He Had No Clue, but He Came Through

Sean Pronger heard the whistle and saw referee Rob Shick point to the center faceoff circle to indicate he was awarding the Ducks a penalty shot after regulation time expired in Saturday’s exhibition against the Edmonton Oilers.

But Pronger, who was pulled down on a breakaway by Oiler defenseman Boris Mironov, didn’t have a clue what to do next.

“I actually thought you could pick the player to take the shot and I saw Teemu [Selanne] come out on the ice,” Pronger said. “But they said, ‘No, no, you’ve got to take it.’ ”

Pronger, taking his and the Ducks’ first penalty shot, faked Edmonton goalie Steve Passmore, then lifted a shot into the top of the net to give the Ducks a 5-5 tie. Later, someone asked if he had ever dreamed of scoring on a penalty shot.

“Yeah, yeah,” Pronger said. “But not in an exhibition game. It was always the seventh game of the Stanley Cup finals. In overtime.”

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Espen Knutsen said the groin strain he suffered in the second period Saturday could sideline him “three days or three weeks.” The Duck medical staff believes he will miss only a day or so. . . . Milos Holan, who underwent a bone marrow transplant 19 months ago, has regained almost all the weight he lost while battling leukemia and is up to 185 pounds. He and his family have returned to their native Czech Republic.

An out-of-town reporter didn’t think much of the Ducks’ new policy of charging $5 for the pregame meal in the media workroom at the Pond. “Is this the Paul Kariya fund?” he cracked, referring to the unsigned restricted free agent. Reporters aren’t the only ones being charged for their dinners. General Manager Jack Ferreira and team president Tony Tavares also were spotted handing over $5. For the record, the money goes to charity.