The Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday placed goalie Nikolai Khabibulin on injured reserve with a lower-body injury.
Oilers coach Ralph Krueger told the media Wednesday morning that Khabibulin tweaked his groin on the last shootout shot of a 3-2 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes on Feb. 23. He then aggravated the injury in overtime during a loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday.
Khabibulin, 40, has a 2-2-1 record with a 2.11 goals-against average and .935 save percentage in five appearances this season for the Oilers. He stopped 31 of 34 shots in the OT loss to the Blackhawks.
Khabibulin will be sidelined a minimum of seven days, meaning he will miss the next four road games for the Oilers.
"He could return on this trip," Krueger said.
Devan Dubnyk likely will receive the bulk of the starts. In 14 games, Dubnyk is 5-5-3 with a 2.78 GAA and .917 save percentage.
Yann Danis was called up from Oklahoma City of the American Hockey League to serve as the backup.