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G33 Oilers vs Wild: Talbot Activated

December 16, 2017, 11:09 AM ET [201 Comments]
Matt Henderson
Edmonton Oilers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The Oilers couldn’t wait any longer, they’ve activated Cam Talbot from the Injured Reserve.

Talbot was last year’s non-McDavid MVP. He played 70+ games of solid goaltending. He was a rock for the Oil and his .919 save percentage gave the team a chance to win in almost every game. He hasn’t been nearly as consistent this season and that shows in hi .903 save percentage.

However, the Oilers have no choice but to bank on Cam Talbot returning to form over the next 50 games. This is because Laurent Brossoit could not rise to the occasion and solidify himself as an NHL player. You cannot trust .886 goaltending at all and yet the coach didn’t even have the confidence to go to his AHL starter (Ellis) once during this period where Brossoit struggled.

I’ve seen some commenters split on whether you could blame Brossoit for allowing 4 goals on 23 shots. Each of the goals were Grade A chances against and would have been difficult saves to make. So one expects that the average person would not have been able to make the saves. That’s the problem with being an NHL goalie.

It’s not a position where only making routine saves is lauded. There are 62 NHL jobs for goaltenders. You have to make saves other people cannot if you want to stick around. Of the 50 goaltenders to play at least 10 games this season, Laurent Brossoit is 48th in save percentage and the median is a .911 so far. He’s so far off the standard thus far that it’s almost inconceivable that a trade hasn’t been made.

We can’t know for certain if Talbot is 100% or merely good enough to play and the team simply couldn’t wait any longer. Only the extremely mum medical staff and equally tight-lipped coaching staff could tell you. What we can say for certain is that the Oilers are falling back from that last Wild Card spot.

Today, they are 9 points back. Edmonton needs to put its best foot forward from here on out and I struggle to see how they could ever feel sure with Brossoit between the pipes. I hope Talbot feels rested, because barring another injury he is likely to play 45 of the next 50 games.

LINES

Talbot has been activated from the IR. We assume he’s playing.

Lucic McDavid Puljujarvi
Maroon RNH Cammalleri
Khaira Draisaitl Strome
Slepyshev Letestu Kassian

Klefbom Benning
Nurse Russell
Auvitu Davidson

Talbot

OILERS KEYS TO THE GAME


1) Good Afternoon. I wish I could tell you why the Oilers never seem to come out strong on Afternoon games. Maybe it’s the youth of the club showing. Maybe it’s a lack of preparation by the coaching staff. Maybe it’s just that for the last decade this team has been rotten and if we objectively looked at every start time we would see a losing record but these ones stand out because they happen the least frequently. I wish nothing more than the Oilers keep their foot on the gas. They’ve played 4 solid games (with regards to offensive pressure) and yet they’ve been shut out 2 times.

2)
A Shot In The Dark (Blue). If there is one interesting (weird) complaint with the Oilers it’s that the team might be getting TOO MANY shots from one section of the team. Edmonton’s blueline has contributed to a large number of the overall shots and attempts. The Oil are leading the NHL in overall shot attempts with 1671 this year during 5v5 play. 686 attempts (41.1%) have come from the blueline. The Nashville Predators have a high scoring defense and are one of the highest scoring teams in the West. Their blueline makes up for just 33.7% of their total 5v5 attempts. That’s a lot of shots from areas that typically don’t convert well.

3) Keep It Even. The Minnesota Wild are 22nd in the NHL in 5v5 goals for percentage with 47.7%. They are 30th in the league 5v5 shot attempt percentage with 46.2% as well. Given the way the Oilers have been playing, they should be able to control the play at even strength and give themselves the best chance at winning. Edmonton’s special teams are a trainwreck overall this year, but the Wild are top 10 on both the PP and PK. The only good news is that Dubnyk is out so the club is facing another backup. Wait…

Puck drops today at 12PM Mountain Time on Sportsnet West. Game On!

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