Kings fire coach Jim Hiller after nearly 2 seasons

The Kings put a merciful and overdue end to the Jim Hiller era, relieving the 30th coach in franchise history of his duties on Sunday and promoting assistant D.J. Smith to interim head coach. Additionally, former Kings defenseman Matt Greene, who had been working in player development, will move behind the bench as an assistant coach. He will assuredly take Smith’s role working with the Kings’ blue-liners. Hiller had his detractors for much of the season, but survived every lull and disappointment until the Kings were eviscerated by the Edmonton Oilers, 8-1, on Thursday. That came on the heels of a catastrophic third period against a preseason roster version of the Vegas Golden Knights two...