LAS VEGAS – Between the second and third periods Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena, trust was the topic of conversation in the Wild's locker room.
After goaltender Cam Talbot fended off the Golden Knights during a string of odd-man chances in the second to keep the game tied, it was clear the players had no problem putting their trust in Talbot to come up with those saves.
But the coaches wanted the players to reciprocate that vibe.
"We talked to the group to give Cam something to trust in them and trust that they're going to make the right plays, trust that they're not going to turn the puck over, trust that they're not going to give him four 2-on-1s that he's going to have to make a brilliant save on," coach Dean Evason said. "We have to get to that point. Obviously, it's a team game. But [Talbot] sure held us in there."
That's the flipside of a show like the one Talbot put on in the 3-2 shootout win against Vegas.
He was superb and he had an opportunity to be superb because of some of the miscues that were going on in front him, like the buffet of rushes the Wild was serving up to the Golden Knights.
Talbot answered the call, even producing his best save of the season – a glove stop on Keegan Kolesar off a 2-on-1. But whether he has to continue to bail out the Wild will likely be indicative of the long-term direction of the team, which will be back in action against Vegas on Saturday to finish up this road trip.
"To make those timely saves, they're making timely mistakes," Evason said, "and when you make those timely mistakes, he has to come up with it. That's clearly what the goaltender is there for, the last line of defense. But we can't continue to put ourselves and our goaltending in that position."
