One thing is certain. Terry Murray has proven to be a competent and well respected head coach. He is an accomplished leader who has made a very good living in the game of hockey. Yet, despite it all, he has managed to baffle even his most ardent supporters. That includes me, where I have decided to believe he is a mad genius. Maybe not genius in the true sense of the word, but eccentric enough to throw him in that category.
As we head into our first playoff game in 8 years, he has lived up to that moniker yet again. With his trademark, unending shuffling of lines, he had us believing that toward the end of the season, he was settling down. He benched our enforcer for much of the last 2 months with the intent to gear up the offense with 4 mobile, effective lines. It hasn’t worked out so well, but he stuck with the plan… until now that is.
How is it that Raitis Ivanans is playing tonight? How is it that 2 of our most effective young players are not playing, one of which is not even on the team? Ivan plays while Parse and Moller don’t? Really Terry? (Yes, I know Lombardi decides who’s on the team. I also know that it isn’t that black and white.)
And so it goes, the mad genius strikes again. He decides at the last second (week) that a guy who has zero offensive skill and who has committed many bad penalties and who is a physical deterrent (although generally not considered important in the playoffs) will play in the most important Kings game in 8 long, painful years.
What does this all mean? Well, it must mean that Ivan will get his first goal of the season tonight… the game winner.
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