Arizona Coyotes’ Connor Ingram out day-to-day, Matt Villalta called up

The Arizona Coyotes have announced that goaltender Connor Ingram is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

The team subsequently called up Matt Villalta from the Tuscon Roadrunners and placed forward Liam O’Brien on injured reserve.

Ingram, 26, stopped 28 of 30 shots he faced over the first 40 minutes of Wednesday’s game against the Minnesota Wild at Mullett Arena before being replaced by Karel Vejmelka for the third period. Vejmelka allowed another goal in the final frame as the Coyotes lost 3–1 to the Wild on Wednesday evening.

Through 35 games with the Coyotes this season, Ingram has a 17-13-2 record with five shutouts, a .912 save percentage, and a 2.76 goals-against average.

Drafted 72nd overall by the Los Angeles Kings in 2017, Villalta has yet to play an NHL game, but is in the midst of his best season in the AHL. The 24-year-old keeper has a 22-11-1 record with two shutouts and a .913 save percentage through 34 games, his first with the organization. Villalta has an all-time AHL record of 80-43-15 between Ontario and Tucson.

O’Brien, meanwhile, was dealing with an upper-body injury and missed Arizona’s contest against the Wild. Known for his physicality, O’Brien has eight points and 116 penalty minutes through 49 games with Arizona, his third season with the club. O’Brien has 27 points in 173 games over seven seasons with Washington, Colorado and Arizona.

The Coyotes sit 26th in the NHL with 50 points while boasting a 2-7-1 record over the past 10 games. Karel Vejmelka should see the bulk of the starts while Ingram is out, hoping to improve on a difficult 6-12-2 record with a .900 save percentage. The Coyotes will host the Carolina Hurricanes tonight at 9:00 PM ET before challenging the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday.