Why Cam Talbot is better prepared for Edmonton than you think

[JR Ewing]

Talbot was nothing but excellent as a New York Ranger, so he should fit nicely into the Oilers’ plans indeed, instantly supplanting Ben Scrivens as the starter. But how different will the game flow in front of Talbot be? His Broadway Blueshirts iced Ryan McDonagh, Dan Girardi, Marc Staal, Dan Boyle, Keith Yandle and Kevin Klein on defense. The Rangers allowed the third-fewest goals in the NHL. The Oilers allowed the most.

 

Some of the numbers, though, suggest the Rangers relied on Lundqvist and Talbot more than vice versa. New York finished a pedestrian 14th in shots allowed per game and 19th in Corsi Close, not much better than the Oilers in either category, yet New York’s .923 team SP was third-best in the NHL, while Edmonton ranked dead last at .888. Maybe, then, Talbot is better set up for success than it seems, especially when the Oilers have made multiple additions designed to augment defensive acumen and added a new coach in Todd McLellan, whose Sharks teams usually limited opposing offense well.

 

http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/why-cam-talbot-is-better-prepared-for-edmonton-than-you-think/

 

 

[Mossin]

I have nothing but faith in Talbot! Looking forward to see if he can still hold that .926 save percentage,without the all the defense power the rangers had. Like he wrote in the article, NYR let in the third fewest goals in the NHL last season and Oilers the most. Really looking forward to see Talbot keeping our net clean.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

@Mossin

 

Not saying Cam Tabot WON'T be good for Edmonton (hell, he may be the best shot the Oil have had at a legit starter in a long time), but to expect him to "hold that .926 save pct" on ANY team (including NY) is a tall order, much less on a team like the Oilers who, despite the on-paper defensive improvements, likely are still not up to par to what the Rangers put in front of their goalies.

 

Also, take into account, that in the Pacific Division, Cam Talbot will consistently see overall better offenses as everyone with the possible exception of the Coyotes, is capable of putting up some offense. Throw in the Central Division and good offenses like the Blackhawks and Stars for instance, and there aren't too many "relaxed" days as far as offense generated.

 

Look over at the Metro division, and you have slug offenses like the Hurricanes, Devils, Blue Jackets (removing that monster surge they had towards season's end), and even the Flyers were a bit anemic offensively. And these were teams the Rangers faced regularly.

Throw in from the other Eastern division the woeful Sabres and offensively challenged Panthers, and one can see how Talbot may have gotten some benefits playing with a superior defense in front of him, while dealing with a bit lesser offense regularly.

 

In Edmonton, he likely will have a "lesser" defense (at least compared to NY's) and THEN deal with stronger offenses regularly.

 

I sincerely hope Talbot works out for you guys.

Everyone on here knows I picked Edmonton to be the next Canadian based franchise to win the Stanley Cup.....plus a good Oilers team and a good Flames team bring back relevance to the Battle of Alberta.

And those two young teams should make for many exciting games.

 

But as far as I am concerned, Talbot is in a "show me" role.

As in "Show me YOU made the Ranger defense and not the other way around" as the article suggests.

 

Oh, and welcome to our forums!

[Mossin]

@TropicalFruitGirl26

 

I understand what your saying, and it's not like I believe hes gonna hold on to that save pct. More like dream thinking if you get were I'm going? 

 

Thanks for the welcome, found this forum to learn even more about hockey and of course discuss with everyone

[jammer2]

@Mossin  Welcome to the forum. I expect Talbot's save % to come down, but it should still be respectable. I'm thinking somwhere around .917 to .921ish is a reasonable expectaton. Gotta figure, even though McBest is a rookie, he will dramitally alter the puck possession time for the Oilers..and as we all know, you can't get scored against when the puck is in the offensive zone.