. "We just got flat-out outworked. Youre not going to win like that. That was something weve taken a lot of pride in, but we got outskated," he said. "If we want to be one of the best teams, weve got to beat the best." Raanta finished with 27 saves for his fourth win. Dan Ellis replaced Stars starter Kari Lehtonen after he gave up four goals in the first 28:20.dddddddddddd Chicago dominated the first period, with 14 shots on goal to four for the Stars. The defending Stanley Cup champions scored barely 2 minutes into the game. Kostka drove the puck from the top of the right circle toward a crowd in front of Lehtonen. The deflected puck slid toward the right post. Lehtonen smothered the puck with his glove, and the goal light did not go on. After a video review, referee Kelly Sutherland announced that the puck had crossed the goal line. Kostka had his second goal of the season, in just his third NHL game this season. He also played on a conditioning assignment at Rockford of the American Hockey League. "Its always good to be able to get right back in the action after a little bit of a time off there," Kostka said. "It was good also to be able to go down to Rockford and get a few games in. I had to get my timing back." Seconds after the Stars Dustin Jeffrey sent a close-in attempt wide left, the Blackhawks quickly moved the puck up ice. Kane skated in on a breakaway and beat Lehtonen at 12:05 for his 17th goal and a 2-0 lead. "When we let go of coverage and give Kane a breakaway, thats inexcusable," Ruff said. The Blackhawks went up 3-0 on Saads first goal 2:46 into the second period. Kostka took a shot from a narrow angle, Dallas couldnt control the rebound and Saad poked the puck in from in front of the net. "Its good obviously when you start like that, you can build off it," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "Had a good second period and were in the right spots. It was a real nice win. It was nice to see us play so well on the road." Sharp then scored two goals less than 3 minutes apart for a 5-0 lead, giving him 14 goals this season. The period ended 6-1 after Roussels first goal and Saads second, at 19:15. NOTES: Raanta started in goal because Corey Crawford reportedly sustained a groin injury Sunday against Florida. Raanta replaced Crawford in the first period vs. the Panthers and earned a victory. The Blackhawks recalled rookie Kent Simpson from Rockford to back up Raanta; Crawford did not travel to Dallas. ... The Stars failed to score on their five power plays, dropping their home success rate to 1 for 47 (2 per cent). Chicago was 1 for 5 with the man advantage. The Blackhawks have killed each of the last 10 power plays against them. ' ' '