By Canadian Press

Senators goalie Cam Talbot again bitten by injury bug as team pushes for playoff spot

Mar 8, 2023 | 1:42 PM

SEATTLE — Ottawa Senators goaltender Cam Talbot will miss three crucial weeks as his team pushes for a playoff spot.

The 35-year-old suffered a lower-body injury in Saturday’s 5-2 home victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets and was held out of Ottawa’s 5-0 road loss to the Chicago Blackhawks some 48 hours later.

Head coach D.J. Smith revealed the news in Seattle as the Senators prepared to meet the Kraken on Thursday. Ottawa currently sits five points out of the second wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference.

A pending unrestricted free agent, Talbot was acquired in an off-season trade with the Minnesota Wild for fellow netminder Filip Gustavsson to provide a veteran crease presence in 2022-23.

But the Caledonia, Ont., native has struggled to stay healthy.

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Talbot missed the first nine games of the schedule with an upper-body injury and nine more with a lower-body ailment before this latest setback.

The Senators are already minus goaltender Anton Forsberg after he tore the MCL in both his knees a month ago.

Ottawa will now turn to 22-year-old Mads Sogaard, the NHL’s rookie of the month for February, in hopes of staying in the post-season chase. 

Kevin Mandolese, whose only two NHL appearances came last month, will serve as the backup.

Talbot is 15-14-1 in 2022-23 with a .905 save percentage and a 2.85 goals-against average.

Gustavsson, meanwhile, has been lights out for Minnesota. The 24-year-old is 17-8-4 with a .935 save percentage and a 1.91 GAA.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 8, 2023.

The Canadian Press