The Edmonton Oilers have placed starting goaltender Cam Talbot on the injured reserve list. He likely won’t be able to play until at least mid-December.
The news comes one day after Talbot missed practice due to an upper-body injury.
Head coach Todd McLellan said Talbot originally tweaked something in his upper body last Wednesday in Detroit. He missed the game in Buffalo on Friday with an illness, and the upper body issue felt better. However, the problem resurfaced after Tuesday’s win over Arizona.
“The other night after the game, he didn’t feel good. We had it looked at,” McLellan said. “We don’t think he’ll be available for at least two weeks, and it could be longer.”
READ MORE: Cam Talbot misses practice as Edmonton Oilers prepare for Leafs
Laurent Brossoit will start Thursday night at Rogers Place against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“It’s the NHL. It’s always going to be intimidating. I don’t think there are many guys here who don’t get nervous before games,” said Brossoit, who is 0-3-1 on the season.
“It’s dealing with the nerves and learning how to do that, is the big thing that I think I’ve been able to manage now.”
The Oilers recalled goalie Nick Ellis from the American Hockey League’s Bakersfield Condors.
Ellis, 23, has appeared in 11 games with Bakersfield this season, posting a 5-5-1 record, 2.82 goals against average, a .914 save percentage and one shutout.
READ MORE: Peter Chiarelli sees Edmonton Oilers early season struggles as ‘death by a thousand cuts’
The Oilers are expected to make changes to the forward lines with Jesse Puljujarvi and Jujhar Khaira replacing Mike Cammalleri and Iiro Pakarinen. Puljujarvi has been a healthy scratch the last two games.
“With Jesse, he’s had a couple of games now to catch his breath,” McLellan said. “He’s been able to check. He’s been more responsible away from the puck. He’s created turnovers from himself and for his teammates.”
The Oilers expected lineup is:
Lucic – McDavid – Puljujarvi
Maroon – Nugent-Hopkins – Slepyshev
Caggiula – Draisaitl – Strome
Khaira – Letestu – Kassian
Nurse – Larsson
Klefbom – Benning
Russell – Auvitu/Gryba
Brossoit
Catch the Oilers and Leafs on 630 CHED with the Face-off Show at 5:30 p.m. The game starts at 7 p.m.
Watch below: Earlier this week, Edmonton Oilers GM Peter Chiarelli weighed in on the start to the season, comparing it to “death by a thousand cuts.”
With files from Caley Ramsay, Global News.