The injury bug didn’t wait long to take a big bite out of the Edmonton Oilers.
The team announced Friday afternoon that goaltender Mike Smith has been placed on long-term injured reserve.
Smith, 38, didn’t dress for Thursday’s night 5-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks. It was expected that he would have started the game if healthy.
A player on LTIR can’t return for 10 games or 24 days.
If Smith misses the minimum 10 games, he’ll be eligible to return on Feb. 6.
The Oilers have assigned goalie Olivier Rodrigue to their taxi squad. Rodrigue has been playing in Austria and will have to observe quarantine protocols. Stuart Skinner joins Mikko Koskinen on the Oilers’ active roster.
Smith went 19-12-6 for the Oilers last season with a .911 save percentage and a 2.71 goals against average.
The Oilers will host the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday at 5 p.m. The Faceoff Show on 630 CHED will start at 3:30 p.m.
Watch below: Some Global News videos about Mike Smith.