Winnipeg, Canada

The Tampa Bay Lightning have dismissed coach Guy Boucher after the team lost 10 of its last 14 outings, including a 5-3 defeat to the Ottawa Senators Saturday.

The Lightning started the season with an impressive 6-1 record but posted a 7-16-1 mark since then, dropping them to 14th in the Eastern Conference, five points out of a playoff spot.

"I'm not satisfied with the direction that our hockey team is going," general manager Steve Yzerman said. "This isn't a reaction, a desperate act, to try to make the playoffs, although that is still our hope, regardless of what where we sit in the standings."

Yzerman said assistants Martin Raymond and Dan Lacroix will share coaching duties for Sunday night's game against the Winnipeg Jets.

After accepting a job with the Lightning, Yzerman hired Boucher in June 2010.

In their first season together, Boucher guided the Lightning to the franchise's second-ever 100-point season, a return to the playoffs and a trip to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they lost 1-0 in Game 7 to the eventual Cup champion Boston Bruins.

However, the Lightning missed the playoffs last season and look to be heading to a second straight season out of the postseason in 2012-13. In two-plus seasons, Boucher's record is 97-78-20.

It was reported that the Lightning are looking to hire former Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff, who Yzerman hired as assistant coach for Canada's 2010 Olympic team.

Jon Cooper, who coaches the Lightning's affiliate in Syracuse, New York, could also be a candidate.

Cooper won an American Hockey League title last season, putting together a record 29-game winning streak, and has the Crunch atop the AHL standings this season.

"I'm not looking to drag things out," Yzerman said. "I have an idea of what I want to do and I have a plan for what I want to do. And I hope to accomplish that as soon as possible."

Copyright © 2013 AHN - All Rights Reserved