One Interim Coach Is Enough

The Kings’ original plan after Coach Andy Murray’s single-vehicle accident on Feb. 15 was to have assistants Dave Tippett, Mark Hardy and Ray Bennett share coaching duties in his absence.

But once the Kings learned Murray would be out indefinitely with post-concussion syndrome, General Manager Dave Taylor decided that three interim co-head coaches were two too many.

“I felt it was important to have one coach with the final say, so on an interim basis, until Andy gets back, I felt it was better to have Dave [Tippett] handle those duties,” Taylor said before the Kings’ 5-1 victory over Columbus on Tuesday.

For now, the Kings will continue to go with three coaches but if Murray’s recovery lingers, Taylor said the team might add another assistant. One possibility is to promote goaltending consultant Andy Nowicki, who has worked with Felix Potvin and Jamie Storr throughout the season.

“We are not sure what the time frame will be with Andy, we just want him to focus on getting better,” Taylor said. “We’re going to move forward in this fashion but we can bring [Nowicki] in if we felt that it was important. But the coaches are comfortable with the number of guys we have, so that’s the way we’re going to proceed right now.”

TONIGHT

At Pittsburgh, 4:30 p.m.

Fox Sports Net

Site--Melon Arena.

Radio--KSPN (1110).

Records--Kings 28-20-8-3, Penguins 22-26-6-4.

Record vs. Penguins-- 0-0-1.

Update--In their first game since the Olympic break, the Penguins will have left wing Martin Straka back in the lineup for the first time in four months. Straka, who suffered a broken leg in October, will skate on a line with Mario Lemieux and Aleksey Morozov.... Jamie Storr will start in goal for the Kings.