Cam Talbot will leave the Ottawa Senators’ road trip early and return for treatment after being a late scratch on Monday. Head coach D.J. Smith explained that the veteran goaltender will be out for three weeks with what he called a “mid-body injury.”
That means it’s up to the kids in Ottawa, as Kevin Mandolese and Mads Sogaard are the active tandem for the Senators. The pair, both 22, are up under emergency conditions while Talbot and Anton Forsberg are out of the lineup.
Mandolese has just two appearances in his NHL career, though both have gone well. The young netminder won his debut by stopping 46 of 48 shots against the New York Islanders a few weeks ago and then allowed just three goals against the Boston Bruins in his follow-up appearance.
Sogaard has played seven times this season, taking his career total to nine NHL appearances. He has won four times for the Senators this year but was blown out by the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday after being the last-second replacement for Talbot. That 5-0 loss to Chicago was a brutal blow to the team’s playoff chances, though they aren’t eliminated just yet.
Ottawa heads to Seattle next for a game tomorrow, before going through the Western Canada trip starting on Saturday night in Vancouver. There aren’t many easy nights coming for the upstart club, as once they return home they run off a series of games against Colorado, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Boston, Tampa Bay, and New Jersey that could decide their postseason fate.
Three weeks would mean Talbot isn’t available for any of those opponents.
