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Ottawa Senators Recall Kevin Mandolese

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The Ottawa Senators lost Cam Talbot partway through last night’s game, and according to Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia, the veteran netminder will be out at least through the All-Star break. Unfortunately, he isn’t the only goaltender in the Senators organization dealing with an injury.

Both Antoine Bibeau and Mads Sogaard are hurt, meaning the only recall option was Kevin Mandolese. Garrioch reports that Anton Forsberg is expected to make both starts of the upcoming back-to-back in Toronto and Ottawa.

Mandolese, 22, hasn’t appeared in the NHL yet, and is barely even holding onto an AHL spot. Through 12 games with the Belleville Senators, he has posted an .886 save percentage. That performance has earned him some extra time in the ECHL, where he has a .927 in six games.

In short, he’s not who the Senators need in the crease right now as they continue to try and compete in the Atlantic Division. Forsberg will have to try and take down the Maple Leafs and Canadiens on his own, and the club will have to hope that Talbot can return soon after the break.

Cam Talbot Suffers A Lower-Body Injury

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It has been a tough season on the injury front for the Senators who have had several key players banged up at times.  They lost another key piece on Wednesday night as the team announced (Twitter link) that goaltender Cam Talbot sustained a lower-body injury against the Islanders.  He exited the game in the second period and did not return.

Ottawa acquired the 35-year-old in an effort to build a quality tandem between the pipes with Anton Forsberg.  However, things haven’t gone according to plan as the team entered play tonight a little below league average in goals allowed with both netminders taking a step back relative to their play from a year ago.  Talbot had just a .903 SV% heading into Wednesday’s contest, the second-lowest of his career while Forsberg’s SV% has dipped 18 points from a year ago.  Between that and a surprising lack of improvement offensively, the Sens are battling to avoid being last in the Atlantic Division.

Notably, it’s a contract year for Talbot who is set to hit the open market this summer.  Suffering a second injury (he missed nine games with a rib issue earlier this season) on top of him struggling a bit more certainly isn’t helping his market as he looks to get a raise on his $3.67MM AAV.  While it’s unknown how long he’ll be out at this point, an extended absence could take a potential trade deadline swap off the table as well.

It’s also worth mentioning that Mads Sogaard, Ottawa’s top goalie prospect with AHL Belleville, is injured at the moment and hasn’t played in the last week and a half.  That means their recall options will be veteran Antoine Bibeau or Kevin Mandolese who has split the last two seasons between the AHL and ECHL and is still looking for his first NHL appearance despite three recalls already in 2022-23.

Rourke Chartier, Nikita Zaitsev Activated From Injured Reserve

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It’s been an up-and-down (mostly down) day for the Ottawa Senators. First they recalled prospect Ridly Greig, but then followed it up with news that Josh Norris would be out for the rest of the season. Now, the team has activated two other players from injured reserve.

Rourke Chartier and Nikita Zaitsev are both active again, though the former was sent immediately to the minor leagues.

The return of Zaitsev gives the team six healthy defensemen again, after yesterday’s demotion of Jacob Bernard-Docker. The veteran was skating next to Erik Brannstrom on the third pairing today, and is expected to return to action on Wednesday. Zaitsev hasn’t played since December and has been rather ineffective when in the lineup. Through 19 appearances he has just three points (all assists) and is averaging fewer than 17 minutes a night.

For Chartier, it’s been even longer since he appeared in a game with Ottawa, last playing on December 22. The 26-year-old minor leaguer has six games under his belt this season but is still looking for his first point of the year. His previous 13 NHL appearances, all with the San Jose Sharks in 2018-19, resulted in one goal.

Ottawa Senators Recall Ridly Greig

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The Ottawa Senators have some more excitement in store for fans, recalling prospect Ridly Greig from the minor leagues today. This is the first call-up of Greig’s career.

Selected 28th overall in 2020, the 20-year-old Greig has been excellent with the Belleville Senators this year in his first full season of professional hockey. The former Brandon Wheat Kings star has 12 goals and 23 points in 28 AHL games, and has quickly pushed for a chance at the higher level.

If you have ever watched a game that Greig was in, you’ve certainly noticed him. There’s no blending into the background for the young forward, who never stops skating and is always involved in the play. In terms of adding energy to a lineup that has seemed rather lethargic lately, there’s no better option.

Whether his production can follow him to the NHL remains to be seen, but Greig will find a way to make an impact one way or another for Ottawa.

Another move should be coming for the Senators soon, as they currently only have five defenseman on the active roster after sending Jacob Bernard-Docker down yesterday.

Pierre Dorion Has Recently Scouted A Pair Of Kings Games

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  • There has been a belief that the Senators are shopping for help on the back end and NBC Sports Chicago’s Charlie Roumeliotis notes (Twitter link) that Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion is watching the Kings for the second time in four days. Los Angeles has four right-shot defenders on their roster plus promising prospect Jordan Spence in the minors so their surplus could certainly be of interest to the Sens.  Notably, none of those blueliners are on expiring contracts so Dorion would be taking on a two-year commitment if he finds a trade he likes to improve their defense corps.

Ottawa Senators Re-Assign Jacob Bernard-Docker

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An up-and-down season for Ottawa Senators defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker continued this morning, as the team announced he has been re-assigned to the AHL’s Belleville Senators.

A cursory look at Ottawa’s roster might make this move seem puzzling. Sending Bernard-Docker to the minors leaves Ottawa with no extra skaters on the active roster and just five defensemen. However, Ottawa is entering somewhat of a lengthy break between games. After suffering a 5-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets last night, the Senators don’t play again until Wednesday.

Returning Bernard-Docker (still waiver-exempt) to Belleville doesn’t give him more playing time, though, as Belleville’s schedule mirrors that of their parent club. For Ottawa, having an NHL salary off the books for a few days is a cost-saving measure.

In a less likely scenario, the move could indicate that one (or both) of Artem Zub and Nikita Zaitsev could be ready to go for Wednesday’s game against the Islanders. Both defensemen are currently on injured reserve, but neither has a specific timetable for a return.

Ottawa’s 26th overall selection in 2018, Bernard-Docker has one assist in 13 games with the big club this season. He’d spent the past week on Ottawa’s roster, recalled after Zub exited the lineup with a lower-body injury. In four games since the January 15 recall, Bernard-Docker was held off the scoresheet, had a -4 rating, and averaged 17:15 per game in a more limited role than his earlier call-ups.

Sens Plan To Try To Sign Tyler Kleven After His College Season

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  • Senators prospect Tyler Kleven is expected to turn pro after this season, mentions Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. The defenseman was a second-round pick by Ottawa in 2020 (44th overall) and the team tried to get him to sign before this season but the 21-year-old wanted to stay for one more year at North Dakota.  That year is going pretty well as Kleven has 11 points along with 52 penalty minutes in 21 games so far.

Tyler Motte Until After The All-Star Break

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  • Senators winger Tyler Motte’s recovery from a finger injury isn’t going as well as the team hoped, notes Postmedia’s Ken Warren. The 27-year-old suffered the injury just before the holiday break and will now be out until after the All-Star break and bye week.  Motte was a late signee in the offseason, inking a one-year, $1.35MM deal with Ottawa but things haven’t gone accordingly to plan this season as he has been relatively quiet when he has been in the lineup with just three goals and six assists in 32 games.

Josh Norris Set To Return Wednesday

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It was a long wait to return from a shoulder injury for Ottawa Senators center Josh Norris, but still shorter than most expected. He’ll be returning to the lineup tonight as the Senators take on the Pittsburgh Penguins, as told to reporters pregame, including the Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch.

Norris told reporters that he was “excited” to face such a tough challenge down the middle in his first game back since October 22, where he’ll be competing against some of the world’s best in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. But with no exhibition games or conditioning stint to test out his shoulder, don’t expect him to be active in the faceoff dot just yet. He’s been placed on a line between Alex DeBrincat and Claude Giroux, and while Norris may play center during actual gameplay, Giroux will take the lion’s share of the draws when that unit is deployed. Norris’ return is a huge boost for the Senators’ dwindling playoff hopes, as they remain among the bottom teams in the Eastern Conference with a 19-21-3 record.

Ottawa Senators Place Artem Zub On Injured Reserve

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The Ottawa Senators sent Jake Lucchini to the minor leagues to clear room for Josh Norris’s return, but another transaction won’t be quite as popular. Artem Zub has been moved back to injured reserve, retroactive to his last appearance on January 14.

Zub suffered a lower-body injury against the Colorado Avalanche and left the game after just 13 minutes of ice time. Jacob Bernard-Docker replaced him on Monday, and ended up playing nearly 21 minutes, behind only Thomas Chabot’s 26:48 among Senators defensemen.

Bernard-Docker is an excellent replacement, but the Senators have shown repeatedly this season that they struggle defensively with Zub out of the lineup. The 27-year-old averages more than 21 minutes a night when he does play, with more than 19 coming at even strength.

Unfortunately, that has only been in 21 games so far, as he keeps finding himself on the injured list. Zub signed a new four-year extension in December, but he’ll have to stay healthy for it to pay off.

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