Talbot reflects on the journey after picking up 200th NHL win

Cam Talbot was a little surprised he was in net facing Vancouver.

Ever since Marc-Andre Fleury debuted with the Wild, the team had been switching its goaltenders every game. This pattern suggested Fleury would be between the pipes Thursday when the Wild returned to Xcel Energy Center after Talbot made 26 saves in a 2-0 shutout at Montreal on Tuesday.

But the Wild ended the rotation by starting Talbot again, and the 34-year-old commemorated the opportunity by picking up his 200th win in the NHL after the Wild upended the Canucks 6-3.

"The road that I took, the perseverance, the dedication, a lot went into making it this far," said Talbot, who went undrafted and parlayed a stint at the University of Alabama-Huntsville into a contract with the New York Rangers. "These milestones, you kind of have a chance to look back and reflect on stuff like that and the journey along the way."

Not only did Talbot snag his 200th victory, becoming the 14th active NHL netminder to do so, he stretched his point streak to 14 games (11-0-3) to tie the Wild record set by Devan Dubnyk in 2016.

This run by Talbot started after he made a relief appearance March 6 vs. Dallas in which he didn't factor into the decision. But going back over the last 15 games he's started, he's an impressive 12-0-3.

Overall, Talbot is 10th in the league in wins and the 31 he's posted trail only the career-high 42 he racked up in 2016-17 with Edmonton.

"There's times you have to go out there and battle and when I don't have it some nights, the guys battle harder for me," said Talbot, who is in his second season of a three-year, $11 million contract and made his first All-Star Game appearance back in February. "That's the type of group we are. We pick each other up every single night. Playing behind this group, I think I'm just the beneficiary."

Nic Deslauriers had his wife and four children at the game on Thursday, the first time his family watched him play in St. Paul since he was traded to the Wild from Anaheim last month.

"I hope they were proud," Deslauriers said.

The 31-year-old winger logged his 500th career game on Tuesday and actually stayed behind in Montreal to fly back to the Twin Cities with his family the next day after talking with General Manager Bill Guerin and coach Dean Evason.

"I've said it so many times about this organization, it's so good to people," Deslauriers said. "We knew we were getting traded. So, they packed the house in California, and they moved back home to Montreal. Good things happened, we played in Montreal, and I was able to chat with Dean as well and Bill to stay overnight and have a flying day with the family to help the wife with four kids.

"We made it, and everybody was able to see their first game here."

Tyson Jost returned on Friday against Seattle after missing three games with a lower-body injury, and Jordie Benn also drew back in on defense with Alex Goligoski resting.

The Wild sent Mitch Chaffee back to Iowa in the American Hockey League after he played two games including his NHL debut.

Matt Dumba and Jordan Greenway will accompany the team to Nashville where the Wild plays on Sunday, but neither will suit up. Both players remain out with upper-body injuries, and Evason said Greenway is ahead of Dumba.

The defenseman has been sidelined since April 5 when he left a loss to the Predators after delivering a shoulder check. Evason said Dumba is not shooting the puck "exceptionally well" and described him as a "wild card right now." But Evason also mentioned the team believes Dumba will be ready for Game 1 of the playoffs against St. Louis.

As for Marcus Foligno, who's been on the COVID list since Monday, he won't travel but is projected to rejoin the lineup on Tuesday vs. Arizona.