EDMONTON — Cam Talbot was destined to tend goal in this Round 1 series. Yet, fate has him at the wrong end of the rink, the third Los Angeles Kings goalie in as many springs with a mandate to shut down Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the Edmonton Oilers.
Since the day he left Henrik Lundqvist’s Hall of Fame shadow in New York and flew out to join Todd McLellan’s upstart 2015 Oilers, Talbot arrived as the answer to a crease full of questions marks, with names like Ben Scrivens, Viktor Fasth, Devan Dubnyk and Mr. Universe himself, Ilya Bryzgalov.
“I came in when (Connor McDavid) was an 18-year-old, and you could just see him grow, year after year,” said Talbot, the proud papa behind whom six pucks were deposited in Game 1 Monday, five of them earning an assist for McDavid.
He’s minded the twine in a bunch of towns since — “To say the least,” Talbot admits — yet somehow, the path keeps leading Talbot right back here to a Northern Alberta city that, for some reason, has a magnet on his career.
How come?
“No idea. Hockey Gods, I guess,” said Talbot, suddenly 36 years old with grey flecks appearing here and there. “Edmonton will always have a special place in my heart. My kids were born here. We started our family here. I had one of the best years of my career here.
“But I’m in L.A. now and my job is to help this team win hockey games. So as much as I treasure my time being in Edmonton, that’s in the past for this series.”
Entering these playoffs as the Kings’ undisputed No. 1, we are one game deep and already head coach Jim Hiller is unwilling to confirm Talbot as his Game 2 starter, keeping “Big Save” Dave Rittich’s name in the mix, for some reason.
We’ve little doubt Talbot will get the assignment — you can’t sit a goalie whose team played as poorly in front of him as L.A. did in a 7-4 Game 1 loss — but the mere fact that Hiller is playing the doubt card is testimony to Talbot not having solidified his standing in an average, if mostly chanceless, Game 1 performance.
But if Hiller turns on Talbot — and again, we’d bet the farm he starts in Game 2 — it won’t be the first time an old friend left ol’ Talbs by the road side this week.
On Monday night Talbot was taunted mercilessly by those same blue-and-orange clad folks at Rogers Place who had his back for two-and-half seasons, before it all went sour and he was dealt to Philly.
“I expected that coming in here,” Talbot said. “I’ve been on the other side, in this building when the fans are all over the opposite goalie. So I knew it was coming.
“I expect nothing less than passionate fans (here). Do my best to tone them out and go about my business.”
Down the hall sits new-ish Oiler Corey Perry, who scored a massive, double-OT goal on Talbot back in the spring of ’17, in Game 5 of a second-round series the Anaheim Ducks would win in seven games.
A few years later that Ducks crowd afforded Perry one nice homecoming after 988 games and a Stanley Cup victory in Anaheim. But only one.
Earlier this season, when Perry slashed the stick of out Ducks goalie John Gibson’s hands then tripped an Anaheim defenceman before setting up an Oilers goal, the Anaheim faithful were full-throated in their disapproval of his craft.
It was a bit hilarious, actually.
“I guess they’ve seen that a few times over the 14 years I was there,” Perry said with a smile.
He is laughing now. Even he can see the irony.
But he also knows they’ll never cheer another Corey Perry goal in Anaheim, just as Talbot’s days of feeling any love in this barn in Edmonton are long gone. He’s Jonathan Quick, Joonas Korpisalo, Kelly Hrudey — whoever.
Just another Kings goalie trying to take something that Edmonton and its fans want.
“When you’re on the opposite side, it doesn’t matter who you are,” Perry said. “You’re still in the line of fire.”
It can’t hurt your feelings.
“No, it doesn’t. I won’t change my game. I can’t.”
Talbot, however, wouldn’t mind changing the part of his game that had him fishing six pucks out of his goal in Game 1. His team will have to support him far better in Game 2, which means showing up at the rink on Wednesday with a blank slate and a fresh mind.
“That’s the biggest thing: keep your mind square and stay even keel,” he said. “After games like that it’s easy to get a little too low. But in the playoffs, you have to let that one go or else they can snowball pretty quickly. So … I’m trying to settle this down whenever I get the opportunity.”
He’s been (nearly) every-where, man.
On Thursday, the town is Edmonton, and the office is a crease that simply can not get excoriated the way it did in Game 1.
“My journeys take me a lot of places so far. Every single one of them brings new memories and new opportunities,” he said. “I’m just trying to take advantage of this one here.”
