http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
OTTAWA -- This was the hockey season when Max Talbot turned into Min Talbot, maximized onto bigger-than-life strata when his two goals in the second period of Game 7 won the Stanley Cup in June, he was minimized by subsequent shoulder surgery, a groin injury and the indignity of scoring precisely as many goals all season as he had on that storied Friday night in Motown.
A nearly forgotten figure in the dead of winter, Maxime (French for "greatest") Talbot was better known as that guy in the commercials, hanging out in auto showrooms or in Sidney Crosby's mom's basement, firing pucks at the dryer.
Matt Freed/Post-Gazette
Senators forward Zack Smith and Penguins forward Max Talbot fight at the end of the first period in Game 1.
Now, of course, spring has sprung, even here in the shadow of the North Pole, and apparently there's some kind of law in hockey's nature that says when the playoffs begin, there will be Talbot to the Max.
"He's always been the guy who raises his game at this time of year," Sidney Crosby was saying Monday in the blood red hallways of Scotiabank Place. "He's just a character player, one of those guys you love to have on your team."
For too much of a season he'd rather forget, Max was really just a character. He's an agitated dressing room presence, his voice part of its enduring sound track. But when that's all you can contribute for long stretches, it can take on the tinny, dissonant ring of irrelevance.
"It hasn't always been a soft pillow for everyone," Penguins coach Dan Bylsma said of Talbot's lengthy and often frustrating rehab. "It was a struggle for him physically and mentally. But he prepared himself to be ready to battle in the postseason, and it's no surprise that he's been able to find his level. He's certainly been a factor in every game of this series.
"The play he made on [Evgeni] Malkin's big goal, you can see he's back to being the player we know him to be."
In the early part of Sunday night's second period, both the series and the score were tied 1-1 when Malkin and Talbot broke away two-on-two against Ottawa defensemen Andy Sutton and Erik Karlsson. Malkin slid the bagel across three lines, but lost control just as Sutton challenged him in the high slot. With the kind of silent communication that only best friends can generate, Malkin instinctively veered right, around Sutton, then across the slot to the left while Talbot crisscrossed, beating Karlsson to the puck and whipped it blindly across the goal mouth. Malkin buried it.
"The is the time of year when it's fun to play," Talbot said after the Penguins skated Monday. "It's playoff type of hockey."
Technically, it's actual playoff hockey.
You knew it had to be the playoffs when Talbot, two minutes into the postseason, put Senators defenseman Chris Campoli flat on his back behind the net, then drew a tripping penalty from Ottawa's Peter Regin. Thirteen seconds later, Malkin scored the first Penguins goal. Did we mention it's the playoffs? So Max is the guy who scores with 35 seconds left in Game 6 to force an overtime victory. He's the guy who gets himself into lopsided fights for which he literally pays through the nose just to change the karma of the moment. He's the guy who got into it with Zach Smith in Game 2 in Pittsburgh, prompting one press box wag to note, "Looks like Talbot has decided it's time to get the hell beaten out of him."
In 306 NHL games since he was selected in the eighth round of the 2002 draft, Talbot is a minus-24. In 49 playoff games, he's a plus-13. Last year he had 12 goals all season, then eight in the playoffs, including the two in Game 7.
"I never thought I'd score two goals in the NHL," he laughed that night.
It's only false modesty to a point. His hands aren't great, but he's willing to carry the puck and move it with confidence. He's not a great fighter, but he's willing to fight if it'll cause an atmospheric inversion.
"It's nice to be healthy and helping the team here," he said with evident relief. "It was a long way back. This season I was not where I wanted to be. It was difficult mentally, then my shoulder and my groin. I'm proud of the last two or three months because I've been working really hard to play the way I can play, and be the player I can be.
"Right now my body feels good."
Unobtrusive as that sounds, it's one of the most ominous statements any Penguins opponent can hear. They know all too well about Crosby and Malkin and Fleury and all the various elements that make the Penguins what they are, which is still among the most feared entities in these playoffs. But it's players such as Maxime Talbot, even though no one knows exactly how or why, who can turn April into May for you, and May into June.
Gene Collier: gcollier@post-gazette.com.
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