If Cam Talbot didn't catch your eye in the regular season, he's about to.
Aside from that Connor McDavid fellow, Talbot is the main reason the Edmonton Oilers have found success in 2016-17, and his strong regular season performance has transferred into a terrific start in the early stages of the playoffs.
Talbot tied for the NHL lead in wins (42) and ranked top-10 among goalies with 50-plus starts in goals against average (2.39) and save percentage (.919).
Three games into the postseason - his first as a starter - Talbot has stymied the Sharks to the tune of back-to-back shutouts as the Oilers own a 2-1 series lead.
In Game 1, a contest Talbot single-handedly carried to overtime, San Jose fired 87 shot attempts in Talbot's direction in all situations, 61 of which were from a scoring chance location. In Game 2, the Oilers were out-chanced again, with the Sharks mustering 35 attempts at scoring opportunities. (Hockeystats.ca)
In Game 3, the Oilers gave him a bit of a break, controlling play through 60 minutes. Still, the 29-year-old netminder has been busy.
However, that doesn't seem to be a problem for Talbot, who started more games than any other goalie (73), and as a result faced more shots than anyone else (2,117).
Through 82 games, San Jose ranked fifth in the NHL in shot attempts for, so it's easy to assume Talbot's workload isn't about to ease up. Based on how he's handled himself this season, though, that might not be a problem.
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