Knee Injury Sidelines Havelid

Add another wounded soldier to the growing list of injured Mighty Ducks.

Defenseman Niclas Havelid left Monday’s 3-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins with 8:02 to play in the first period because of a sprained right knee.

Havelid is scheduled to return to Orange County today and will be examined by team medical personnel. He needed crutches to leave Mellon Arena.

Although they played with only five defensemen for the remainder of the game, the Ducks had two healthy scratches who could take Havelid’s spot in the lineup Wednesday against the Atlanta Thrashers.

Neither Mike Crowley nor Jason Marshall, however, has played as well as Havelid, who was on the ice for the Ducks’ first goal Monday.

Forwards Paul Kariya, Mike Leclerc, Andy McDonald and Steve Rucchin also did not play Monday because of injuries.

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Credit Marty McInnis with the save of the game, a remarkable diving stop with his stickblade after goalie Guy Hebert was caught out of position with the score tied 1-1 early in the second period.

“Reminded me of my old high school baseball days,” McInnis said.

Jan Hrdina got the puck after a scramble to Hebert’s right and faced an open net from about 10 feet out when, out of nowhere, McInnis raced to Hebert’s rescue.

“I caught it right on my blade,” McInnis said of batting the puck out of midair. “I jumped behind Guybo [Hebert] and I saw [Hrdina] shoot it and took a swipe at it.”

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Benched early in the second period of Sunday’s 4-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, center Tony Hrkac responded Monday by scoring his 100th and 101st NHL goals. It was the seventh two-goal game of his career but first since Feb. 25, 1998, while playing for the Dallas Stars against the Ottawa Senators.

“It was one of those things,” he said of his benching. “You try to play hard every night. I think our line went to the net harder tonight. We played strong defensively and didn’t really give them any chances.”

In addition to the goals, his eighth and ninth this season, Hrkac also won 10 of 17 faceoffs while playing between McInnis and Teemu Selanne.

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The tension in the Duck dressing room was palpable before Monday’s game, according to Hrkac. After all, they had been outscored, 8-0, in their last two games and were about to face Mario Lemieux for the first time.

“I know some of the guys were nervous before the game,” Hrkac said. “It was a very good effort against a good team. Guy played terrific. It’s tough to stop an offense like that, but Guy played unbelievable. I think it was one of the best games our team has played all year.”