09 September 2010The services of Maxime Talbot
Sure, he is missing from the team's leading scorer tallies at year-end, and his 'cap hit' as it has been commonly referred to, is less than that of even Eric Godard's, but many of the Penguins would never dream of going into battle without the services of Maxime Talbot. Every championship-calibre team needs members that keep the team loose, provide a bargain on the roster, and when clutch time comes, make glorious things happen at both ends of the rink. Such is the cement that defines Talbot's contributions day after day for Pittsburgh, even if his 12 minutes in penalties hurt the Penguin offense in Game Five.Last season, with the Stanley Cup on the line and facing a deficit in Game Five of the 2008 Final, it was Talbot who got the tap on the shoulder to add the extra attacker to the ice, with his age-old friend Marc-Andre Fleury on the bench. Said ex-Pens coach Michel Therrien, "The time he was on the ice, he was doing the right thing. And as a coach, you gotta see those things. And he was good defensively as well. He was around the puck, around it at the right time. And it's a feeling, too, that coaches need to have at that time. And certainly he deserved to be there." Talbot was the one, not Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, or Marian Hossa that scored the game-tying goal with 34.3 seconds left, to tie the game and force overtime.
Fleury and Talbot grew up not far from each other, at roughly the same time and played minor league games against one another. Progressing through the ranks (even to Team Canada's World Junior roster in 2003-04), and onto the Penguin's roster together, the two knew they had a natural affinity. This tightly knit group that has been the Eastern Conference Champions for two straight years, has the makings of an incredibly deep core, that includes not only the highest paid players like most clubs. The pair's highly-publicized ritual of a punch-up before the game has endeared Talbot to the club's faithful. "[It's] been going for a while," Fleury said. "We got some wins and now we're going at it. It's getting a little ridiculous, but it's still working." This is aside from his noticeable penalty-killing, low-maintenance, and never-say-die attitude.This season, many may have seen the 5'11", 190-pound forward's 12 goals and 10 assists as a departure, or regression. But insiders to the Penguins know that they can expect the best from Talbot in the quest for the Cup, and he is an important cog in the Pittsburgh attack, as well as defence. "He's a determined guy who lays it on the line," Head Coach Dan Bylsma said. "He will scrap and claw and continue to do that over and over again. (He) doesn't get deterred by the situation; doesn't get deterred by how much ice time he does or doesn't get. He's out there, scratching and clawing for opportunities." In the 2008-09 playoffs, Talbot has 10 total points, including a terrific effort against the Hurricanes, which ensured the Penguin return to the Finals with a three point night, and two goals against the Red Wings in Game Three of the Final.
His running-mate Evgeni Malkin has emerged as the league's top gun and is playing with unbridled fervor, hitting and driving to the net with passion unwitnessed before at such a high level, missing from last year's edition. A lot of credit needs to go to Malkin for his ascent to the league's elite at such a young age. Much credit though, will be mis-directed from a certain forward from Lemoyne, Quebec and the coaching of Bylsma, for putting the sandpaper against the grain at the right time, unwaveringly.
8 June 2009
Robin Keith Thompson
Fleury and Therrien's quote from:
Bylsma's quote from:
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