Huddy Injury Forces Kings Into Changes : Game 4: Defenseman suffers ligament damage to his knee. Carson could get out of Melrose’s doghouse tonight.

King defenseman Charlie Huddy left the dressing room with a new piece of equipment--a knee brace--and may have left his season behind.

Huddy was thought to have suffered a sprained right knee on the first shift of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals when he was hit by Montreal’s Mike Keane in the corner, but on Sunday the injury was revised to a torn ligament, according to team physician Ron Kvitne.

The Kings were still holding out hope, albeit slender, that Huddy could return for tonight’s Game 4, but he was realistic.

“I’m not going to play tomorrow,” said Huddy, who has five points in 22 playoff games.

“We’ll have to see what the doctor says for the rest of the series. I didn’t ask him if it would get any worse. If there was the possibility it was career-threatening, obviously I would have to think twice.”

Said Kvitne: “We can give him medication (for the pain). But it’s whether he can skate well enough to be comfortable at his position.”

A best-case scenario would have Huddy returning later in the Cup final, which could last until a week from Tuesday if it went seven games. The Kings, who are trailing, 2-1, in the best-of-seven series, could be out as early as Wednesday’s Game 5 in Montreal.

For the Kings and Huddy, the timing could not be worse.

“It sure is bad,” Huddy said. “The hardest part is knowing it’s going to heal. But after 10 preseason games, 84 in the regular season and the playoffs, that’s 100-whatever games. For this to happen with four to go, it is kind of sad. I think I can help the team.”

Huddy’s injury leaves the Kings with six defensemen and places more pressure on the core: Rob Blake, Marty McSorley, Alexei Zhitnik and Darryl Sydor. And that foursome already was logging a lot of ice time. Additionally, the loss of Huddy, one of the team’s best penalty-killers, means more playing time for veteran defensemen Tim Watters and Mark Hardy.

The injury also has created an open roster spot and almost forces King Coach Barry Melrose to put center Jimmy Carson back in the lineup, which he has been reluctant to do. Carson, a 37-goal scorer in the regular season, has been in exile since playing in Game 4 of the Campbell Conference finals against Toronto, having been scratched for six consecutive games.

Forward Jim Thomson replaced him in Game 5 against Toronto, and Hardy has been in the lineup ever since, playing sparingly until Huddy’s injury on Saturday night.

Carson has handled his situation with a diplomatic grace. Nevertheless, he won’t believe he is back in the playoffs until Melrose tells him. Twice before, Carson thought he was going to play, only to be let down on game day.

“It’s hard, but it’s something totally out of my control,” he said. “I’m not going to assume anything.”

Carson is wondering why the Kings acquired him, along with Gary Shuchuk and Marc Potvin, from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for defenseman Paul Coffey, Jim Hiller and Sylvain Couturier on Jan. 29.

“Barry insists he wanted me,” Carson said.

Does he believe Melrose?

“Put it this way, at times it’s tough to believe,” he said. “At times, it’s tough, under the circumstances.”

There is one school of thought that this could be another one of Melrose’s mind games, trying to push the right button to get Carson to perform at a higher level, the way Melrose operated with goaltender Robb Stauber and many other King players.

But an angry Carson is not necessarily a better Carson.

“No, I don’t think it (anger) is the right button to push with me,” he said.

Said Melrose: “Jimmy’s fresh. He is a guy who can score some goals. He wants in the lineup, and he hasn’t been playing. I hope that will be a catalyst.”

Ice time is not exactly plentiful these days with centers Wayne Gretzky and Jari Kurri, who has been quietly playing his best hockey in weeks. Center Corey Millen has six points in 21 games and none against Montreal, but his speed can create opportunities for his linemates, left wing Mike Donnelly and right wing Tony Granato.

Carson could be faced with playing in the 5-7 minute range, not nearly enough for him to excel.

“Everyone wants you to score, but it’s not going to happen (with that amount of ice time),” he said. “I don’t care if it’s Mario Lemieux or anyone.”

Many of the Kings’ futures will be decided by what happens in the next week or so. Carson is playing out his option. Whether he is traded, re-signed or left unprotected in the expansion draft could hinge on the rest of the series. Or maybe his fate already has been decided.

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The Kings are trailing, 2-1, for the second time this postseason. Against Calgary in the first round, they were behind, 2-1, but won the final three games.

Montreal has taken the series lead by winning two consecutive overtime games, needing a total of 1 minute 25 seconds in overtime.

“If we had some breaks here and there, this would be a different series,” left wing Luc Robitaille said. “Nothing has been easy for us, so why should we make it easy now?”

Robitaille could not get one image out of his mind. At 13:17 of the third period in Game 3 and the score tied, 3-3, he had a breakaway, and with goaltender Patrick Roy leaning the other way, Robitaille missed the net by two or three inches from about 10 feet out.

“For sure, I thought about it,” he said. “I watched it again on TV, about 2:30 a.m. on ESPN, and I’ll tell you, I still don’t know why I missed it.”