INCONSISTENT TALBOT TYPIFIES OILERS’ ROLLER-COASTER SEASON
Beleaguered goaltender’s troubles reflect host of problems up and down the lineup
There are a lot of damning statistics that go with this manic depressive, up-and-down-like-a-toilet-seat season for the Edmonton Oilers.
But somewhere amid the home penalty-killing numbers and the overall power play statistics, two other numbers rank up there.
Just 92 seconds had elapsed
■ on Thursday against the Calgary Flames when the Oilers allowed a league-leading eighth first-shot-of-the-game goal this year.
In the previous game, goaltender
■ Cam Talbot was pulled by coach Todd McLellan for a league-leading sixth time.
At the NHL All-Star Break, nhl.com produced a list of the league’s biggest disappointments this season. They were:
1. Carey Price
2. Brent Burns
3. Jack Eichel
4. Leon Draisaitl
5. Erik Karlsson
6. Matt Murray
7. Cam Talbot
8. Max Pacioretty
9. Mitchell Marner
10. Jake Allen.
The question concerning Talbot, however, is if he’s there on his own merit or because of everything going on around him.
Game 49 on Thursday at Rogers Place illustrated that point.
Milan Lucic and Andrej Sekera could be blamed more on that first goal than Talbot. But there was a big save to be made there and he didn’t make it.
Talbot was terrific the rest of the way and the Oilers were inspired to a whale of a comeback 4-3 win in a shootout over Calgary that made up for the 5-0 loss to Buffalo two nights earlier.
While there were other heroes, such as defenceman Brandon Davidson with his two goals, Connor McDavid, Ryan Strome, Draisaitl, Oscar Klefbom, and to some extent Jesse Puljujarvi, you could make a case that Talbot was the first star. Again and again he made five-bell saves and carried that excellence over into overtime and the shootout.
Throw a dart at the lineup sheet and you can’t miss hitting the name of an underachieving Oiler this year.
Did they all have career years last year? Will they get back on the up escalator again? Or is this what we can expect them to be going forward?
Likely the answers are yes and no. Deciding which is which will decide the future.
Klefbom? Adam Larsson? Matt Benning? Kris Russell? Lucic? Pat Maroon? Zack Kassian? Mark Letestu? Drake Caggiula?
Where do you start? How about Talbot in goal?
The six times he’s been given the hook in 39 starts this year is the same number as the entire season last year when he led the league in starts with 73.
“I don’t think I’ve ever been pulled this much in my career,” said Talbot.
“It’s frustrating. You want to stay out there. At the same time, you have to respect the coach’s decision. Maybe he sees something I’m not seeing, or maybe he’s trying to spark the team. I respect Todd’s decision every time he does it, but at the same time, I want to be out there with my teammates and finish my game off.”
Our players believe in Cam. When Cam comes out, that stings everybody.
Goalie pulls, of course, are not a defining statistic.
“There are times we’ve pulled him this year because of his performance. And there have been times we’ve pulled him because the group is sleeping and you’re trying to wake them up some way,” said McLellan. “Our players believe in Cam. When Cam comes out, that stings everybody. Sometimes when teams pull a goaltender, it doesn’t really sting. Pulling Cam stings this group. So we try to wake guys up.”
Talbot goes into the break on a high after playing well in the last half of what turned out to be a fantastic hockey game. But like the others, he has to look into the mirror and think about a season that could have been.
“I think some of it is a byproduct of what’s going on in front. I haven’t been beaten on a lot of bad goals this year. I’m pretty good at self-analyzing. I’m pretty honest with myself about it.
“Obviously I could have come up with a few more big saves like I came up with last year, and I’m not doing that this year. Sometimes you evaluate and ask yourself what you could have done different, and the answer is not a whole lot.
“I tell myself it starts with me. I have to come up with one or two more big saves and give us a chance.”
From his position, Talbot has a unique position to analyze the bigger picture.
“There have just been so many questions. I don’t think there is any one big answer saying ‘Hey, this is what we need to do.’ There are just a lot of things we have to fix, one at a time, and pull this thing together.”
The numbers say Talbot is one of those things. He’s started 39 games, has an 18-17-2 record with a 3.14 goals against average and a .901 save percentage.
Last year he started 73 times, went 42-22-8, and sported a 2.39 goals against average and .919 save percentage.
But you don’t watch a performance like he produced in that inspired comeback win over Calgary and leave the rink wondering whether or not they have a top goaltender in Edmonton.
“I don’t think the answer is getting rid of the coaching staff or a key piece,” said Talbot.
“That happened before I got here and it didn’t seem to help. I think we have the right staff in place. I believe in Todd McLellan and what he preaches. And I believe in the guys in this room.”