The Calgary Flames have placed Dan Vladar on injured reserve with a lower body injury

Flames head coach Ryan Huska said Vladar, 26, suffered the injury during practice before Thursday's game against the New Jersey Devils. He served as a backup for this game, but after further evaluation, he will need some time to recover from the injury.

The Vlads have struggled this season with a 7-7-2 record and an .888 save percentage in just 16 games. Those struggles are backed up in key numbers, as his -5.01 goals-against-against-expectation average is 11th-worst in the league this season.

Vladar was a former third-round pick of the Boston Bruins in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, but he didn't make his NHL debut until he was on the Bruins' Return-to-Play list during the 2020 playoff bubble and became the backup goaltender under Tuukka Rask. He withdrew from the tournament after playing one game in relief of Jaroslav Halak. He played five games with the Bruins the following season before being traded to the Flames in the third round in the 2021 offseason to be the backup goaltender for Jacob Markstrom.

Vladar is currently in the first year of a two-year contract worth $2.2 million, which he signed as an extension after the start of the 2022-23 season.

Due to Vladar's injury, Dustin Wolff was recalled from the AHL to serve as Markstrom's backup for the Flames. Wolf has struggled this season with a 1-2-1 record, a .893 save % and a -3.04 goals-against-expectation in his short time in the NHL, but has been a perfect 18-7 in the AHL. 2 saves, a .927 save% and four shutouts.

The Flames will look to continue their three-game winning streak when they visit the New York Islanders on Saturday at 1:00 PM EST. They currently sit in fifth place in the Pacific Division with a 24-22-5 record and are one point behind the St. Louis Blues for the final wild card spot in the Western Conference.