Talbot terrific in bouncing the Blues

On Thursday morning, goalie Cam Talbot was talking about the Edmonton Oilers getting the win in their previous two games as part of their mad scramble to get to an even .500 mark before Christmas.

“Not having a three-game winning streak this deep into the season is kind of shocking,” said Talbot.

True enough, but we can start talking about it now after Drake Caggiula knuckled one past Jake Allen with 49 seconds left Thursday night, three minutes after Connor McDavid had finished off a 2-on-1 with Leon Draisaitl to tie it as the Oilers rallied to beat the St. Louis Blues 3-2.

There were no goals in the first 49 minutes, but five came after that.

Patrik Berglund, robbed on a short-handed breakaway in the first period, had blown a 30-footer from the high slot past Talbot three minutes before McDavid’s goal to give the Blues a 2-1 lead.

Blues rookie winger Tage Thompson, whose defenceman dad Brent played 121 NHL games, got his first career goal with a 45-footer through traffic midway through the third, ending the scoreless game. But the Oilers tied it 38 seconds later on Mike Cammalleri’s screened shot off a Scottie Upshall giveaway.

While there were no goals heading to the third, the Oilers hit two posts in the second to give them four in the first 40 minutes, the loudest by Darnell Nurse midway through the second when he lifted a backhand rebound off a bad-angled Mark Letestu shot as Allen scrambled.

Allen later made two excellent saves on Jesse Puljujarvi off a McDavid feed and one off Caggiula on a nifty backhand relay from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

At the other end, Talbot, showing some of last year’s wonderful form, stuffed ex-Oilers forward Magnus Paajarvi in the blue paint and got a stick on a hard shot from Thompson.

Talbot, who got the hook last month in St. Louis after giving up two goals in the first three Blues shots, was outstanding in the opening period. He made a big stop on Brayden Schenn 17 seconds in, flashing his catching mitt. Then robbed Berglund on his breakaway and Paul Stastny outside the crease in the last three minutes.