The New Jersey Devils have fired coach Lindy Ruff and named assistant Travis Green as the interim replacement for the rest of the season. General manager Tom Fitzgerald made the surprising move with just over 20 games left to play. The Devils have lost five of seven to fall further out of playoff contention. Ruff was in his fourth season with the club. The Devils reached the second round of the playoffs last year. Green was in his first year with the team as an associate coach on Ruff’s staff. He spent parts of five seasons as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks.