Vladar Out For Season
Calgary Flames goalie Dan Vladar will undergo season ending hip surgery next week. The Flames’ starting goalie Jacob Markstrom has been cleared for full practice and game participation after missing the last five games because of a lower-body injury.
Gerry Thomas/NHLI via Getty Images
"It's obviously unfortunate for 'Vladdy,'" Flames defenseman MacKenzie Weegar said Thursday. "I think he's been dealing with that (injury) for quite a while. He's a warrior about it. The one thing we do have here is depth at goaltender."
Vladar is 8-9-2 with a 3.62 goals-against average and .882 save percentage in 20 games this season. With Vladar out for the rest of the season, Dustin Wolf will stay on the Flames roster on an emergency recall basis (he has started the past two games).
Dan Vladar, Calgary Flames (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
"Obviously 'Wolfie' now, I think he's getting more and more comfortable being up here and he feels like he's part of the team. I'm sure he wants to start to take over the net or get more games. 'Marky,' obviously, he's faced a few injuries with the same sort of thing. All three of them are such competitors. That's what I love most about them. It doesn't matter what goalie's in net. They're all a little different but all super solid for us and the reason we're still in the fight."
The Calgary Flames (33-30-5) trail the Vegas Golden Knights by eight points for the second wild card spot into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. The Flames would also have to pass the Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues to secure their spot.
Sergei Belski
"All we can do is just play every night and compete and try to win," said Markstrom, who is 22-17-2 with a 2.68 GAA and .910 save percentage in 41 games this season. "As long as there's a chance, there's a chance. Anything can happen. We have great leaders in this locker room. Everybody's got to pick up a shovel and start digging."
Can the Calgary Flames make it to the Wild Card this season? We will see in this years race for the Cup!