Top Defensemen Are Hurting

Ruslan Salei skated Saturday, but Fredrik Olausson did not. Steve Rucchin barely made it through half of a 45-minute workout at the Ducks’ practice facility in Anaheim.

Suddenly, for the first time this season, the Ducks have injury concerns.

Salei and Olausson, the Ducks’ top defense pairing, did not play in Thursday’s 4-2 victory over the Kings. Olausson is not expected to play tonight against the Florida Panthers because of sore muscles near his rib cage.

A decision on the status of Salei, who has a sore shoulder, and Rucchin, who suffered a strained leg muscle, won’t be made until just before tonight’s game.

“He looked pretty good out there, but we’ll see,” Coach Craig Hartsburg said of Salei.

Asked how his shoulder felt, Salei said: “Could be better. I don’t know, maybe it could be worse. But it could be better for sure.”

Rucchin, who sat out three games this month because of a broken nose and a sinus infection, was injured while performing a drill Saturday.

“We got him off the ice quickly so he could get some treatment,” Hartsburg said.

The Ducks hope Olausson will be fit to play before Friday’s game against the Dallas Stars, who lead the NHL with 96 points.

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Going into Saturday’s play, the Ducks had a 13-point lead over the ninth-place Edmonton Oilers with 13 games remaining.

A safe margin? Not according to Hartsburg, who hasn’t yet counted the fifth-place Ducks as a lock to finish among the Western Conference’s top eight and qualify for the postseason.

“We haven’t clinched anything yet,” he said.

He is wary of the Panthers, who went into Saturday’s game against the Kings three points out of eighth place in the Eastern Conference.

“We want to play well [tonight],” he said. “We’ve got to be prepared. We know every game for [Florida] now is like a playoff game and it should be for us too.”

TONIGHT

vs. Florida, 5

* Site--Arrowhead Pond.

* Radio--XTRA (690).

* Records--Ducks 31-27-11, Panthers 25-26-17.

* Record vs. Panthers (1997-98)--1-0-1.

* Update--Guy Hebert, expected to start in goal for the Ducks, needs two victories to match his career best of 29 set in 1996-97. Hebert is 6-2-2 with a 1.81 goals-against average in his last 10 starts. Duck winger Teemu Selanne needs 11 goals in his final 13 games to record 50 for the third consecutive season. The Ducks are 3-0-2 in their last five games against Florida, including an 8-3 rout in the last meeting Jan. 21, 1998, at the Pond. Florida’s Pavel Bure will not play because of a knee injury.

* Tickets--(714) 740-2000.