Senators' Talbot to return Friday after 9-game injury absence

Cam Talbot will be back in the Ottawa Senators' crease when they face the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday, Senators head coach D.J. Smith said Wednesday.

Talbot has been out since leaving Ottawa's victory over the New York Islanders on Jan. 25 due to what his club called a lower-body injury.

The Sens went 6-2-1 in Talbot's absence with Anton Forsberg, Mads Sogaard, and Kevin Mandolese filling the void. Forsberg went 3-1-0 after Talbot got hurt but then sustained significant injuries of his own. The 30-year-old Swede was ruled out for two-to-three months on Feb. 13 due to MCL tears in both knees.

Sogaard and Mandolese, both 22, performed admirably with the veterans on the shelf. Sogaard went 2-0-1 with a .913 save percentage in four games, while Mandolese went 1-1-0 while stopping 75 of 80 shots for a .938 save percentage.

Talbot is 12-13-1 with a .905 save percentage over 28 contests this season. The 35-year-old is in his first campaign with the Senators, who acquired him in a trade with the Minnesota Wild for netminder Filip Gustavsson in July.