Down the Stretch

About to embark on a 24-game post-Olympic stretch run they hope will land them in the playoffs, the Kings learned Monday that they will be without their coach indefinitely.

Andy Murray, suffering from post-concussion syndrome after a single-vehicle accident Feb. 15 in Wisconsin, will continue his recuperation at home in Faribault, Minn., while assistant coach Dave Tippett takes control of the team on an interim basis starting with tonight’s game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

With the NHL resuming its season after a 12-day break for the Olympics, it’s an uncertain time for every team, but none more than the Kings, who are expected to be without Murray at least through Wednesday night’s trip finale against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and possibly longer.

“It’s one of those things where we’ve been thinking about it for a couple of days now,” Tippett said. “As a backup plan, we’ve all been preparing as if he wasn’t going to be with us for the trip. The players understand what is going on.”

In addition to a concussion, Murray suffered four broken ribs, a separated left shoulder, a broken left wrist and numerous cuts and scrapes after the truck he was driving skidded off an icy patch of Interstate 90 outside Sparta, Wis. He is scheduled to see a neurologist today at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

“I’d like to think I’d be ready to be in Pittsburgh,” the coach said Monday night from Faribault, “but I doubt that very much.”

Tippett, a former NHL player who has interviewed for several NHL coaching vacancies in recent years, most recently with the Mighty Ducks last summer, will make his NHL coaching debut against the Blue Jackets, who in 2000 considered making him their first coach before turning instead to Dave King.

A two-time Canadian Olympian--he was captain of the 1984 team and earned a silver medal in 1992--Tippett, 41, played 11 seasons as a forward in the NHL with the Hartford Whalers, Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers and Penguins, accumulating 93 goals and 169 assists in 721 games.

He ended his playing career in 1995 as a player-assistant coach with the Houston Aeros of the International Hockey League and in 1999 led the Aeros to the Turner Cup championship as general manager and coach, earning IHL coach-of-the-year honors. His record in three seasons with the Aeros was 165-85.

He is in his third season with the Kings, as are fellow assistants Mark Hardy and Ray Bennett, all of whom were hired by Murray. Tippett said he plans to draw on all that experience come game time.

“We’re pretty much going to keep things the same. Mark Hardy will continue to coach the penalty kill and I will coach the power play. In that respect, it will remain status quo,” he said.

“[But] there’s always little things that happen during a game that you have to go with your gut feeling,” he later added. “Sometimes, you just have a feeling about certain players, who can do certain things. But I will stay with the basics.”

There will be some changes, however. Tippett said he will handle forward line changes--normally Murray’s job--while Hardy will oversee defense.

King defenseman Mathieu Schneider said Tippett has the players’ support.

“Everyone here trusts Dave Tippett,” Schneider said. “He’s a tremendous coach. He’s going to be a great head coach in this league one day. Guys are going to play just as hard for him as they would for Andy.... Obviously, we’re all concerned and hope Andy gets back as soon as possible. But at the same time, he’d be the first to say that we’ve got to go along with business as usual, and that’s what we intend to do.”

For the Kings and Murray, though, it’s anything but business as usual.

“The circumstances are certainly intriguing to put it mildly,” Tippett said. “But we’ve had four good practices and the players are very upbeat. They’re ready to play.”

The Kings broke for the Olympics after turning their season around with a 19-6-4-1 run that took them from a season-worst six games below .500 on the morning of Dec. 9 to a season-high seven games above .500 at the break.

In the tightly bunched Western Conference playoff race, they are only five points out of first place in the Pacific Division but also barely clinging to a playoff slot, three points ahead of the 10th-place Phoenix Coyotes.

And their coach, lucky to be alive after his truck crashed through a wire fence and rolled several times down an embankment, is in no shape to lead them.

Though he had vowed to return to the Kings in time for the resumption of practice last Thursday, Murray suffered a setback in his recuperation overnight Tuesday and has experienced severe headaches and vomiting on and off ever since.

“It’s certainly lingering longer than what we’d hoped for,” he said, “but everybody tells me that it’s pretty normal in a situation like this and that I was always maybe a little too on the optimistic side....

“Maybe that’s part of the excitement of coming through an accident and thinking you got through it pretty good. You don’t realize the toll that it really took on your body. The body gets thrown around as violently as it did--this is what the doctors are telling me--it’s normal that there are going to be some aftereffects. You’ve just got to take care of them and deal with them as they come up.”

The coach was not ready to predict when he might return.

“I’ll be back just as soon as I can,” he said. “But I’ve also got to recognize the difference between what’s good for one’s life and--the other thing’s a sport....

“I’ve got to be smart enough to know what’s the right thing to do here for myself and for the Kings. And the team’s been very supportive about it. They know it’s tough for me to miss a meeting, let alone a practice or a game.

“Watching the game tomorrow night is going to be tough, but I’ve got to take care of myself and make sure I do what’s right.”

TONIGHT

At Columbus, 4

Fox Sports Net

Site--Nationwide Arena.

Radio--KSPN (1110).

Records--Kings 27-20-8-3, Blue Jackets 15-33-8-2.

Record vs. Blue Jackets--2-0.

Update--The Kings have converted six of nine power-play chances against the Blue Jackets, including all four in a 7-1 rout at Columbus on Oct. 23. The Kings play the Blue Jackets again Saturday at Staples Center.

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Western Conference

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