As Brossoit improves, Talbot close to returning
But with Brossoit holding down the fort, Oilers won’t rush workhorse goaltender
COLUMBUS It won’t be long now.
Oilers goalie Cam Talbot hopes to be back in the Oilers goal within days.
“I’m aiming for less than a week,” said Talbot, who took the morning skate Tuesday in Columbus and said his undisclosed soft-tissue injury isn’t giving him any problems whatsoever.
This is a delicate situation, obviously. The Oilers want their starting goalie back as quickly as possible, but rushing things, even by a couple of days, could have disastrous results.
“I want to be back, and they want me to be back and play, but at the same time, if I aggravate it or something like that, then I’m out for an extended period again,” he said.
“We’re just trying to find that fine line. Maybe I’m not 100 per cent when I come back, maybe it’s 95, but as long as there’s no risk of aggravating it, I’ll be ready to go.”
While the Oilers are eager to get Talbot back, it should be noted that Laurent Brossoit has been getting the job done is his absence.
He allowed just five goals against during their three-game road trip, and while he lets in the occasional soft one, his overall body of work lately has been very good.
Nevertheless, Talbot is their guy and he’s close.
“They (the training staff ) have a timeline, but it goes off of how I feel,” said Talbot.
“If I feel better sooner, great. Right now I think I’m on track to be back sooner than the original timeline. I feel good right now. If I don’t have any setbacks, I should be back pretty soon.”
He says it felt good to be back on the ice facing some rubber again.
“I just wanted to get out and take some shots from the guys, get some structure back. It’s nice to be back in the room with the team, instead of coming to the rink when they’re already gone, or it’s just me coming in on off days. It’s nice to be around the boys again.”
Turns out he was missing the Oilers as much as they were missing him.
“You’re segregated a little bit. It kind of sucks. You don’t feel like you’re part of the team. If you go a full week without skating with them or hanging around with them, it starts to wear on you a bit, so when you get back to practice, it feels good.”
After starting all but nine games last season, Talbot has already missed nine of the first 31 this season (six to the injury and three to scheduled rest).
Being a spectator this often is a bit of an adjustment for him.
“I might have to come back and play all the rest of them,” he said with a laugh.
“A couple of weeks isn’t a huge deal in the big scheme of things. I just have to make sure I’m ready to go when I do come back.”