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Jonas Brodin out minimum four weeks with fractured finger

ST PAUL, MN - JANUARY 12: Zach Parise #11 and Jonas Brodin #25 of the Minnesota Wild speak during the first period of the game against the Montreal Canadiens on January 12, 2017 at Xcel Energy Center in St Paul, Minnesota. (Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images)
Zach Parise and Jonas Brodin of the Minnesota Wild speak during the first period of the game against the Montreal Canadiens on January 12, 2017 at Xcel Energy Center in St Paul, Minnesota. (Getty Images)

The Minnesota Wild will be without defenseman Jonas Brodin a minimum of four weeks due to a fractured finger suffered in Tuesday’s 4-3 loss to the New Jersey Devils.

Brodin saw 9:23 of action and left during the second period after playing two shifts. One of the Wild’s top all-around defensemen, Brodin has three goals and 16 points while averaging 19:46 of ice-time per-game. He also holds a plus-4.54 adjusted 5-on-5 CF Rel%, meaning the team has better possession numbers when he is on the ice rather than when he doesn’t play.

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“He’s a good player, so it’s a big loss if he’s out any time,” Wild coach Bruce Boudreau said according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “But good teams persevere in this. We don’t fold like an accordion. Somebody else gets into the lineup and he’s got to do just as good.”

Star Tribune Wild beat reporter Michael Russo said of Brodin, “… the Wild’s defense always has taken a turn for the worse without Brodin. He’s the epitome of you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s missing.”

The Western Conference leading Wild will likely use veteran Nate Prosser to replace Brodin Thursday against the Arizona Coyotes.

“Pross is a hard-working guy that’s been doing the same job for two or three years now,” Boudreau said. “Brods is a power-play guy, a penalty-killing guy and everything else. He’s a special guy, but Pross is going to get in there, whether it’s left side, right side or center ice, he’s going to do a good job.”

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!

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