LAS VEGAS -- He was airtight in the shootout, a brick wall in overtime when the Wild was on the penalty kill and made one – maybe two – save of the year submissions.
But what goaltender Cam Talbot was most proud of was the result of his highlight-reel performance, and that was a 3-2 shootout win over the Golden Knights on Thursday in front of 3,950 at T-Mobile Arena that snapped the Wild's two-game slide.
"I'm just happy with the two points," Talbot said.
With 35 saves through regulation and overtime, and after sealing off the net in the shootout against all three Vegas attempts, Talbot was the backbone of this victory – even holding onto the player of the game bucket helmet despite trying to hand it off to Joel Eriksson Ek since Talbot had it from his 37-save shutout last Thursday vs. St. Louis.
"I thought he should keep it," Eriksson Ek said.
Fittingly, the win was clinched in front of Talbot after Alex Tuch's shootout try sailed wide – this after Kevin Fiala scored the decisive goal on a shot that caromed off the post and goalie Robin Lehner before rolling into the net. Lehner, like Talbot, had 35 saves.
"That was not planned," Fiala said of his second career game-deciding goal in a shootout. "He's a big goalie, so I didn't know what to do to be honest. So, I just decided to go low [blocker].
"It was lucky, but I'll take it."