Gretzky Misses Game Tonight : Hockey: Knee injury will keep him sidelined against the Quebec Nordiques and places him on day-to-day status.

Twenty-four hours after Wayne Gretzky suffered a sprained right knee, there is nothing new to report.

And that’s good news.

There has been no swelling.

No numbness.

No serious damage evident.

The King center will sit out tonight’s game against the Quebec Nordiques, but, although he is listed as day to day, he is not expected to miss too many more days.

Don’t be surprised if Gretzky is back in the lineup Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens.

Gretzky was hurt Tuesday night in the third period of the Kings’ victory over the Vancouver Canucks.

“I got tangled up with (Dana) Murzyn,” Gretzky said. “As I was going down, I tried to protect the back of my head and he had my leg blocked.”

For Gretzky, it was another bump on his obstacle-strewn journey through the 1991-92 season. There has been a valley to match every peak.

Gretzky said he was playing as well as ever in the Canada Cup last summer.

But, near the end of that tournament, he was cross-checked from behind, causing his back injury of two years ago to flare up.

Obviously hampered, Gretzky got off to the worst start of his career. Then, in mid-October, about the time his back began to feel better, Gretzky hit an emotional low when his father, Walter, suffered a brain aneurysm.

Gretzky became so distraught, he hinted at retirement if things didn’t improve next season.

But, they have dramatically improved recently.

First, Gretzky’s father came home.

Probably not coincidentally, Gretzky got on a hot streak that moved him into the league scoring lead over the weekend.

Spearheaded by his return to form, the Kings moved into second place in the Smythe Division and are within reach of the division-leading Canucks heading into the final month of the regular season.

And, last week, the Kings got Gretzky’s former teammate, Paul Coffey, from the Pittsburgh Penguins in a trade.

The two only played together one game before Coffey was forced off the ice because of a back injury. Now, with Coffey’s return imminent, Gretzky is gone.

But not, it would seem, for long.