With four games left in a season that has quickly turned into a sinking ship, Mathieu Darche did not wait to act.
Darche stunningly fired coach Patrick Roy and hired Pete DeBoer as his replacement on Easter Sunday, hoping to give the Islanders a badly needed spark to make the playoffs.
Roy, who has seemed out of answers in recent days, presided over a 3-7-0 stretch that saw the Islanders drop from a surefire playoff team to one that may need to win all of its remaining games to reach the tournament.
DeBoer, who last coached the Stars in the NHL, was an assistant for Team Canada at the Olympics.
He has been considered one of the top available coaching candidates all year.
