Eye Injury Sidelines Salei

Holding an ice pack to his swollen-shut right eye Friday, Mighty Duck defenseman Ruslan Salei put the best possible spin on his injury.

“I feel a lot better than I look,” Salei said dryly. “You could say it could have been worse.”

The Ducks won’t have the veteran’s services for at least the next several days after Salei was hit above the right eye on a shot from San Jose Shark center Joe Thornton in the first period of Anaheim’s 2-0 victory Thursday.

X-rays revealed a broken orbital bone above the eye. Salei won’t be in the lineup for today’s game against the Kings at Staples Center or Monday’s rematch at the Arrowhead Pond.

After a session at the Sharks’ practice facility, Duck Coach Randy Carlyle said it is frightening any time a player is hit near the eye with a stick or puck.

“We all know the pucks get shot at excess of 90 mph by most players now,” Carlyle said. “It’s a dangerous, dangerous thing that happens.

“It doesn’t happen as often as you might think though. You touch wood and you hope that you’re not in a situation where you get a rash of facial injuries or people hit with pucks. It’s unfortunate, but it’s part of the game.”

Salei said he didn’t see the puck but thought it might have deflected off teammate Keith Carney’s stick.

“I saw [Thornton] shoot the puck, but I never saw it coming my way,” Salei said.

Would he now consider wearing a visor? Salei said he tried while playing in Russia during the lockout last season but wasn’t comfortable. Could this injury cause the Belarus native to forgo comfort?

“We’ll see,” he said. “I might consider wearing one. ... After it’s happened, it’s easy to say, ‘Oh, I should have worn that.’ ”

Defenseman Jason Marshall will fill the opening on the blue line. Marshall has played just twice since Nov. 23, but Carlyle said the 34-year-old veteran has been an “excellent soldier.”

“I just have to be ready whenever the team needs me,” Marshall said. “I’m excited.”

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Ilya Bryzgalov will remember Thursday night. Not only did the 25-year-old rookie goalie get his first NHL shutout but it came at the expense of fellow Russian Evgeni Nabokov.

“It’s an awesome feeling,” Bryzgalov said. “My parents called and said, ‘Congratulations. We’re proud of you.’ ”

Bryzgalov, who has been impressive as backup to Jean-Sebastien Giguere, said the reaction in Russia was surprising. With Nikolai Khabibulin unable to play in the Olympics because of a knee injury, Nabokov and Bryzgalov are expected to compete for the starting job.

“It’s not a big deal for me,” Bryzgalov said of upstaging Nabokov. “Most important is winning and challenging for the playoffs. In the Russian media, they said that [I] showed who must play in the Olympics. I think it’s stupid.”