4.28 Talbot Fleury Wild

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild remain undecided on whether Cam Talbot or Marc-Andre Fleury will start Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round against the St. Louis Blues, general manager Bill Guerin said.

The Wild (53-22-7) will open the Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Blues (49-21-11) either Monday or Tuesday. Minnesota clinched second place in the Central Division and home-ice advantage with a 4-1 win against the Colorado Avalanche on Friday.
"You can't make a bad decision or a bad choice," Guerin said Thursday before a 3-2 overtime win against the Calgary Flames. "We have two guys that we have all the faith in the world in. We'll pick one of them."
The Wild acquired Fleury in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on March 21. After Fleury made his debut with them March 26, he and Talbot alternated starts for the next 14 games until Talbot played two in a row.
Fleury had since started three straight games before Talbot made 31 saves Thursday. Fleury made 27 saves Friday.
"Coming here and having Cam has been so welcoming and nice," Fleury said. "There's no friction. He's been playing awesome too ever since I got here.
"Only one guy can play, unfortunately, but whoever it is will try their best to help the team."
Fleury, the 2021 Vezina Trophy winner with the Vegas Golden Knights voted as the top goalie in the NHL, won the Stanley Cup three times (2008, 2016, 2017) in 13 seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He started the first two rounds of the 2017 playoffs while Matt Murray was injured. Murray resumed the starting role in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final against the Ottawa Senators.
"We used them both," said Guerin, an assistant GM for Pittsburgh in 2017. "I think just the way that our game is going now, I don't know if we'll start seeing more tandems in the playoffs, but we sure do in the regular season because it's just so hard on those guys. But, yeah, in '17 we needed them both."
This will be the third postseason series between St. Louis and Minnesota. The Blues won the 2017 Western Conference Quarterfinals in five games, and the Wild won in six games of that round in 2015. In each instance, the lower-seeded team advanced.
St. Louis swept the three-game regular-season series against Minnesota (0-1-2), outscoring it 16-12. The Blues have won five straight against the Wild and are 12-1-1 in their past 14 games against them.
Talbot made all three starts against the Blues with a 5.92 goals-against average and .814 save percentage. He is 32-12-4 with 2.77 GAA, .911 save percentage and three shutouts in 49 games (48 starts).
Fleury went 0-3-0 for Chicago against St. Louis with a 3.36 GAA and .903 save percentage. The 37-year-old is 28-23-5 with a 2.90 GAA, .908 save percentage and four shutouts in 56 games for the Blackhawks and Wild this season.
"I can't make those decisions," Talbot said. "You just have to kind of put that out of your mind. It's up to the guys in the coaches' room. Both of us have been playing well. We're both probably deserving of it."
The Wild qualified for the playoffs for the third straight season. They lost the best-of-7 Stanley Cup First Round to Fleury and the Golden Knights last season.
For Guerin, having two capable goalies in the playoffs is imperative.
"Very much," Guerin said. "The process of winning a Stanley Cup is grueling. It takes a physical and mental toll. We have to be kind of fortified in each position and I think we are.
"Like I've talked about all year, there are higher expectations here and making the playoffs is nice, but that's not enough. We're going to play a very good hockey team, experienced, skilled, and they're playing one too. It's got the makings of a great series, and we've just got to dial in and focus."