Cam Talbot Will Start Game 6

The Minnesota Wild announced Thursday afternoon that goaltender Cam Talbot will take over the starting job in game 6 against the St. Louis Blues. The Wild are currently trailing the Blues 3-2 in the series and are facing elimination. Talbot will be playing his first game of 2022 NHL playoffs tonight.

It appears Cam Talbot is starting Game 6 for MIN
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) May 12, 2022

Through the first five games of the series, Marc-Andre Fleury was the starter for the Wild. In those five games, Fleury posted a 3.04 GAA and a .906 save percentage. However in the last two games, he has allowed four goals in both games as well as having a save percentage under .880 in both.

After two subpar performances, the Wild head Coach Dean Evason switched over to Talbot. This isn't the first time Fleury has lost his starting job in the playoffs, as last year Robin Lehner took over midway through the third round. During both the 2016 and 2017 Penguins Stanley Cup runs, Matt Murray took over the job early in the first round.

The Wild brought Fleury in at the trade deadline for a conditional first-round pick to the Chicago Blackhawks. The condition is that the pick becomes a second rounder if the Wild fail to make the Western Conference Finals.

In 49 regular season games, Talbot posted a 2.76 GAA with a .911 save percentage along with 32 wins. In 32 career playoff games, the netminder has put up a 15-15 record with 2.45 GAA and a .923 save percentage

The pressure will be on as Talbot hasn't played a game since April 28th against the Calgary Flames, where he and the Wild got a 3-2 win in overtime.

Talbot and the Wild will take on the Blues tonight at 9:30 EDT/8:30 CT in hopes of forcing a game 7 back at home on Saturday.