Reinforcements Ready to Battle

A veteran, take-no-prisoners defenseman strapped on a helmet and joined the Kings for practice Thursday morning. But assistant coach Mark Hardy, 43, will not be activated for today’s game against the Mighty Ducks.

Other help, however, arrived later from Manchester, N.H.

With the status of newly acquired defenseman Dmitry Yushkevich still uncertain, Ian Laperriere unavailable and Lubomir Visnovsky joining Jason Allison, Adam Deadmarsh and Ken Belanger on injured reserve, the Kings recalled defenseman Jason Holland and forwards Steve Heinze and Kip Brennan from their American Hockey League team.

Pavel Rosa, recalled Tuesday and in the lineup for Wednesday night’s 5-2 loss to the Florida Panthers, was sent back to Manchester.

Yushkevich, traded from the Panthers on Tuesday but kept out of Wednesday’s game because of a ruptured blood vessel in his right eye, watched practice. His status for today’s game will be determined after an eye exam this morning.

Craig Johnson, meanwhile, will be checked for a hand injury suffered Wednesday night when he was struck in the palm by an errant puck.

Laperriere, who suffered a concussion Saturday night when sandwiched between Derian Hatcher and Ulf Dahlen of the Dallas Stars, won’t play today and probably won’t play Saturday night against the Chicago Blackhawks. Visnovsky, suffering from a back strain, won’t be eligible to return until next week.

Heinze, 32, wasn’t expected back after the Kings reassigned him to the minors two days before the season opener. They left him exposed in the waiver draft and told him he was free to seek a trade. Club President Tim Leiweke called him a bust, citing Heinze’s struggles during the second half of last season as a reason for the Kings’ decision not to pursue high-priced free agents last summer.

Signed to a three-year, $6-million contract in July 2001, Heinze scored 15 goals last season, but none in his last 27 games.

At Manchester, he scored eight goals and 17 points in 18 games.

“I’m happy to have him back because he’s a really good guy,” Coach Andy Murray said.