LA Kings fire coach Jim Hiller, name D.J. Smith as the interim replacement

The Los Angeles Kings fired coach Jim Hiller on Sunday after losing five of their past six games and falling out of playoff position.

D.J. Smith from Windsor, Ont., was named the interim replacement for the rest of the season. Player development coach Matt Greene is joining Smith's staff as an assistant.

It’s the first coaching change by general manager Ken Holland, who kept Hiller behind the bench when he took over the front office last May.

"I want to thank Jim Hiller for his dedication, professionalism, and the commitment he showed to our players and our team every day: He is a respected coach and person, and we appreciate the work he's done behind our bench," Holland said.

"At this point in the season, we believe a change in leadership is necessary to give our group the best opportunity to reach its potential and compete at the level we expect. These decisions are never made lightly, but our responsibility is to position this team for success now and moving forward."

Hiller was in just his second full season in the charge of the Kings, who looked lifeless in an 8-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday. Fans broke into repeated chants of "Fire Hiller!" while the Oilers poured it on in the second and third periods of Los Angeles' largest defeat of the season by far.

One night earlier, Los Angeles allowed five goals in the third period of an embarrassing 6-4 loss to short-handed Vegas in both teams' first game back from the Olympic break. A 2-0 win against Calgary on Saturday was not enough to save Hiller's job.

Hiller went 93-58-24 with the Kings and made the playoffs twice, but never won a post-season series.

The 56-year-old Hiller was a longtime NHL assistant who got his first chance to lead a team when the