ANAHEIM, California (AP) While the Anaheim Ducks dominated the puck and peppered the Edmonton net with shots over the final 2 1/2 periods, Cam Talbot stood tall – when he wasn’t sprawling, diving or gloving everything in sight.
While Connor McDavid is getting most of the attention during the Oilers’ impressive Stanley Cup playoff run this spring, their hardworking goalie is doing much of the hard work to keep them sailing forward.
Talbot made 39 saves, Patrick Maroon scored a power-play goal and Edmonton moved halfway to the NHL’s Western Conference finals with a 2-1 victory over Anaheim in Game 2 of their second-round series Friday night.
Andrej Sekera scored an early goal for the Oilers, who took the first two games on Pacific Division champion Anaheim’s home ice. Talbot got credit from both teams for the result in Game 2, making all manner of impressive saves while Anaheim dominated the last 30 minutes.
”I felt good off the start,” Talbot said. ”I made some big saves early. It kind of gets you in the game. We get a big goal early, which really helped, too. We started the game the way we wanted to start it. Down the stretch, we bent but we didn’t break, and that’s the sign of a good team.”
Game 3 is Sunday in Edmonton.
Edmonton’s first playoff appearance in 11 years is off to a rollicking start, with the Oilers following up their six-game defeat of defending Western Conference champion San Jose by taking two games from the five-time champions of their division.
Everybody in hockey knows McDavid is in his first postseason run after winning the NHL scoring title, but Talbot had just two games of backup playoff experience in his entire career before this spring. He followed up a two-shutout first round against San Jose and a wild Game 1 victory in Anaheim by protecting a lead for nearly 59 full minutes in Game 2.
Although the Ducks dominated long stretches of play in both contests, Talbot stopped 72 of 76 shots in the first two games in Anaheim. The Ducks also hit multiple posts in Game 2, but nothing could get by Talbot, who made most of his tough saves well before the final eight minutes.
”He has had some really good games,” Maroon said. ”Two shutouts the last series against San Jose? I mean, he’s been excellent for us. And like I tell him all the time, goalies are supposed to stop the puck.”
Jakob Silfverberg scored and John Gibson stopped 21 shots for the Ducks, who had gone 18 games without a regulation defeat before this series. Anaheim has never recovered from an 0-2 series deficit, losing all seven series after digging that early hole.
But the Ducks’ second straight loss at home barely caused a flicker of apparent concern in their calm dressing room.
”We’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing,” said Silfverberg, who scored Anaheim’s only goal through a screen. ”We’re doing a lot of good stuff out there, and it’s the last piece that’s missing, and it’s correctable.”
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