"He'll be out for a while. If it's broken, we're talking 3-6 weeks," Boucher said. "This obviously comes at a bad moment. Let's not kid ourselves. This team is battling hard to make the playoffs and we desperately need him in the lineup. He was going really good and you take a guy of that caliber, he's got the size and the smarts to be able to play against big teams and can fit on any line, those guys you don't replace."
This is Ryan's second injury to his right index finger this season. He missed two games in November with a bone bruise near the base of the finger, returned to play four games and then missed three games.
Ryan has 24 points (12 goals, 12 assists) in 50 games this season.
"He was playing great," Boucher said. "That's the tough thing. He was a top-six guy and were already missing a top-six guy [left wing Clarke MacArthur] since the beginning of the year and now you miss another one. We'll have to find a way like we did all year."
