So who is the “real” Cam Talbot?
The man himself has no doubt.
“I have a pretty good feeling,” Talbot said after Edmonton Oilers practice on Wednesday. “If you compare this to my first four years, this is the outlier. It wasn’t just last year. I had three good years before that.
“I don’t see myself as two different goaltenders. I see myself as one guy. I went through a couple of tough stretches this year that skewed my numbers a little bit, but I’m the same guy year-in and year-out.”
Talbot’s viability as a number one goalie has been debated as his save percentage for 2017/18 sits at just .907. He had one of his worst games as an Oiler on Feb. 12 in a 7-5 loss to Florida. His save percentage sat at just .900. Since then, he’s been much better, with a .918.
“I felt, in the second half of the season, he was better,” head coach Todd McLellan said. “He was tremendous last year. He was good this year. There’s a difference between being good and tremendous. We have to get him back to being tremendous.”
Talbot believes his improved play starts between the ears.
“Confidence. You go through some of those stretches, sometimes it starts to wear on you mentally,” he said. “Once you start rolling and making big saves in big moments, it just continues to snowball.
“Throughout the last couple of months, I’ve felt more like myself again.”
Talbot said he has been approached to play for Canada at the World Hockey Championship in Denmark in May, but he’s yet to make a decision.
The Oilers will host the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday. Defenceman Keegan Lowe will make his Oilers debut. He’s been called up from Bakersfield on an emergency basis.
Defenceman Andrej Sekera will miss the remaining two games of the season. He has a minor knee injury. Fellow blueliner Yohann Auvitu is doubtful to return this season. He blocked a shot Monday against Minnesota.
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