OTTAWA — Cam Talbot could make his first start of the season for the Senators against the Philadelphia Flyers at Canadian Tire Center on Saturday (7 pm ET; SN1, TVAS2, NBCSP, ESPN+, SN NOW).
Talbot, who broke his rib during training camp, made his season debut in a 5-4 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday, relieving Anton Forsberg in the second period with Ottawa trailing 5-1. He was expected to be out 5-7 weeks when the injury was announced Oct. 3.
“It feels good,” Talbot said. “It’s a grind. You never know when these things are actually going to heal themselves. There’s nothing you can do to hurry the process along. I just tried to stay ready, stay in shape and it’s good to be back out there with the boys. finally.”
Talbot was acquired in a trade with the Minnesota Wild on July 12. He was 32-12-4 with a 2.76 goals-against average, .911 save percentage and three shutouts in 49 games (48 starts) with the Wild last season and 0 -1 with a 4.15 GAA and .846 save percentage in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Senators (4-6-0) have lost four in a row.
“The plan is, we’ve got to get him playing,” Ottawa coach DJ Smith said Thursday. “He’s an all-star goalie and he hasn’t played through the opening 10 games. We’ve got to get him in some games. We know he can help us, and he’ll give us a bit of confidence when he gets in there.”
Forsberg has started nine of the Senators’ 10 games this season (3-6-0, 3.58 goals-against average, .898 save percentage), and has missed multiple practices to manage fatigue and a nagging injury.
“He’s been holding us in those games and giving us a chance to win every night,” Talbot said of Forsberg. “It’ll be nice to give him a break coming up. I’m sure he’s looking forward to that as well.”
.