Sens' Talbot out three weeks with oblique strain
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Ottawa Senators goaltender Cam Talbot has suffered an oblique strain, according to TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger.
Head coach D.J. Smith announced earlier on Wednesday that Talbot will be out of action for three weeks.
Talbot, 35, was a late scratch for Monday's 5-0 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks due to the injury, forcing 22-year-old Mads Sogaard into the starting lineup.
Smith added that Talbot will be leaving the team's road trip and heading to Ottawa for treatment on his injury.
Talbot missed the first nine games of the season with an upper-body injury and another nine games later in the season with a lower-body injury.
The Caledonia, Ont., native has a 15-14-1 record with a .905 save percentage and 2.85 goals against average this season.
Senators' playoff push continues with rookie netminders
Losing Talbot comes as the Senators continue to chase the Pittsburgh Penguins for the Eastern Conference's final wild-card spot.
Ottawa enters play Wednesday sitting five points back of the Penguins with the two teams equal in games played. Ottawa is also six points back of the New York Islanders for the top wild-card spot with three games in hand.
The team missed an opportunity to gain ground on Pittsburgh Monday, with Sogaard allowed five goals on 21 shots to the Blackhawks in the surprise start.
"I told him throughout the game, 'None of this is your fault. We just completely [hurt] you,'" captain Brady Tkachuk said of Sogaard. "Right from the start, the way we played, we completely left him out to dry. That's just never what we want to do as a team.
"All the boys we have, [they've] stood on their heads, made big saves and stole us games throughout this whole year. It's honestly unacceptable that we just leave him out to dry like that."
The 22-year-old Sogaard has a 4-1-1 record this season with a .902 save percentage and a 2.77 GAA.
With Anton Forsberg also on injured reserve, the Senators will move forward with a rookie duo of Sogaard and Kevin Mandolese in the crease.
Recalled Monday from the Belleville Senators, Mandolese has 1-1 record with 2.45 GAA and a .938 save percentage in two games with the NHL club this season.
The Senators will resume their playoff push on Thursday against the Seattle Kraken before closing out the week with back-to-back games against the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames.