Utah goaltender out day-to-day with upper-body injury

Utah netminder Connor Ingram is dealing with an upper-body injury and didnt travel with the team on their four-game road trip set to kick off Thursday in Boston, the team announced.

Hes listed as day-to-day while undergoing further evaluation, so the team has recalled Jaxson Stauber from AHL Tucson under emergency conditions to serve as Karel Vejmelka s backup between the pipes for the trip.

The 27-year-old Ingram has started 13 of Utahs first 18 games, but hes only played in one of the last three and was pulled against the Capitals on Monday after allowing four goals on 13 shots.

After tying for the league lead in shutouts last season with six, hes been one of the worst starters in the NHL this year with a .871 SV%, 3.61 GAA, and -9.9 GSAA despite his 6-4-3 record.

Hes at serious risk of at least falling back into a tandem split with Vejmelka upon his return, although if hes been battling this injury for a while, it could explain the poor play.

Utah has only won one of Vejmelkas five starts this year, but the Czech netminder is on pace for the best campaign of his four-year NHL career with a .915 SV% and 2.58 GAA, saving 2.6 goals above average.

The first-year club has put up exemplary possession numbers at 5-on-5 despite injuries to core defensemen Sean Durzi and John Marino , but a 30th-ranked power play and Ingrams struggles have bound them to a 7-8-3 record.

Theres still plenty of time for the former Coyotes to make the playoffs in their first season in Salt Lake, but theyre four points back of the Canucks for the second wild-card spot in the West and still have to leapfrog the Avalanche, Kraken and Ducks.

The Athletic currently projects their record to improve back over .500 but not by much, ranking fifth in the Central with a 25% chance at postseason action.

Meanwhile, Stauber comes up after an attention-grabbing start to his first season in the Utah organization.

Signed to a two-way deal in free agency after being non-tendered by the Blackhawks, the 25-year-old has a sparkling .930 SV%, 2.29 GAA and a 5-2-0 record in seven games with Tucson.

The Minnesota native has six games of NHL experience, posting a 5-1-0 record with Chicago in 2022-23 with a strong .911 SV%, 2.81 GAA and 1.3 GSAA.

This article first appeared on Pro Hockey Rumors and was syndicated with permission..

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