By Bobby Kirschenbaum
No Lundqvist? No problem. Cam Talbot, “The Goalbuster”, as fellow teammates call him, has just been killing it lately. Cam was truly put to the test this week, as the Rangers had 4 games, 3 straight on the road. While Henrik “The King” Lundqvist has been dealing with a painful throat injury, Cam has been getting all of the work. The first game of the week was less than perfect. A home game against the Dallas Stars ended with a rocket by Ales Hemsky almost halfway through overtime. With a screen in front of the net, there was nothing Cam could do about it. However, the Rangers did receive 1 point from the contest, and had just 2 days to get their passports out and game faces ready as they prepared for a 4 game road trip beginning with a big matchup in Toronto against the Maple Leafs February 10th.
Would the Rangers squeak out some crucial points in pursuit of the playoffs which are just around the corner without their star goalkeeper?
Luckily, Cam Talbot sure did give fans something to cheer about, as he came up clutch with 30 saves in a 5-4 victory against Toronto. Two days later, the Rangers moved on to Colorado. Once again, Cam and the blueshirts were victorious, defeating the Avalanche, 6-3.
Cam and crew continued their dominant road trip in Arizona on February 14th, with a commanding 5-1 victory over the Coyotes. He was absolutely a brick wall, collecting 34 saves on 35 shots. Cam has an 8-5-2 record this season with a .918 save percentage, and adding 3 shutouts. He has given Rangers fans no reason to panic, and has kept the Rangers in this competitive eastern conference playoff hunt.
The Rangers head to Long Island on Monday to conclude their road trip with a crucial game against their division-rivals, the Islanders. A game that will be sure to include fights, trash talk a scoring, the deciding factor could be athlete of the week Cam Talbot.