BY RICH CHERE

It could have been much worse for Devils center Igor Larionov.

He could have taken a direct shot to the head, as Scott Stevens did during the playoffs last spring, and there aren't many who bounce back the way the Devils captain did. Instead, Larionov was hit on the outside of his left knee by a slap shot from the Islanders' Kenny Jonsson Monday night at Nassau Coliseum.

"It's real sore," Larionov said yesterday at South Mountain Arena in West Orange, where he remained off the ice and walked with a distinct limp. "But I've had a broken foot and ankle, so I know when it's a serious injury. This was painful, but I knew it was a bruise."

Good news for the Devils. Larionov hopes to skate today and could play tomorrow night against the Washington Capitals at the MCI Center.

At the same time, center Erik Rasmussen said his bruised shoulder felt better and he planned on skating today. He hoped to be back against the Caps.

"We'll make a game time decision in the cases of Rasmussen and Larionov," coach Pat Burns said. "I don't believe Turner (Stevenson) will be ready on this trip."

While Stevenson, sidelined with a testicular infection, made strides by skating with the team for the first time, Larionov was fortunate he probably won't be sidelined for long.

The mishap occurred with 8:01 remaining in the second period. Jonsson fired the puck toward the Devils' zone and it struck Larionov on the outside of his knee.

"It hit me in the bone outside the knee. My leg went dead right away. It happened so fast," Larionov said. "It was kind of fluky. It was at the end of a shift and the guy was trying to make a line change and took a slap shot. He had so much room to put it by me. Bad aim, but I don't think it was on purpose."

Larionov said there is a mark where the puck struck him.