The Calgary Flames injury list continued to grow last night, in their 2-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
Frustratingly for the Calgary Flames, the injuries aren’t occurring lower down the order but are three players that could be viewed as slightly more senior talents.
Kris Russell
Defenseman Kris Russell left the ice mid-game, with an upper-body injury and will not return. CBS Sports is reporting that ‘the 28 year-old blocked a shot in the first period and appeared to be favoring his hand afterward.’
The Calgary Flames later confirmed on Twitter, courtesy of head coach, Bob Hartley that he is expecting Russel to travel with the team next week and is day-to-day:
Bob Hartley says Kris Russell (upper body) is day-to-day and expects the defenceman will travel next week.
— Calgary Flames (@NHLFlames) November 21, 2015
Whilst Russel hasn’t exactly been a shining beacon of light in the Calgary Flames line-up, he does add a veteran presence in a very young team. He would likely be the first to say he wants to improve his plus/minus, which is still looking miserable.
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Maybe a few days off the ice will get the fire burning in his belly and he’ll come back blazing?
Jiri Hudler
Calgary Flames forward, Jiri Hudler was expected by most to miss the Blackhawks game. Per SportsNet Calgary’s Roger Millions, he missed two practice days prior to the game:
Mason Raymond stepped into Hudler’s spot for the game and if the flu continues to afflict Hudler, I’d expect Raymond’s run in the team to continue.
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Hudler has been sitting on reasonable numbers thus far this year, for a Calgary Flames team that isn’t exactly lighting the lamp with any sort of routine.
Maybe Mason Raymond will take the chance and run with it, or more likely, Hudler will return at some point on the upcoming road trip and look to increase his four goal, nine assist haul thus far this year.
Lance Bouma
Lance Bouma’s broken leg early in the season has meant that we’ve barely seen him on the ice, and the team has adapted to this. Different players have slotted into Lance’s usual role for the Calgary Flames and are, you’d assume, relishing in the opportunity.
There is no clear timeline on his removal from the ‘injured reserve’ but when it eventually does happen, the expectation is that he’ll need a few weeks at the very least to get his rough-and-tumble game going once again.
He’s reported to be recovering quicker than expected, but a broken leg is nothing to be shrugged at one the ice, so the Calgary Flames are unlikely to rush or hurry him.
Jonas Hiller
Jonas Hiller was the Calgary Flames number one goaltender in last year’s play-off run; unfortunately he didn’t get a great swing of luck this year. Or maybe, the play-off run was the cause of the injury and he didn’t have enough summer time off?
Reported by Pat Steinberg of SportsNet 960 The FAN, Hiller is approximately a week away from getting the all-clear on his hip injury and receiving clearance for game action:
#Flames injury updates from GM: Hiller about a week from game action clearance. Bouma progressing quicker than hoped, still a ways out.
— Pat Steinberg (@Fan960Steinberg) November 21, 2015
However Hiller’s return won’t make life easy for the Calgary Flames; the goaltending dilemma will be back once more. Karri Ramo has been the undoubted number one of late, but is the only one of their three to clear waivers and thus surely the only option to return to the Stockton Heat.
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Ramo’s form hasn’t been that awful of late though, so do you make the ‘form guy’ the ‘fall guy’ and throw a cold Hiller to the wolves?
Bob Hartley certainly has some interesting decisions to make.
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Are all of these injuries impacting the Calgary Flames chances or are they the least of the team’s problems? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.