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NEWARK, N.J. — New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald ripped his underperforming team and himself for causing the firing of Lindy Ruff less than a year after the veteran coach led the franchise to its best regular-season record. Speaking less than a day after firing Ruff, Fitzgerald said Tuesday he waited as long as possible for the team to turn things around but eventually fired his good friend after seeing the young team lose five of its past seven games and fall further behind in the race for a wild-card playoff berth.
