The Detroit Red Wings pulled out a gutsy win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday afternoon at Scotiabank Arena.
The 3-2 win may not look overly impressive on paper. But digging under the hood, the Red Wings owe the two points to Cam Talbot.
After John Gibson’s disastrous Opening Night performance, Talbot has stepped in and delivered back-to-back solid outings against the Leafs.
On Saturday night, Talbot made 20 saves to preserve a 6-3 win. The game was much closer than the final score indicated. But Talbot held the fort and earned himself another start.
On Monday afternoon, Talbot stole the show. He made 38 saves as the Red Wings were badly outshot 40 to 15. It was arguably a bad performance for Detroit. But the Wings capitalized on their scoring chances and Talbot took care of the rest.
Various moments in the game stand out. But one, in particular, was a breakaway save on Auston Matthews. Matthews got a shot away, with the rebound sitting on the doorstep for a second chance. Talbot closed the door on both and preserved the victory.
Talbot could have unleashed goalie controversy for Red Wings
After Gibson’s atrocious opening and Talbot’s brilliant performance on Monday, could there be a goalie controversy brewing in Detroit?
The answer could be much more complex than yes or no. The Red Wings brought Gibson in as they didn’t feel confident in Talbot carrying the load on his own. In the best of cases, Gibson and Talbot would share the load as tandem goalies.
In the most amazing scenario, Gibson would run away with the starting job, leaving Talbot as a glorified backup.
But now, it seems that Gibson could be on the ropes as Talbot takes over the reins yet again. While Gibson is hardly done in Detroit, one has to think that the Red Wings must be pondering when Gibson will see the crease again.
Unless Talbot has an awful showing in the next three games, the likeliest route is for Todd McLellan to roll with Talbot until the Red Wings play back-to-back sets on October 22-23 against the Buffalo Sabres and New York Islanders.
While Gibson could get a start before then, the Red Wings will face the Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Edmonton Oilers. Perhaps McLellan may be a little antsy about bringing Gibson in against one of those teams.
But McLellan may have no other choice. There’s no telling if Talbot can play upwards of 40 to 50 games this season. So, Gibson will have to come in at some point. Until then, Red Wings fans will most definitely see Talbot face the Panthers next Wednesday at home.