Norton Is Injured; May Miss 3 Months

King defenseman Brad Norton suffered two torn tendons in his right forearm after being cut by a skate during the Kings’ exhibition game against Phoenix Tuesday night at America West Arena.

Norton, who was injured in the first period of the Kings’ 6-1 victory, was transported by ambulance to a Phoenix area hospital and underwent surgery. He could miss up to three months, a team official said.

Justin Brown scored twice for the Kings in a 12-second span Tuesday. John Sim had two goals and Esa Pirnes had three assists as the Kings outshot the Coyotes, 37-16.

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The NHL waiver draft takes place Friday, and while it may seem a natural place for the injury-depleted Kings to find a bargain, it probably won’t happen.

Such a player likely would be a short-term solution to the larger problem of injuries and ailments to key personnel: Forwards Adam Deadmarsh and Jason Allison are still recovering from concussions they suffered last season, and defenseman Aaron Miller is week-to-week because of a broken left wrist.

NHL teams can only protect 20 signed players -- 18 skaters and two goalies -- which means a few intriguing players might spring free. “We’ve got lots of depth,” King Coach Andy Murray said. “I don’t think we’ll be looking for too much help there.”

-- Mike Bresnahan

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The Mighty Ducks have one week to go before their season opener in Dallas, but Coach Mike Babcock is already up to regular-season speed with his messages.

“I understand as a team that we feel better about ourselves than we did at the start of last season,” Babcock said. “That was earned. You have to earn it again.”

The Ducks surprised everyone by coming within one victory of winning the Stanley Cup. They seemingly have a better team, with the additions of Sergei Fedorov and Vaclav Prospal, offsetting the loss of Paul Kariya.

Yet Babcock remains concerned.

“The urgency has to be there,” Babcock said. “Sometimes the urgency is easier in life when you’ve had a bad go of it: ‘Hey, we got kicked around last night, we got to respond.’ Complacency is the success disease.

“We’re not scared to death every night to get pounded and embarrassed, like we were last year. That’s probably a good thing.... Still, it comes down to choosing your attitude each and every day. We have to establish an identity for ourselves. What are we going to be?”

Team captain Steve Rucchin had an answer for that.

“There is confidence in this locker room,” Rucchin said. “It’s not cockiness. I mean, we know how tough the Western Conference is and we have the veterans to guard against that. We also know what we want to accomplish and know how good a team we can be. It’s up to us.”

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Duck goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere said Tuesday that he supports the players’ union grievance against the changes in goalie pads adopted this summer, which was filed against the NHL on Monday.

The union contends that the 38-inch height regulation and the removal of a plastic flap that was designed to protect the knee increase the risks to goalies.

Critics say the plastic flap at the top of the pads gives butterfly goalies, like Giguere, an advantage, as it helps stop pucks from going through their legs.

“The issue is about protecting goalies more than anything else,” Giguere said. “I got hit [on the left knee] today in practice. Without that pad, you are left wide open. They say it keeps pucks from going five-hole. It doesn’t.”

-- Chris Foster