Hartsburg: Pay Attention to Slashing Rule

The way Coach Craig Hartsburg sees it, the Mighty Ducks would be wise to do more skating than hacking and whacking this season.

The NHL’s new crackdown on stick infractions cost them a game Wednesday when defenseman Ruslan Salei’s minor slash on Sergei Samsonov of the Boston Bruins led to Joe Thornton’s game-winning power-play goal in overtime.

Instead of whining about the call, Hartsburg suggested that the Ducks simply follow the rules.

“If you look at it slowly on the tape, he hit his hands,” Hartsburg said of Salei’s slash 1:40 into the five-minute extra period. “Technically, it’s a penalty. . . . It’s going to be hard for the guys to change the way they’ve played all their lives, but they have to. That’s just the way it is.

“Late in the game, we reverted back to our instincts and paid the price for it. . . . There’s a learning curve for the defensemen. In pressure situations, they have to learn pretty quick.

“The players will change. The last few years, it’s gotten pretty ridiculous the way some players slash.”

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Defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky collided awkwardly with center German Titov behind the net during a drill at practice Thursday, injuring his left knee. Tverdovsky had to be assisted to the dressing room, but soon was walking without help.

Asked if he could play Saturday against the Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils, the first game of a five-game trip, he said, “Of course I’ll play.”

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Center Steve Rucchin will join the Ducks for their East Coast trip and will practice with teammates for the first time since breaking a small bone in his left hand Sept. 22. Hartsburg hopes Rucchin can play in a game toward the end of the trip.

The Ducks are 1-1-0-1 in three games without their top-line center. Last season, they went into a 2-7-2 funk when Rucchin sat out 11 games between Dec. 29 and Jan. 21 because of an infected left ankle.

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Forward Jonas Ronnqvist, who suffered a right knee injury Sunday, is expected to play Saturday.