Fleury Benched for Ice-Cold Talbot? Wild Left Singing the Blues

PUBLICATION

James
May 13, 2022 (11:48)

SHARE THIS STORY

There's no doubt the Minnesota Wild were in a desperate position, heading back to St. Louis down 3-2 after losing Games 4 and 5 by identical 5-2 scores, but making a goalie change now? It spells disaster and that's exactly what it was as the Blues eliminated the Wild 5-1 Thursday night.

Marc Andre Fleury got the start in goal for the first five games and while his numbers weren't great overall, a 3.04 goals against average and a .906 save percentage, the Blues over the last month of the regular season averaged 4.8 goals per game. Minnesota over that same stretch averaged 4.1. These were two of the hotter offenses entering the playoffs. This was not going to be a low scoring series. The goaltenders would have their work cut out for them.

Take Game 1, Blues goaltender Ville Husso records a 4-0 shutout and is benched for the final three games in favor of Jordan Binnington who stopped 84 of 89 shots he faced for a .944 save percentage. Desperate times call for desperate measures, but benching Fleury in a must-win Game 6 in favor of Cam Talbot, who hadn't seen the ice since April 28 is headscratching to say the least. Yes Talbot went 13-0-3 over his last 16 regular season appearances, but his 0-3-3 record with a 5.06 GAA and a .825 save percentage in his previous six starts against St. Louis should have factored in to the equation. So yes, let's bench the future Hall-of-Famer for an ice cold goalie in a raucous, road environment. If you wanted to give Talbot a chance, Game 5 at home with the series tied was probably the better alternative.

It went as well as you'd expect. Talbot allowed two goals on the first eight shots faced and four goals overall in a 5-1 loss, but the blame isn't squarely on him. The Wild didn't really show up despite the win or go home mentality, being outshot 21-5 in a three-goal second period for the Blues. Minnesota fails to get out of the first round for the fifth time in the last seven seasons.

Fleury has likely played his last game as a Minnesota Wild as he enters free agency, can't imagine him wanting to come back after being benched for an elimination game. The Hawks will receive a second round pick from the Wild, completing the Fleury trade.