The Ottawa Senators announced Tuesday that Dylan Ferguson, who backstopped the Senators to a win in his first NHL start Monday, is out with a minor, non-COVID ailment.
In a corresponding move, the Senators have recalled rookie goalie Kevin Mandolese from AHL Belleville.
For Tuesday night’s game against the Boston Bruins, the Senators will likely turn to fellow rookie netminder Mads Sogaard.
Ferguson, 24, made 48 saves in Ottawa’s 2-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday, one save shy of the NHL-record 49 in a first-career start set by Laurent Brossoit as a member of the Edmonton Oilers in 2015.
“I wanted to stay in the moment,” Ferguson told Sportnset’s Kyle Bukauskas after the game. “I knew the guys were going to go to war for me tonight, and I planned to do the same.”
It was Ferguson’s first NHL action since a brief nine-minute appearance for the Vegas Golden Knights back in November of 2017. At that time, Ferguson was only 19 and playing for the WHL’s Kamloops Blazers when the Golden Knights — in their first season in the league — called him up after three goaltenders went down with injury and their depth was put to the test. Ferguson backed up Max Lagace for just over two weeks and came in relief for the end of a 7-2 drubbing at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers, allowing one goal on two shots.
Since his brief taste of NHL action Ferguson has bounced around the minors, with the ECHL’s Fort Wayne Komets and the AHL’s Chicago Wolves, Henderson Silver Knights, Toronto Marlies and most recently, the Belleville Senators.