The Calgary Flames clashed with the Vancouver Canucks at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Wednesday evening. However, they played much of the game without one of their most important players.

Flames captain Mikael Backlund left the game midway through the first period. As the second period began, the club announced that Backlund would miss the remainder of the game due to an upper body injury.

Backlund took five shifts in the first period and played a total of 2:58 during them, with his final shift ending with 7:57 remaining in the first period. There were no entries on the league’s play-by-play log involving Backlund that seemed to indicate any injuries – he wasn’t credited with throwing or receiving any hits – and there weren’t any obvious moments in the game that seemed to lead to his departure.

With Backlund out of the game, Connor Zary was moved from the right side of the fourth line to Backlund’s spot on the second line between Joel Farabee and Blake Coleman.

The 35-year-old Backlund is in his second season as the club’s captain. Wednesday’s game was his 1,054th regular season game with the Flames. Only Hockey Hall of Famer Jarome Iginla – the Flames all-time leading scorer and current special advisor to general manager Craig Conroy – has logged more games than Backlund in a Flames jersey.

The Flames conclude their homestand on Friday night against the Colorado Avalanche. We shall see if Backlund is available to play against Colorado. The Flames are carrying one extra forward, winger Adam Klapka, but Zary, Yegor Sharangovich and Martin Pospisil have all played centre at times during the season. If they wish to keep that trio on the wings, they would need to call up another forward from the American Hockey League’s Calgary Wranglers – the Wranglers’ centres on NHL deals are Rory Kerins, Clark Bishop and Sam Morton.