Arizona Coyotes G Mike Smith has surgery, out estimated two months

The Arizona Coyotes will be without the services of goalie Mike Smith for at least two months, the team announced Tuesday.

Update: Mike Smith had a core muscle injury. He underwent successful surgery today. Estimated 8-10 weeks recovery. pic.twitter.com/IdMbIvqWhn

— Arizona Coyotes (@ArizonaCoyotes) December 15, 2015

“Hopefully we’ll have him back sooner than later,” GM Don Maloney said.

Maloney said Smith went under the knife in Philadelphia. The problem was similar to an injury Smith had in 2004, when he was with the Dallas Stars.

“They went in and they were not only able to take care of this problem, but clean up the earlier procedure,” he said.

Maloney said Smith was working with the team’s medical staff to treat the injury until it became too much.

“It has been something that was lingering for a little while and it got to the point where he couldn’t play anymore,” he said.

The Coyotes’ No. 1 netminder had a 10-9-1 record this season and was allowing just more than three goals per game on average. He saved 90.1 percent of the shots he’s faced this season and has one shutout.

With Smith sidelined, the puck will pass to backup Anders Lindback, who signed a one-year deal with Arizona in the offseason. So far this season, the 27-year-old Swede has appeared in 12 games — eight of those were starts — and has a 4-5-1 record. He has saved 90 percent of the shots he’s faced and has a slightly better goals per game average than Smith at 2.92.

“Anders has played very well,” Maloney said. “He’s battling.”

The Coyotes have recalled two goaltenders — Louis Domingue and Marek Langhamer — so far this season, though neither has seen ice time.

“Domingue is ready for an opportunity,” Maloney said. “He showed us last year that he can play in this league and win games.”

Maloney also said the team is looking into the possibility of trading for a goalie, but nothing is set in stone.

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