THIS TIME, TALBOT'S ON THE OTHER SIDE
Veteran Los Angeles goalie still carries fond memories from his years in Edmonton
Cam Talbot was once a hero here, but how soon they forget, eh?
The one-time Edmonton
Oilers goalie, who once played 196 regular season games over a three-year stretch, was traded to Philadelphia in 2019 after a game in Raleigh, N.C.
That started a chain reaction with other stops in Calgary, Minnesota, Ottawa and now Los Angeles, and he was serenaded with “TAL-BOT! TAL-BOT!” derisively Monday at Rogers Place.
He was pretty much on his own island as the Oilers teed up high-danger chances, and he gave up six before being pulled for an extra attacker late in the third period. It was such a tough ride, there was one shift where Brett Kulak's shot sailed high, hit the netting in the end and the puck pin-balled back and hit Talbot on his shoulder and before falling into the net.
Talbot certainly knew the crowd would be on him.
“I expected that coming in here. I've been on the other side in this building. All you can do is tune them out and go about your business. ... If you're wearing a different sweater, you're obviously the enemy. I'd expect nothing less, these are passionate fans here. That's why this building is so much fun in the playoffs,” said Talbot, who was once outfitted in the hated Calgary Flames jersey, too.
He even had a fight with Mike Smith at the Saddledome.
But again, this was home for Talbot for a long time (227 total games), and it's where he became an NHL starter. Edmonton is uppermost in the patchwork of his career for Talbot, now 36 years old.
“Edmonton will always have a special part in my heart. My kids were born here. We started our family here, I had the best years of my career here,” he said. “I always look back at my time here fondly. That being said, I'm in L.A. now and my job is to help this team win games, as much as I treasure my time in Edmonton.”
Giving up six goals in Game 1 is there on the stats sheet, but not in his mind.
“You have to stay even keel. ... It's easy after a game like that to get a little low. Have to let that one go pretty quickly or it can snowball,” said Talbot, who played 13 Oilers playoff games in 2017, including the infamous Anaheim rally in Game 5. The Ducks charged back from 3-0 down late, including the controversial goal when Ryan Kesler's skate wedged Talbot's pad aside in a scramble and he could not make a save. Current Oiler Corey
Perry won it in double overtime for the Ducks.
You remember that, he's asked. “Uh huh,” he said.
Why does it keep coming around like this (Perry now an Oiler, playing against Edmonton as a member of the Kings)?
“Hockey gods, I guess. My journey's taken me to a lot of places so far. Every single one has been new memories,” Talbot said.
NO HARM BUT A FOUL
Vinny Desharnais escaped a knee injury when Anaheim winger Trevor Moore low-bridged him late in the second period. Moore got a tripping penalty and after the player safety folks looked at the video, they decided there would be no fine or supplemental discipline.
“Obviously, it didn't feel good. I got lucky, could have been a lot worse, with damage. More scary than harmful,” said the Oilers defenceman, who lay on the ice for several seconds before getting to his feet and hobbling to the bench. He was back in the third, playing a regular shift.
FRIENDS AND FOES
While Connor McDavid will be seeing more of Drew Doughty in this series than Perry because of the first-line centre vs top defenceman matchup, Perry and Doughty have played a ton of games against each other (regular season and one playoff in 2014) during the Anaheim Ducks-Kings' rivalry. Perry has always gone where Doughty doesn't want him to, the blue paint, jamming away at pucks. In the Kings-Ducks days, he would often be leaning on and exasperating L.A .goalie Jonathan Quick.
Perry and Doughty are actual buddies from London, Ont., who've been at each other's Stanley Cup celebrations and have been on two Canadian Olympic teams together. But once the puck's dropped, polite conversation does, too.
No hugs. Maybe we'll see some wrestling and face-washes, though.
“I'd say we're friends,” said Perry, who dressed for his 197th career playoff game Monday night while Doughty was playing No. 91. “He's a heckuva competitor, a great player. He plays half the game, pretty much every night. He's a warrior. He won't give in. I don't think there's any secrets in how we each play. We've had our battles. That's the fun part of the game.”
McDavid, who was matched more often against Matt Roy and Vlad Gavrikov than Doughty and Mikey Anderson in Game
1 (a surprising switch), is a big Doughty fan.
“He's one of the best shutdown D men in the world and has been for a long time,” said McDavid. “He's hard on you every single night. It's a challenge. I love going against him. It's great to test yourselves against players like him.”
Doughty was booed constantly, a sign of respect by the fans here. He also hit incessantly. Again, respect from the Oilers players.
I'm in L.A. now and my job is to help this team win games, as much as I treasure my time in Edmonton.