Cam Talbot made 39 saves for his first shutout of the season as the Edmonton Oilers beat the Anaheim Ducks 4-0, Sunday night.
“I had to come up with a few big saves early, and that obviously gets the confidence going,” Talbot said after the game. “So I was just trying to build off of that.”
LISTEN BELOW: Cam Talbot
Connor McDavid opened the scoring 7:37 into the game. He whacked a loose puck in off Ducks goalie John Gibson for his 24th of the season.
Jesse Puljujarvi swiped a backhand under Gibson to make it 2-0.
Anaheim went on the power play in the final minute of the first, but Kyle Brodziak extended the Oilers lead with a shorthanded goal with 10.8 seconds left in the period. It was the Oilers fourth shorthanded goal of the season.
Leon Draisaitl fired a loose puck in the slot past Gibson for his 23rd to make it 4-0 7:25 into the second.
With three minutes left in the game, Ryan Kesler hit the post. Brian Gibbons was on the doorstep for the rebound, but Talbot came up with a great glove save.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Caleb Jones both had two assists. Defenceman Kris Russell returned to the Oilers lineup after missing ten games with an injury.
“I thought two things: the play of Cam Talbot was outstanding, and then we just saw the impact of Kris Russell,” head coach Ken Hitchcock said. “It makes you really want to get (Oscar) Klefbom in too.”
LISTEN BELOW: Ken Hitchcock
The Oilers, 20-19-3, will wrap up their four-game road trip Tuesday in San Jose.