Havelid Waits for a Chance

Coach Craig Hartsburg would like to get defenseman Niclas Havelid into a game soon. Trouble is, Hartsburg doesn’t know which defenseman to take out of the lineup.

“I think our defense is playing pretty good right now,” Hartsburg said. “It’s hard to make a change. . . . Niclas has to be ready when his chance comes.”

Havelid hasn’t played an NHL game since suffering a broken right middle finger Jan. 15 against the Phoenix Coyotes.

He had a two-game conditioning assignment with Cincinnati of the American Hockey League last weekend.

Friday, in a pivotal game against the San Jose Sharks, Hartsburg stayed with his recent defense pairs--Pavel Trnka and Oleg Tverdovsky, Kevin Haller and Fredrik Olausson and Ruslan Salei and Vitaly Vishnevski.

Havelid, Jason Marshall and Pascal Trepanier were healthy scratches.

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Despite seeing Guy Hebert get bowled over no fewer than five times since Christmas, Hartsburg isn’t complaining to league officials about protecting goaltenders.

“I think the game is fine,” Hartsburg said. “I think every goaltender in the league has been run over [this season]. I don’t think any of it has really been intentional.

“Leave the game alone. Everyone will adjust.”