Murray Hopes to Be Back at Work Soon

Andy Murray was back home again Saturday in Faribault, Minn., hopeful that he will be able to take his place behind the bench when the Kings resume their season Tuesday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Columbus, Ohio.

A timetable for his return, however, still had not been set.

Released from a hospital near his home after an overnight stay, the King coach was ordered to rest for 48 hours before being reevaluated Monday, at which point he could be cleared to fly into Columbus on Monday night.

“But we’ll see what the doctor says,” his wife, Ruth, said Saturday night. “We’ll see what happens the next two days. He just has to rest and I think he will. I think he realizes now how sick he is and that he’s got to take it easy.”

She added, however, that her husband seemed much better Saturday. His dizziness had subsided and he was no longer vomiting, she said.

Murray, 50, suffered a concussion, four broken ribs, a separated left shoulder and numerous cuts and scrapes on the morning of Feb. 15 when the pickup truck he was driving skidded off icy Interstate 90 outside Sparta, Wis.

“He did sound better today,” King General Manager Dave Taylor said after speaking with Murray by phone. “Obviously, it’s a day-to-day situation to see how he is and what the doctor thinks--if it’s OK to travel and resume coaching.... “

Meanwhile, assistant coaches Dave Tippett, Mark Hardy and Ray Bennett will run practice again today. The Kings leave Monday morning for Columbus.

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After playing for the United States today against Canada in the Olympic gold-medal hockey game at Salt Lake City, Adam Deadmarsh and Aaron Miller are scheduled to rejoin the Kings on Monday.

“Either they’ll be real [ticked] off and play hard,” Tippett said, “or they’ll be full of jubilation and think they’re world-beaters.”