Flames recall Jon Gillies, Ryan Lomberg to Stockton, Mike Smith out day-to-day

There’s a bit of clarity regarding Mike Smith’s injury status, and what we know right now is he likely won’t play this weekend.

The Calgary Flames have summoned goaltender Jon Gillies from the American Hockey League’s Stockton Heat. In a corresponding move, they’ve assigned forward Ryan Lomberg to the AHL.

Smith left the Flames’ 6-5 overtime win on Wednesday night after the second period, and head coach Bill Peters confirmed that Smith was “not right” in net. Smith’s dealt with lower body (soft tissue) injuries in each of the past three seasons, including missing a month last season that completely derailed the Flames’ playoff push. It’s unclear whether his current injury continues that trend. In his absence, the net belongs to “Big Save Dave” – David Rittich.

Gillies was once the Flames’ top goaltending prospect, but he’s struggled at times in the AHL with both health and performance. This season he’s missed time due to injury and been shelled in several games. He’s 5-8-1 with a 3.96 goals against average and 0.861 save percentage this season, but as the only AHL goaltender in the system with any NHL experience he’s the logical person to call up to back Rittich up.

The moves leave the Flames with 22 players on their active roster: three goaltenders, seven defensemen and 12 forwards. Four players remain on the injured reserve list as well.