THE RESILIENT KING MURRAY'S ROAD TO NHL PLAYOFFS A SCARY ONE.

Byline: Rich Hammond Staff Writer

Ruth Murray wanted the news to be good but not too good.

She hoped to hear doctors say that her husband, Kings coach Andy Murray, had made strides in his recovery from a serious car accident less than two weeks before but not so much that he would be given clearance to return to his job.

``I didn't want him to leave,'' Ruth Murray said. ``I was hoping the doctors would say he couldn't go back to work because I wanted him to stay home. I thought if they told him he couldn't go, I wouldn't have to be the one to try and convince him to stay.''

But the Murrays have been married for 19 years, and Ruth knew better than to try to keep Andy away from hockey. Other than reading sports biographies and going for a morning jog, Murray's life belongs to the ice, and it's that drive and dedication that has helped him turn the Kings from NHL laughingstocks into Stanley Cup contenders.

Murray returned March 7 and led the Kings into the playoffs for the third time in his three seasons as coach, but it's been a tumultuous season, one that started with the loss of two friends and eventually brought his own job, and even his own life, into question.

The call came early on Feb. 15, and the doctor told Ruth that Andy had been in a serious accident. On his way to watch his 17-year-old son, Brady, play in a hockey tournament in Madison, Wis., Murray slid off an icy road, flipped his truck several times and landed 300 feet down an embankment. Without a seat belt, he likely would have died.

He returned to Faribault, Minn., that night with shoulder and rib injuries, but because of the Olympics, he didn't need to be back in Los Angeles for five days. Two days later, however, symptoms of post-concussion syndrome emerged and delayed his return to the team for two weeks, unfathomable for someone with his work ethic.

``It was terrible,'' Ruth Murray said. ``He couldn't even lift his head off the pillow without feeling (nauseated). He had never really been sick or injured, so it was just unacceptable to him that something like this could happen to him.

``It really scared our kids. Our daughter wouldn't go near him. I'd say, 'Sarah, I have to go to the store, keep an eye on your dad,' and she would almost panic. The (bedroom) door would be closed and she wouldn't want to go in.

``Jordy, our younger son, always wishes Andy could be around more, and he said, 'Why can't Dad just stay here? Why can't he coach the (Minnesota) Wild instead?' Brady was great, he would sit on the bed and try to talk to him, but I think Brady kind of blamed himself because Andy was driving out to watch him play.''

Meanwhile, Andy stayed in bed, almost willing himself to feel better so he could rejoin the team. Every morning he awoke and thought that if his head could stay clear for the entire day, he would jump on a plane and everything would be normal again.

``It's just like a player who's injured,'' Andy Murray said. ``You want to get back in the lineup as quick as you can and feel like you're helping out. I think it's the hockey mentality that kind of drives us all. You try to be an example for your players at all times, and I felt that as soon I was capable of doing my job, I should be there.''

The question of whether Murray was capable of doing his job already had been discussed, and not in the context of a car accident.

After the Kings started the season with victories in just five of their first 19 games, and making the playoffs started to seem an unreasonable goal barely a month into the season, Murray discovered he was about to lose his job.

At least that was the report on the Canadian network SportsNet.

``I called him right away, to tell him that wasn't true,'' Kings general manager Dave Taylor said. ``We felt he was doing a good job, and in my 17 years as a player, I had 11 different head coaches. I wanted to have more stability and continuity.''

Taylor had taken plenty of heat for hiring Murray. Murray's resume, which included experience as a NHL assistant and at various high levels of international hockey, was solid, but many people only looked at this current job, that of head coach at Shattuck-St. Mary's Academy in Faribault. The Kings had hired a high school coach.

``I didn't need to prove everybody wrong,'' Murray said. ``I remember (a columnist) wrote that if Andy Murray's picture was on the side of a bus in L.A., people would think it was a picture of the bus driver. I remember laughing and thinking, 'He's right.' ''

What few knew was that a year before, the Mighty Ducks had come close to hiring Murray before they chose Craig Hartsburg, so close that the media-relations department wrote a press release in anticipation of Murray's hiring.

Jack Ferreira, then the Mighty Ducks' general manager, told Murray on a Sunday that things ``were looking good'' for him and that he would call back with details. Ferreira never called and two days later the Mighty Ducks introduced Hartsburg.

That led Murray to spend the following year with Shattuck, where he coached a team that included his son Brady to a national championship. After that season, Taylor called and the always-prepared Murray wowed him with a presentation on how to make the Kings into Stanley Cup contenders. This time, Murray got the job.

``It was a situation where we were sad to see him go but happy for him,'' Shattuck-St. Mary's athletic director John Sumner said. ``I consider him a friend and I know if there's ever anything I need, I just have to call him.''

Murray produced results immediately. In his first season the Kings reached the playoffs for the first time in five seasons but were swept by St. Louis, and last season they pulled a stunning first-round upset of Detroit and took Colorado to seven games.

That led to raised expectations before this season. But on the first day of training camp, the Kings learned that director of pro scouting Ace Bailey and amateur scout Mark Bavis were aboard one of the planes that crashed into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11.

Murray not only had to mourn his two friends but try to lead a shaken team that had to begin an 82-game season in less than a month.

``We didn't call it a grieving period,'' Murray said, ``because knowing Ace and Mark, they would yell, 'Get the hell out there and get to work and stop feeling sorry for yourselves.' They would have wanted us out there working and practicing hard.''

Murray also helped the team maintain its composure through the rough spots early in the season, when it would have been easy to give up playoff hopes.

``He deserves a lot of credit,'' forward Ian Laperriere said. ``He never panicked and he kept us focused on doing what we needed to do.''

The Kings kept their focus, even when Murray's brain was having trouble focusing. The Kings didn't miss a beat during his absence, which Murray credits to the hard work of his assistant coaches. And to Murray's credit, he never let his problems impact the team. That's not to say the accident didn't impact Murray, though.

The accident has made Andy and Ruth rethink the arrangement that has him living in a Los Angeles hotel and her in Faribault with the family during the season. Ruth said if nothing else, she and the kids will spend more time in Los Angeles next season.

``When I got back to L.A., every time I turned on the TV, it was something about death or dying, funerals and documentaries about the afterlife,'' Murray said. ``It was just strange. But it does make you think about how many years you have left.

``Whenever my son gets in his vehicle now to go someplace, you think about things. You always say, 'Drive safely,' and it kind of takes on new meaning. It just shows you how quickly your life can change.''

KINGS vs. COLORADO

What: Western Conference Playoffs, Game 1

When: Thursday, 7 p.m.

TV: Fox Sports Net

CAPTION(S):

2 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- color) This season, Andy Murray has dealt with a serious car accident, rumors of his firing and the deaths of two friends on Sept. 11.

Kevork Djansezian/Associated Press

(2 -- color) Kings coach andy Murray keeps winning despite several off-ice distractions he's had to deal with during the season.

Associated Press 

Box:

KINGS vs. COLORADO (see text)