Flames place goaltender on IR

Sportsnet’s Pat Steinberg is reporting that the Calgary Flames have placed goaltender Daniel Vladar on injured reserve with a lower-body injury and recalled netminder Dustin Wolf from the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers.

According to Julian McKenzie of The Athletic, Vladar's injury occurred in warmups last night and not in any game action. The 26-year-old hasn’t played since a 3-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Jan. 20. 

The native of Prague, Czech Republic has struggled this season with a 7-7-2 record with a 3.27 goals against average and a .888 save percentage. 

While those metrics sometimes don’t paint the whole picture of a goaltender’s performance, Vladar's underlying numbers have been poor as well. In 16 games this season, he has posted a goals saved above expected of -6.7 (Money Puck).

Wolf hasn’t fared any better at the NHL level, going 1-2-1 in five games with a 3.46 goals against average and an .893 save percentage. His underlying numbers have been even worse as Wolf has given up 5.2 more goals than expected despite playing just five games. 

At the AHL level, Wolf’s numbers have been a different story, as the 22-year-old has appeared in 28 games and has a sparkling .927 save percentage to go along with a 2.27 goals against average and an 18-7-2 record.

The Flames used an EBUG on Friday at practice as they are out East to take on the New York Islanders on Saturday and Wolf has yet to arrive. 

There has been speculation that the club could move out a goaltender and it will be interesting to see if Vladar’s injury cools those rumors.