Broken Middle Finger Sends Havelid to Sideline

Mighty Duck defenseman Niclas Havelid underwent surgery for a broken middle finger on his right hand Monday. He is expected to be sidelined a month.

Havelid, who suffered the injury while blocking a shot near the end of Saturday’s game against the Phoenix Coyotes, has been a solid player for the Ducks since getting accustomed to the NHL. He played in Sweden the last five years before the Ducks drafted him in the third round last June.

“It’s going to hurt because Niclas was playing so well for us,” Coach Craig Hartsburg said. “We do have depth there. The team just has to carry on. We can’t worry about it.”

The Ducks do not lack for bodies on defense and have some quality offensive defensemen in Oleg Tverdovsky and Fredrik Olausson. But Havelid’s skating and puck-handling skills will be missed.

He was also a fixture on the second power-play unit.

Havelid has two goals and six assists this season. He was a plus-minus rating of plus-7 over the last 32 games.

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Goalie Guy Hebert was a late scratch Monday because of flu. Dominic Roussel started in his place.

“If Guy was a defenseman or a forward, he probably could play,” Hartsburg said of Hebert. “But for a guy who is on the ice 60 minutes, it’s a little different.”