Senators’ Cam Talbot to Miss Three Weeks With Oblique Strain
The Ottawa Senators will be without starting goaltender Cam Talbot for at least three weeks as he recovers from a strained oblique.
Talbot, who returned after missing nine games due to a lower-body injury on Feb. 24th, didn’t dress ahead of Monday’s embarrassing 5-0 defeat to the Chicago Blackhawks. The 35-year-old was also absent from Tuesday’s practice and was sent for imaging Wednesday to determine the severity of his ailment.
After undergoing an MRI, head coach D.J. Smith announced that Talbot would be sidelined for an extended period once again, with the team initially labelling his injury as lower-body. Ottawa is hopeful the veteran netminder will return before the regular season ends.
“They’re telling me three weeks,” Smith said following Wednesday’s practice. “So, it is what it is. We’ll keep grinding.”
The Senators have provided few specifics on Talbot’s injury. However, most believe it occurred last Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets, where he stopped 19 of 21 shots en route to a 5-2 victory.
While the club is calling it a lower-body injury, the 6-foot-4 netminder is reportedly battling an oblique strain, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger, which would help explain the three-week timeframe.
Talbot’s inaugural campaign in Ottawa has been riddled with injuries, limiting him to just 32 games this season. He has been effective when healthy, though, posting a 2.85 goals-against average, .905 save percentage and one shutout – the 28th of his career.
The Caledonia, Ont., native had also performed well since returning from his first lower-body injury, registering a 2.51 GAA and a .906 SV% over his last four starts. Sadly, he won’t be able to build off his encouraging results until closer to the end of March.
With Talbot sidelined, the Senators plan to turn to rookie Mads Sogaard as their No. 1 goaltender, placing enormous pressure on the 22-year-old amidst the club’s late-season playoff push. The 6-foot-7 netminder features a 2.77 GAA and a .902 SV% in seven contests this season.
“It [stinks] to hear what’s happening with Cam,” Sogaard said. “He’s a huge part of this hockey team and a guy that I lean on a lot, for sure, for help and all that. To not have him is definitely a hit, for sure. I’m just going to do my best to help the team win and put them in a situation to win hockey games. That’s all we can do, as goaltenders.”
Ottawa recalled AHL goaltender Kevin Mandolese on an emergency basis Monday, and with Talbot on the mend, he will likely take over as Sogaard’s backup. The fellow 22-year-old posted a 3.32 GAA and a .889 SV% in 15 games with the Belleville Senators.
The Senators enter Thursday’s slate five points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the final wild-card seed in the Eastern Conference, six back of the New York Islanders for the first. They also trail the Florida Panthers by two points but possess two games in hand.
Talbot is in the final season of his three-year, $11-million contract and can become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: US Embassy Canada. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license.