Cam Talbot knows a little something about Southern hockey.
He first rose to hockey-prospect prominence playing the college game at Alabama-Huntsville, but on Wednesday, Nov. 26, the 38-year-old Talbot made his third straight start for the Detroit Red Wings.
For about 55 of the 56 minutes he played, he was almost unbeatable against the Nashville Predators, a squad whose home is a mere 115 miles north of Huntsville, Alabama.
But the other minute …
Talbot stopped 23 of 26 shots before Ryan O’Reilly’s rebound of a Luke Evangelista shot – No. 27 from Nashville – gave the Preds a 4-3 lead in the third period in an eventual 6-3 victory over the Red Wings (13-10-1). Nashville scored its fifth goal (for the first time in regulation this season) just 28 seconds after its fourth, and that followed a spurt early in the third in which a pair of Predators pounced on the Wings just 15 seconds apart.
Steven Stamkos added an empty-net goal with 75 seconds left to play for the final score.
An early deficit for the Red Wings
The Wings had to play from behind after Michael Bunting scored on a tip-in at 15:44 of the first period. Alex DeBrincat tied the game a quarter of the way into the second period as he carried the puck into the slot, dodging a stick check, and firing it past goalie Justus Annunen.
A little over 11 minutes leter, James van Riemsdyk gave the Wings a 2-1 lead, backhanding a rebound from just outside of the crease into the top of the net with 3:26 left in the second period.
Although the lead left the Wings with a good feeling going into the third period, there were a few worries midway through the second when captain Dylan Larkin took a rough cross-check to the back and went into the locker room under his own power. He returned after the second intermission.
Fast and furious in the third
The Wings’ lead didn’t last long into the third period, as the Preds scored twice in a 15-second span. First, it was Michigan alumnus and Washington Township native Nick Blankenburg scoring his third goal of the season. That was followed by veteran defenseman Roman Josi picking up his own rebound and roofing it through a player screen to the top of the net over Talbot.
Not even a minute later, the Wings tied it as defenseman Ben Chiarot sent a wrister past Annunen, 3:04 into the period.
Next up for the Wings
It’ll be an early wake-up call for Detroit, as the Wings host the Atlantic Division-contending Tampa Bay Lightning in a matinee at LCA on Friday (noon, FanDuel Sports Network Detroit). After that, the Wings zip to Boston for a Saturday night Original Six date with the Bruins, kicking off a home-and-home that concludes on Tuesday at LCA.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings stung by two pairs of goals by Predators in 6-3 loss
Reporting by Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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