The strange symptoms that shelved Jonas Hiller earlier this month — and perplexed the Ducks — have landed the goalie on injured reserve again.

Hiller was placed on the
injured list with light-headedness after the goalie reported symptoms at
Tuesday’s practice. He will miss at least the next three games and is
eligible to be activated on Monday. Timo Pielmeier was recalled from ECHL affiliate Elmira and figures to back up Curtis McElhinney tonight against the Washington Capitals.

The Ducks play back-to-back games Friday and Saturday in Minnesota and St. Louis, respectively.


After being removed from a Feb. 2 start
against San Jose — in which he allowed three goals in 11 minutes —
Hiller was placed on IR after reporting symptoms of fatigue and
light-headedness. The mysterious ailment might have been a by-product
of being struck in the helmet with a puck at the NHL All-Star Game, and
the subsequent cross-country flight from North Carolina to California.

It
would be easy to assume that Hiller tried coming back too soon, but he
managed to shut out the Edmonton Oilers on 12 shots Sunday. On Tuesday, Hiller practiced with the rest of the Ducks as usual, but left
the ice early when he was struck in the shoulder by a puck and did not
participate in the final conditioning skate.

Fortunately for the Ducks,
McElhinney hasn’t missed a beat. He’s won his last three starts,
including a shutout in Colorado on Feb. 5. By making four appearances
this month, the career backup already surpassed his previous career high (14)
for appearances in a single season. In 17 games, McElhinney is 6-5-1 with a
2.85 goals-against average and .912 save percentage.

Pielmeier had
just returned to Elmira from a West Coast trip that saw him go
1-0-1 with a 3.37 goals-against average and .873 save percentage (48-of-55). He has never appeared in an NHL game.