The Anders Nilsson Experience

Todd McLellan did something strange this week, he went back-to-back with Anders Nilsson. After a win in Anaheim on Wednesday night, McLellan turned to his ‘back-up’ instead of going to his ‘starter’ 23 hours after the big overtime victory.

The move didn’t work, Nilsson gave up four goals, but it’s tough to blame him for the loss. Three of the goals fall on the defense, not him, and the Oilers were asleep offensively for the entire night after scoring the opening goal compliments of Taylor Hall.

The math community hated the move to start Nilsson, I hated it too. I just don’t think it’s smart to start a goalie on back-to-back nights. Forget the math for a second here, the logistics don’t add up at all. Fatigue will set in, it’s tough to play 120 minutes over about 25 hours, seriously.

That all said, this decision told us something, this is Anders Nilsson’s crease now, he’s the starting goalie for this hockey team, not Cam Talbot.

What Happened To Talbot?:

The Oilers acquired Talbot for a package of picks from the Rangers at the NHL draft back in June, that’s well documented. Talbot’s terrific play the last two seasons gave hope that Edmonton had found an emerging young goalie who would take the reigns and plug this team’s largest hole.

That hasn’t been the case to this point.

In eleven outings, Talbot is sporting a .893 SV%, below replacement level. In his last four starts, he’s been below .900, hitting the number .857 in three of those games. It hasn’t been good for Talbot thus far, especially in his last two starts where he has given up numerous soft goals that have proven costly.

I haven’t lost faith in him, I still think he’s a good bet, but it certainly looks like the Oilers have lost faith in Cam Talbot.

Anders The Giant:

Anders Nilsson isn’t Curtis Joseph, but he’s been better than Talbot has to this point. In seven outings, Nilsson has a .902 SV%, but entered the game in Arizona with a .912 SV%. Yes, Nilsson has had two rough starts, Washington and Arizona, but other than that he’s been sensational. He stole wins in Vancouver and Anaheim.

Nilsson has been, on average, a slightly below average goalie for the Oilers this season. It’s nothing special, but it’s worlds ahead of what the Oilers got last year and well ahead of what Cam Talbot has provided to this point in the season. Nilsson also seems to have the confidence of his teammates and coaches.

Moving Forward:

Is Anders Nilsson the answer for the Oilers long-term? I don’t have that answer, but he’s certainly the best option right now and should be getting the majority of the starts. Nilsson has kept Edmonton in games and he’s even stolen wins for them to this point of the season.

Unfortunately for him, Cam Talbot has not done any of that to this point, he hasn’t proven that he can handle the load in Edmonton through five weeks.

I’m not sure this will last, Talbot has a track record that I believe in still, but as of this moment the Oilers have to ride Anders Nilsson. This group has to turn north this season, at least show something in terms of improvement. To do that, they need good goaltending and Nilsson is the one providing it right now.