COMMENTARY : For One Game, New Coach Looks Like a Genius

There’s just no telling how far Terry Murray will go as a hockey coach. If Tuesday night was any indication, the NHL Hall of Fame is a definite possibility for the former Baltimore Skipjack mentor.

It was positively brilliant what Murray commanded his Washington Capitals troops to do after they very cleverly lulled the New Jersey Devils into a feeling of overconfidence by assuming a position three goals in arrears after less than 10 minutes.

“Got ‘em right where we want ‘em,” Murray was heard to mutter to himself as another disc slipped by beleaguered goaltender Don Beaupre.

The trap set, Murray unleashed his ferocious warriors and, a couple of hours later, the Caps had a 9-6 victory ending an eight-game losing streak. “I wanted to do a couple of somersaults coming off the ice at the end,” he said.

“Actually, I gave no magic words between periods,” he admitted, breaking a cardinal rule of all decision-makers: assume the credit, deserved or undeserved, similar to the politician, who, being run out of town, gave the impression of leading a parade.

Terry’s decision in his maiden voyage as coach of the Caps after taking over from older brother Bryan was to leave well enough alone. “I thought it was important to show confidence in the players, let them know I was behind them,” he explained.

He did add, however, that it crossed his mind to give Beaupre the hook when the Devils moved out to a three-goal advantage so easily. “But Donnie, maybe more than anyone else, needed a boost at that point. Besides, he played great for me in Baltimore.

“It was the veterans who rallied the troops, Kelly Miller, Dale Hunter, Dino Ciccarelli. They did the rah-rah stuff on the bench after our first goal, saying things like, ‘Keep plugging and good things will happen.’ ”

And, darned if they didn’t. With six minutes remaining in the first period, Washington trailed, 4-1. Three minutes into the third period, the Caps were on top, 7-4. Six straight goals. It was sufficiently embarrassing for Jersey to yank its starting goalie Sean Burke when the fifth goal whizzed past him with nary a physical response.

For the last eight years, Terry Murray has been at his brother’s side, first as an assistant coach for six seasons, then, the last year and a half, as Skipjacks coach. The men have talked hockey at least 364 days per year for years.

“The big difference now is I can’t just have suggestions, I have to come up with the answers,” he said. “Nothing that can be done in a game, a practice, a day or several days is going to make that much difference. Repetition is the mother of skill.”

Hmmm, sounds like something that might be scrawled across a large chunk of cardboard in large letters and hung up in the dressing room.

Bryan Murray got the ax Monday because, allegedly, the team was not responding to the way he had been coaching for the last seven seasons, all of which ended with the Caps in the playoffs.

“I’m disappointed it happened when we were so short-handed,” said Bryan, no stranger to dodging the pink slip despite his impressive success as a coach.

Short-handed doesn’t fairly describe the situation with the Washington defense. And, remember, this is a defense-oriented team. Rod Langway, captain, spiritual leader and on the shelf with two bum knees for going on a month, explained the problem thusly:

“Not only is it me, Scott Stevens and Neil Sheehy being out, it’s the guys we’re asking to be the replacements right off are guys coming off injuries themselves. Scot Kleinendorst, for instance, hasn’t played in a year.”

It really doesn’t matter if the firing was a bad move or inane, it’s the situation Terry Murray faces. “We’re in a practice and talk situation now,” said the unbeaten coach. “Five of the next six days we don’t have a game, so we’ll be practicing and going over and over things. The idea is to do things so many times that everything becomes automatic.

“First thing I had to do tonight is let the players know I have confidence in them, that they can go out and just play their game.”

The Caps game, the one they are best at, will never win any prettiest in show awards. “But we shouldn’t be looking to make any pretty plays,” said Murray. “We’ve got guys who can shoot, so we want them to shoot. Strange, the puck goes in sometimes.”