Ducks’ Matt Beleskey, Sami Vatanen sidelined after injuries

Already dealing with defensive holes, the Ducks announced Tuesday there are more voids to fill.

Forward Matt Beleskey will be sidelined two to four weeks with a shoulder injury and defenseman Sami Vatanen four to six weeks with a leg injury.

Beleskey, who has scored 21 goals, was hurt in the first period Sunday when he was knocked into the boards by Washington defenseman John Carlson during a 5-3 Ducks loss at Honda Center. Vatanen, who has 12 goals and 34 points, twisted his leg in the first period.

“We’ll find ways, hopefully, to offset both of their losses,” Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau said. “The sense of urgency is now.”

To fill the absences, the Ducks summoned forward Emerson Etem and defenseman Josh Manson from minor league Norfolk, Va.

“We’re going to lean on our depth again as we’ve done all year,” center Ryan Getzlaf said, referring to the more than 200 games missed by teammates. “There’s guys in this room that can do those things.”

No one has lately, the Ducks giving up four or more goals in six of their last nine games.

“The first thing you’ve got to do is rely on your defense to not give up four goals a night,” Getzlaf said. “You can’t do that and win hockey games.”

Awaiting them Wednesday night is the Tampa Bay Lightning, which blitzed visiting Anaheim, 5-3, on Feb. 8.

Clayton Stoner, Vatanen’s defensive partner, said: “We need to play more of a team game, where everybody contributes, so missing a guy or two … if we lift our game as a group, we’ll be playing better than we were anyways.”

Added Ryan Kesler: “We need people in this room to figure out this is crunch time.”

Back and forth

After Getzlaf complained that Washington’s NHL goals leader, Alex Ovechkin, was taking dives Sunday, Ovechkin fired back Tuesday.

“Maybe he’s just jealous. I have hair; he don’t have hair,” Ovechkin said.

“He made a hair joke, that’s unbelievable,” Getzlaf said. “The media’s not the place to hash it out. Everyone in here knows I don’t have hair, so pretty obvious comment.”

Andersen’s status

Ducks starting goaltender Frederik Andersen is eligible to play Wednesday, but said he won’t.

Andersen said that though he’s mostly pain free — after a goal tipped over and struck the back of his neck during the Feb. 8 game against Tampa Bay — he wants to take serious shots in practice before deciding whether he’ll accompany the team on its Friday-Saturday trip to Calgary and Edmonton.

TONIGHT

VS. TAMPA BAY

When: 7.

On the air: TV: Prime Ticket. Radio: 830.

Etc.: Brian Boyle scored two goals for the Lightning in its last game against the Ducks. Tampa Bay has fallen behind the Montreal Canadiens in the Atlantic Division race and is 13-12-5 on the road.

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