Hebert to Undergo Surgery on His Injured Shoulder

Goaltender Guy Hebert will undergo surgery on his injured right shoulder and will miss the rest of the season, the Ducks finally acknowledged Monday.

Apparently, the only question is precisely when the surgery will be performed. It could be as soon as this week.

“Right now, if he had to play they would have to shoot it up [with pain-killers],” General Manager Jack Ferreira said.

Ferreira also said Hebert will continue rehabilitation exercises to strengthen his ailing shoulder. Ferreira expects a date for surgery to be set by week’s end.

“If he’s not 100% right now, it’s probably better to do it sooner rather than later,” said Coach Pierre Page, who indicated that recuperation could take three to four months.

The Ducks have two healthy goaltenders, Tom Askey and Mikhail Shtalenkov, to handle the last six games of the season.

Hebert, 13-24-6 with a 2.93 goals-against average in 46 games, said he suffered the injury before the Olympic break in February and aggravated it during a game against the Carolina Hurricanes on March 8. He has not played since, but practiced last week, hoping to return for the season’s final two weeks.

Shtalenkov started 13 consecutive games until Askey ended the streak with his first NHL start in Sunday’s 3-3 tie against the Calgary Flames.

Page said he will decide today who will start Wednesday against the Edmonton Oilers.

“Having Tom takes the pressure off Mikhail, so he doesn’t have to take the whole load the rest of the way,” Page said of Askey, who made 32 saves Sunday.

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Captain Teemu Selanne came down with flu and did not practice Monday. He also will get the day off today as Page conducts an optional workout. Selanne ended a four-game streak without a goal by scoring his franchise-record-tying 51st Sunday.

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Add Calgary defenseman James Patrick and goalie Dwayne Roloson to the growing list of players and coaches who have criticized the Arrowhead Pond’s ice conditions.

“I’ve never seen ice that bad, not even here,” Patrick said after Sunday’s game. “You could see patches of cement. The puck was jumping around like a Mexican jumping bean.”

Said Roloson, who gave up the game-tying goal thanks to a fluke bounce off the glass: “The ice here is a joke. . . . The league should really look into it. Guys can get hurt. It’s just ridiculous.”