WWYDW: When does Cam Talbot get a break?

Cam Talbot started his 16th game of the season and fourth consecutive game against the Anaheim Ducks last night. With the exception of a single game in a back-to-back set and 10 minutes in October, he’s been the Edmonton Oilers goaltender for every minute of the 2016-17 season.

Unfortunately for the Oilers, his play has slipped as of late. In this week’s edition of What Would You Do Wednesday, we ask if it’s time for Edmonton to give him a rest.

Talbot’s play in the early part of the year was the single-biggest reason for the Oilers’ insane start. He was just about unbeatable:

With the exception of a team-wide stinker against Buffalo in the third game of the year, there was nothing to dislike. He got a lot of credit, of course, but there was also a good deal of talk about the Oilers improved defensive structure and the increased commitment from revamped forward and defence corps.

That’s the sort of talk one hears when the starting goalie is playing at a Vezina-worthy pace. With the exception of Tim Thomas in 2010-11 (0.938), that 0.934 save percentage is better than every Vezina winner managed since Dominik Hasek in 1999.

One hears less of that talk these days, and it’s because Talbot’s allowing goals now:

This might just be normal variance – goalies bounce around over short spans, as Talbot did last season when he lost the starting gig temporarily to Anders Nilsson. It might also be fatigue. Talbot’s never played more than 60 games in a season at any level and has only played more than 40 twice. He also has brand new babies at home, which one would assume isn’t doing him any favours on the rest front.

The trouble with giving Talbot a rest is that it means giving more minutes to backup goaltender Jonas Gustavsson.

Gustavsson, it should be said, was excellent in his lone game this season. He allowed just one goal on 23 shots against the Detroit Red Wings a little over a week ago. That contest was arguably the high point of the Oilers season, with a tired Edmonton team winning in convincing fashion over a rested foe in the opponent’s building. The goalie was a big part of that.

Yet Gustavsson’s larger career is underwhelming. His save percentage over 174 NHL games is just 0.902, not a whole lot better than Talbot’s numbers during his cold streak. Last year he was a little bit better, with a 0.908 total for Boston. It was the best season of his career in which he played more than 10 games.

Those are the options for Edmonton coach Todd McLellan. He can keep running Talbot, hoping that he works his way through this slump, or he can turn to Gustavsson. What would you do?