Goaltender Cam Talbot is quickly winning over the Calgary Flames. His latest performance was his best one yet for them.
Cam Talbot‘s second regular-season start with the Calgary Flames was a big one. The Flames haven’t had the best luck at the Honda Center in Anaheim. In their last 29 games in Anaheim, the Flames have had an alarming one win in 29 appearances. Not a pretty stat, but nonetheless, the Flames had an opportunity to slightly adjust that haunting stat on Sunday.
Talbot stopped 29 of 30 shots, including a highlight-reel save off a rocket from Ducks winger Jakob Silfverberg in the second period. The Flames squeaked out a 2-1 victory, getting goals from both Michael Stone and Mikael Backlund.
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This win for the Flames was crucial, as the team now sits at 4th in the Pacific Division with 11 points overall and a record of 5-4-1. The team’s start can’t be the way they pictured it, as the expectations are high. But getting a win in such a difficult building, with a goalie who was heavily criticized last season and into the 2019 preseason is huge for the Flames.
It not only gives Flames fans a sigh of relief when it comes to playing the Ducks at the Honda Center, but it means that Rittich and the Flames can have confidence in Talbot when he is called to the crease. The win is a huge boost for the morale of Talbot.
Last season wasn’t pretty for him. Talbot split the 2018-19 season with the Oilers and Flyers, where he posted up 11 wins and 17 losses, and his save percentage hit a career-low, just .881%.
Talbot still has a long season ahead of him, but with two games under his belt, and a 1-1 record, the Flames have to be feeling pretty confident with their back up goalie. Talbot’s first game of the year was against the Sharks, a game that certainly wasn’t on him. The Flames fell 3-1 that night and ran into a lot of penalty trouble.
The Flames need to work on their discipline moving forward, as it has cost them several games early on. Getting consistent offense also appears to be a challenge. If they can stay out of penalty trouble and gain more secondary scoring, and with a goaltending tandem of Rittich and Talbot, the Flames will be in good hands this season.