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(SportsNetwork.com) - The struggling Florida Panthers slow start to the season cost head coach Kevin Dineen his job. The Panthers will try to move forward with a new bench boss when they visit the Ottawa Senators for Saturdays matinee battle at Canadian Tire Centre. The Panthers, mired in a seven-game losing streak, announced the firing of Dineen and his assistant coaches, Gord Murphy and Craig Ramsay, on Friday morning. General manager Dale Tallon replaced Dineen with interim head coach Peter Horachek, who will have Brian Skrudland and John Madden serve as his assistant coaches. The coaching shake-up came the day after a 4-1 loss at Boston on Thursday. That setback dropped Florida to 0-3-4 during its current slide and to 3-9-4 on the season. "After 16 games it was clear that our team needed a change in philosophy and direction," Tallon said in a statement Friday. "We have not met the expectations that we set forth at training camp and it is my responsibility to make the necessary changes to ensure that our club performs at its maximum potential." Dineens tenure began with a 38-26-18 record and a Southeast Division title in 2011-12. The Panthers first playoff appearance since 2000 ended with a double-overtime loss to New Jersey in Game 7 of the opening round. However, Florida, ravaged by injuries, plummeted to the bottom of the standings last season, finishing with a league-low 36 points and a 15-27-6 record. Horachek, 53, inherits a team with an NHL-worst minus-25 goal differential. He was in his first season coaching the Panthers American Hockey League affiliate, the San Antonio Rampage. Prior to his job in San Antonio, Horachek spent nine seasons (2003-13) with the Nashville Predators, serving the last two years as associate head coach. "Peter is a bright hockey mind who brings to our club a wealth of coaching knowledge," Tallon said. Florida sent 24 shots at net in Thursdays game versus the Bruins, but Tuukka Rask stopped 23 of them to anchor Boston in the 4-1 win at TD Garden. Jesse Winchester scored the lone Florida goal late in the third period, while Scott Clemmensen allowed all four goals on 30 shots in the loss. The Panthers, who will close a three-game road trip Sunday against the New York Rangers, fell to 1-5-1 as the visiting team this season. Horacheks first game behind the Florida bench will be in a venue thats been less to kind to the Panthers in recent years. Ottawa has won six straight and 10 of its last 13 home meetings versus Florida. Although the Panthers have won two of the past four encounters in this series, Ottawa has claimed 11 of the last 13 matchups. While the Panthers try to end a lengthy slide on Saturday, the Senators will aim for their first three-game winning streak of the season. Ottawa has recorded consecutive wins against Columbus and Montreal and is 2-0-2 so far in November after posting a disappointing 4-6-2 record in the first month of the season. Ottawa has won both tilts during its two-game streak by 4-1 margins. After earning a road win Tuesday in Columbus, the Senators notched a home win Thursday against Montreal. Bobby Ryan had one goal and two assists to lead Ottawa past the visiting Canadiens and begin a five-game homestand on a positive note. "We made up some valuable points. Thats essentially a four-point game there and weve got a game in hand on a team thats right ahead of us, so I think the thing well take from tonight is that we won a divisional game but we took care of our home ice," Ryan said. Marc Methot, Kyle Turris and Mark Borowiecki added one goal apiece and Clarke MacArthur finished with a pair of assists for the Senators, who had lost five straight before winning their last two outings. Robin Lehner made 33 saves in the win and is line to get his third straight start on Saturday. Lehner has filled in nicely since regular starter Craig Anderson suffered a head/neck injury last Sunday against Dallas. Anderson is expected to be available for todays game in a backup capacity. Nathan Lawson had been serving as a backup to Lehner while Anderson was out of the lineup. Ottawa is 2-3-2 as the host this season and will also welcome Philadelphia, Boston and Columbus to Canadas capital city before this homestand is over. Los Angeles Rams Jerseys Outlet . The Giants chances of winning the division were dealt a serious blow by the three-game sweep at the hands of the lowly Padres. The Giants open a three-game series at Dodger Stadium on Monday night. San Francisco is still in good shape to clinch a wild-card berth, although it dropped into a tie with Pittsburgh in the race for the top spot. Custom Rams Jerseys . 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The Cavaliers first-year forward will miss at least three weeks with a strained left knee, the latest setback for the No.TORONTO - As far as training camps go, this years has been a relatively quiet and uneventful edition for the Toronto Raptors, not that they mind. Valuing continuity over the summer, theyve avoided the excitement that tends to surround teams with high or notable turnover entering a new campaign (see: Cavaliers, Cleveland). 10 of the 14 players under guaranteed contract for this coming season are holdovers from last years division-winning club. Everyone who scored a point during their seven-game playoff series, save for John Salmons, is back. Once again, theyve had the benefit of good health (Amir Johnson suffered a minor foot injury in Fridays pre-season win, but returned to practice Monday), and Dwane Caseys rotation should look familiar, more or less, when it takes shape over the next 10 days. Theres just one decision left to be made. Who will claim the 15th and final spot on the Raptors roster when they open the season on Oct. 29? Toronto has three players in camp, all on non-guaranteed deals, vying for the job; hard working centre Greg Stiemsma, sharpshooting forward Jordan Hamilton and speedy point guard Will Cherry. NBA rosters must be set for opening day on Oct. 27, meaning the Raptors will have to make their final cuts - ultimately determining who stays on - by Noon et. Saturday and Casey doesnt anticipate making a decision until then. Ill tell you what, its going to be a difficult decision, the Raptors head coach admitted, speaking after practice Monday afternoon. All three guys have done something special. The coaching staff has raved about their contribution throughout camp and with each player standing out, to some degree, during the teams 5-1 start to the pre-season, theyve made strong cases for themselves to stay. Its a good problem to have, Casey said, because that means that we brought guys in that fit what we do and fit into our program. [Cherry] has played hard in practice and worked [Kyle Lowry] hard, he added. He hasnt had a chance to show a lot in games because we were experimenting with [Lou Williams] at the point. [Stiemsma] has done an excellent job in spots and then [Hamilton] has scored the ball at a high level. So all [three] guys have brought something special to the table and all three are NBA players in their own right. The Raptors were in a similar situation at this time a year ago, with three players - two guards and a forward - battling it out for one spot. In the end it went to Julyan Stone, the better defender and most versatile of the group. Unlike last year though, these three candidates play three different positions and as a result the decision could come down to whichever one addresses a more pressing need on the roster. The 6-foot-11 Stiemsma looked like an early favourite, and that still may be the case given the teams lack of size off the bench. The 29-year-old spent last season with the New Orleans Pelicans, his third team in three NBA seasons, and would become Torontos second oldest player, should he make the team. His game isnt pretty - hes committed 16 fouls and scored just nine points in 65 pre-season minutes - but his workmanlike approach and ability to defend the rim, a weakness of Torontos last year, seem to be a good fit in a situational role behind Jonas Vallanciunas, Johnson and Patrick Patterson, platooning with Tyler Hansbrough and Chuck Hayes.dddddddddddd. Its all about opportunities, Stiemsma said, hoping to take advantage of this one. This whole league, my whole career has been about opportunities. Ive just got to look at it like, whatever amount of minutes I have is an opportunity to succeed, to play well and to show what I can do. Its a roller coaster. It can be up and down, day-to-day, but youve just got to try to stay consistent, control the things you can control, worry about those things and then just let the chips fall where they may. Of the three, Hamilton may have come in facing the steepest battle given the teams talent and depth on the wing, but hes had an impressive pre-season averaging 10.4 points on an efficient 63 per cent shooting. Hes knocked down five of his eight attempts from three-point range and logged over 20 minutes in half of Torontos six pre-season contests, also standing out on the defensive end. Hamilton, 24, also has the better NBA resume. After a mid-season trade sent him from Denver - where he spent his first two years - to Houston, Hamilton played nearly 17 minutes a night and made 39 per cent of his three-point tries. He also has a history with Masai Ujiri - the Raptors GM acquired him in a draft-night deal back when Ujiri was with the Nuggets, after Hamilton was selected 26th overall in 2011. As Casey alluded to, Cherry has seen less playing time, appearing in just four pre-season games. A Summer League standout in the off-season, most of the praise hes received comes from the effort and energy hes brought to practice. His disadvantage may be inexperience at the NBA level. He spent last season playing for the Canton Charge of the D-League, where he averaged 11.6 points and 4.5 assists in 18 games. The fate of Cherry will likely be determined by the coaching staffs confidence in Lowrys health and Williams ability to play - and most importantly, defend - the point guard position in a pinch. Although the Raptors could conceivably keep two of the three and cut one of their own, that scenario is very unlikely. Like Stone a year ago, whomever does win the job wont be anything more than insurance at the end of the bench for a team with playoff aspirations. Barring injuries, they shouldnt be a factor in Caseys regular rotation and it would set them back financially to waive someone under guaranteed contract. As for the decision itself, Casey says it will be a collaborative process this coming weekend. Its always a good debate with the coaching staff and management, he said. Theres a lot involved, [a lot of] voices as far as who stays and who doesnt in those situations. We have a great line of communication with the front office, with [Ujiri] and [Jeff Weltman, VP of basketball operations], and we talk all the time as far as players [go]. They know exactly how we feel and we know how they feel, so its a team effort. The three players contending for that final gig will likely have one last opportunity to make their case on the court, as Casey will continue monitoring the minutes of his regulars during Wednesdays exhibition game at home to Maccabi Haifa before shifting to a more fixed rotation in Fridays pre-season finale. 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