Ottawa Senators head coach D.J. Smith announced on Wednesday that goaltender Cam Talbot will be out for the next three weeks with a lower-body injury.
It’s unclear as to if this lower-body injury is a similar one to what kept Talbot out for a month recently, or if it’s a completely different injury.
The current timeline has Talbot projected to miss 11 games, with eight remaining in the season to get back into game shape before the postseason if the Senators are still in contention.
The injury made Talbot a late scratch on Monday for Ottawa’s game against the Chicago Blackhawks, which forced Mads Sogaard to make the start for the Senators. The Sens would go on to lose that game 5-0, with Sogaard allowing five goals on 21 shots.
Talbot has had a solid season when healthy, with a 15-14-1 record, a .905 save percentage, a shutout, and 5.04 goals saved above expected at 5v5 in 32 games this season.
The “when healthy” part is key though, as he’s already missed 18 games so far this season before this current injury.
Talbot signed with the New York Rangers as an undrafted free agent in 2010, and has spent parts of 10 seasons with the Rangers, the Edmonton Oilers, the Philadelphia Flyers, the Calgary Flames, the Minnesota Wild, and then the Senators this season after they acquired him in the offseason in a one-for-one deal for goaltender Filip Gustavsson.
Talbot is in the final year of a three-year contract with a $3,666,667 million cap hit, and will be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason.
With both Talbot and Anton Forsberg injured, that leaves the crease to Sogaard and Kevin Mandolese for the next few weeks.
Sogaard is 6-4-1 with a .902 save percentage and -0.86 goals saved above expected at 5v5 in seven games this season, while Mandolese is 1-1-0 with a .938 save percentage and 2.59 goals saved above expected in two games this season.
Their performance will be important down the stretch for the Senators, with Talbot’s injury being a big blow to the team as they’re making a push for the playoffs.
They currently sit fifth in the Atlantic Division with a 32-27-4 record, and are five points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the final wild card spot.
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