Coach rewards veteran Talbot with encore start against Wild
Edmonton Oilers goaltender Cam Talbot was between the pipes against the Minnesota Wild on Friday night, the first time he’s started consecutive games since the end of October.
Talbot had taken a back seat to Mikko Koskinen over the past six weeks, but enjoyed an excellent outing in a 3-2 shootout win over the St. Louis Blues on the road on Wednesday. That earned him the start against the Wild.
“I think, if we’re going to grow as a team, you have to reward performances,” said Oilers head coach Ken Hitchcock prior to the contest. “Talbot was excellent in St. Louis and we knew we had two important games against two really good teams, Minnesota and Calgary (Sunday), so we opted to reward Talbot and Mikko will play against Calgary.
“I’ve said this to people before — rhythm is important. We have to get our goalies in a little better rhythm than what we were doing, and this allows us to do that. But it’s also based on reward. When a guy plays that well, you want to give him a second opportunity.”
Talbot made 28 saves in the victory over the Blues and was outstanding in the second and third periods, keeping the Oilers in the game after they fell behind 2-0 in the first frame.
Talbot went on to make two saves in the shootout to earn the 100th victory of his NHL career. It was his first win since a 2-1 overtime victory against the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 28. Talbot then went on to lose six straight.
“Whenever you go through a stretch like that, the next win is obviously a big one,” Talbot said. “But it being the 100th in my NHL career, and having my dad in the crowd, made it a little extra special.”
Heading into the game against the Wild, Talbot sported a 6-9-1 record with a 3.19 goals-against average and .892 save percentage. He had lost his starting job to Koskinen, who owns an 8-3-1 record with a 2.23 goals-against average and .925 save percentage.
“Everyone goes through these kinds of stretches,” Talbot said. “You don’t lose your ability to play hockey in a month, so it’s just gaining that confidence back as a goaltender, going out there, staying focused on your game and trying to build off of every save. I thought I did a pretty good job of that (Wednesday).”
ZYKOV MAKES DEBUT
Valentin Zykov didn’t seem overly concerned with how local broadcasters pronounced his name.
The newest member of the Oilers told both radio and television broadcasters they could pronounce it however they wished, it really didn’t matter to him.
What does matter to Zykov was making a good impression with the Oilers after failing to do so with the Carolina Hurricanes, who waved the Russian winger at the end of November.
The Oilers claimed Zykov, but he had to stay home with visa issues during their recent twogame road trip to face the Dallas Stars and the Blues.
“I had to get a new visa,” Zykov said. “As I figured out a few days ago, my previous one is only useful for U.S. teams, and since I changed to a team that is now located in Canada, I had to get a new visa to travel.”
Selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the second round (37 overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, Zykov, 23, has yet to gain a solid foothold in the NHL.
This season, the 6-foot-1, 225-pound winger had three assists in 13 games with Carolina. He scored three goals and seven points in 10 games last year after spending the majority of the season with the Charlotte Checkers of the American Hockey League.
“I’m excited to be in the lineup and I just want to play and do my best out there,” Zykov said. “For now, I just want to go out there and just play hard.”
JUST WIN BABY
Going in against Minnesota, the Oilers’ five previous wins were all by a one-goal margin.
They’re finding ways to grind out victories under Hitchcock, something they struggled to do with Todd McLellan at the helm.
“We’re playing as a team, we’re playing together. Obviously, we’d like a little more puck luck to go our way and create a little more offence,” said Oilers forward Zack Kassian.
“We’re confident that, if we keep playing the right way, good things will happen.”
The Oilers are winning close games more often than not under Hitchcock, who boasts a 5-2-1 record with Edmonton heading into the contest against the Wild.
“We’ve always had the belief we can win those games, but it’s maybe a wake-up call when your coach gets fired,” Kassian said.
“It’s not all on him, it’s on everyone. Everybody has to look in the mirror. Obviously, Hitch has brought in a new set of eyes. The system hasn’t changed a whole lot, but he’s really gotten through to all of us and how to play the right way, and he talks about how to play for us, not for you (media).”