from Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun,
The Ottawa Senators made one change Sunday by sending goaltender Kevin Mandolese back to their AHL affiliate in Belleville and bringing up Dylan Ferguson to join the club in Pittsburgh.
Something had to change.
Coming off a 5-4 shootout loss to the arch-rival Toronto Maple Leafs in the Battle of Ontario Saturday, the Senators packed their bags Sunday and jetted off to Steeltown to open a two-game road trip with a pivotal game against the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena Monday.
Trying to halt a five-game winless skid and crawl back into the race for the final wildcard spot in the East, this trip down the stretch has taken a turn for the worse, but this isn’t the group the Senators expected to be battling with down the stretch when camp opened in September.
And it starts in the net.
The biggest issue the Senators have right now is goaltending.
Injuries to top goalies Anton Forsberg, who tore both MCL’s Feb. 11, and Cam Talbot who has been sidelined since March 4th with an oblique injury, have sent this group into tailspin. Strong goaltending is paramount and hasn’t been steady since Talbot went down for the third time this season.
You can’t pin all the blame on 22-year-old Mads Sogaard and Mandolese because neither were supposed to be put in this position. But this is the cards they’ve been dealt and unless they can find a way to get consistency this situation won’t improve.
I am surprised to read this about Kevin Mandolese. I went to his first NHL game on Valentine's Day (I took my wife to lunch - as dinner in our town is too busy and crazy that night) and I went to the game at UBS. I remember reading on the train that we were playing a guy who was making his NHL debut in nets. I told my friend - "This is something NYI specializes in - giving up players first NHL goals and goaltenders first NHL victories - I swear - we must hold some record for this :)
So I was right - Mandolese faced about 50 shots and only gave up two goals in a 3-2 Ottawa win. He was pretty good that night! Organizational depth in goal is so important. I see the goalie Sogaard was a 2nd rounder while Mandolese was a 6th rounder. Surprised they didn't give Mandolese a longer look. That is the main reason for my comment - his stats are not that bad. He did not play today for Belleville. They have given up a lot of goals in recent games for sure. I was worried about them making a playoff run but they fizzled out. I watched much of the TOR-OTT game mostly the third till the end - and the problem is not just in net. But they have some really good talent and they will figure it out next year.
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