Cloutier faces rest or surgery

Kings goaltender Dan Cloutier may be out longer than expected after getting a second opinion on his hip injury this week.

Cloutier, sidelined since Dec. 23 by hip and knee injuries, had his hip reexamined by a specialist in Colorado to determine the extent of damage. He will meet with team officials this week to decide on the best course of action, which could range from extended rest to surgery.

“We’ll sit down with Dan and his representatives and the doctors and see what the best avenue is,” Coach Marc Crawford said. “It could be the surgical avenue and could be the rest avenue. We’ll just have to wait and see.”

Kings officials do not believe the hip injury is career threatening. Cloutier, who signed a two-year, $6.2-million contract extension in September, is also suffering from tendinitis in his knee, believed to be caused by compensating for his hip injury.

Cloutier’s 3.98 goals-against average and .860 save percentage rank last in the NHL.

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Konstantin Pushkarev was just trying to beef up his wardrobe. The next thing he knew, he was wearing a Kings’ uniform.

“I was in the mall shopping for my shoes and [Manchester] Coach [Mark] Morris called and said I was called up and they were trying to get me on an airplane,” he said. “I didn’t get the shoes.”

But he did get a ticket to Los Angeles on Thursday and a spot on the Kings’ top line with Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown -- a line that averages 21 years of age.

“You want to put him in a spot where we can see what he can do,” Crawford said. “You won’t get to see that if he’s on the third line.”

Pushkarev gave Crawford and the Kings an eyeful against Edmonton on Monday. He started the game by dumping the Oilers’ Joffrey Lupul onto the Kings’ bench with a check. He then got the Kings even in the third period, redirecting a shot for his first NHL goal in a 2-1 overtime loss.

chris.foster@latimes.com