Just because Detroit Red Wings goaltender Cam Talbot hasn't picked up a win in his last six starts doesn't mean that he's lost the trust of his club.
Detroit Red Wings goaltender Cam Talbot had an incredible beginning to the season, picking up victories in nine of his first 13 starts.
However, his fortunes haven't been as kind of late. He's fallen short in each of his last six starts, including on Wednesday evening against the Utah Mammoth in which he allowed four goals as part of a 4-1 setback.
Talbot's last victory came on Nov. 22, a 4-3 overtime win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Meanwhile, first-year Red Wings goaltender John Gibson has turned the tables on his early-season struggles by winning his last six straight starts.
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However, Red Wings head coach Todd McLellan, who has coached Talbot twice before with the Edmonton Oilers and Los Angles Kings, doesn't get the sense the veteran goaltender's confidence is wavering.
"Talbs has played a long, long time, and I've been with him for a good chunk of that," he said. "I don't see any change in his demeanor or the way he carries himself. Wins and losses, goalie stats are often shared by the group as a whole."
McLellan knows that the ultimate result of a hockey game isn't solely determined by the play of the club's goaltender, but rather by the performance of the club as a whole.
Right now, as opposed to earlier in the season, Gibson has the upper hand.
"We played some better games lately with Gibby in the net, but I'm not sure we did that early in the year," McLellan said. "We probably had some better ones with Talbs in the net, he's had the back-to-backs, we went to Edmonton last week, and he played in this one today."
That being said, McLellan was sure to note that the belief in Talbot remains in place despite the recent unideal results.
"I will run into Talbs on Friday, and I'll have a conversation with him real quick and say that we believe in him, because we do," McLellan explained.
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