Memories will last, but Wild's All-Stars ready to get back to business

LAS VEGAS -- Cam Talbot knows full well he may never get the opportunity again.
At 34 years old and in his ninth season in the National Hockey League, being named an All-Star is not an honor that happens every year.
No doubt, he'd be tickled to come back again next season. That would mean he's on top of his game and the Wild is probably having some success on the ice, but these kinds of honors are not easy to attain.

That's why Talbot did everything he could this weekend in Las Vegas to soak up every morsel of the experience as an NHL All-Star.
Talbot, along with Wild teammate Kirill Kaprizov, helped the Central Division team to the finals and came within striking distance of winning the $1 million prize awarded to the winners. In the end, the Central lost to the Metropolitan Division 6-4, but the final result was certainly not what Talbot will carry with him Sunday when he returns to Minnesota before embarking on the second half of the regular season.
It was what might be a once-in-a-career event he was able to share with his wife, Kelly, and his five-year-old twins Landon and Sloane, as well as his dad and several other family members.
"Obviously we didn't come away with the money and the win, but it was just so much fun and just a great experience all around," Talbot said. "To come here and play with guys like Kirill and so many other special players in the league, it was just a surreal experience for myself. I'm just humbled to be here."
He put on a great show too.
Near the end of his appearance in the Central's win over the Atlantic Division, Talbot put together a pair of back-to-back saves that were later awarded in the arena as the play of the day, making a miraculous paddle save on one Dylan Larkin shot, before sprawling to stop Rasmus Dahlin's rebound with the very last inches of his left pad.

It was a bang-bang play that kept the Central in front and allowed them an opportunity to move on to the finals. It also drew plenty of ooohs and ahhhs from the Vegas partisans.
"Just desperation," Talbot said. "One of those lucky ones that looks good on TV, not technically sound, but any time you can make one of those saves or a couple of them at the end of an All-Star Game appearance, it looks pretty good I guess."
For Kaprizov, the appearance was his first NHL All-Star Game, but these types of honors have become a little routine for the 25-year-old Russian winger, who played in a half dozen of these back in his KHL days.
The belief around the league, and for anyone in Minnesota who has watched Kaprizov play in his 13 months in the State of Hockey, is that his trip to Las Vegas will be the first of many to this event in years to come.
While Talbot is a veteran and had at least met many of the players representing their clubs in the event, the All-Star Game allowed Kaprizov an opportunity to meet some of the elite players he's only known as opponents.
That was one of the things he was looking forward to most upon arrival and it was one of the things he was able to accomplish.

"They're all great guys and I had a great time spending time with them and getting to know them," Kaprizov said through a translator.
Kaprizov also got to spend some valuable time with his parents, who are in the United States watching him play for the first time as an NHLer. They arrived in New York last weekend and watched him play against the Rangers and Islanders, before staying in Minnesota when Wild left for Chicago.
Kaprizov's mom spent that time prepping some of his favorite Russian meals. With the Wild's second half set to begin Tuesday night in Winnipeg, Kaprizov said his parents will stick around for a little while longer before heading back to Russia, where Kaprizov likely won't see them again until the offseason.
"Everything went well. We had some time to just walk around the city and relax a little bit and get some rest, played some hockey and get to know some guys," Kaprizov said. "I wouldn't necessarily single one thing out [as a favorite moment]."

For now, the Wild's All-Stars will return home and prep for a big divisional game in Winnipeg on Tuesday night by practicing with their teammates on Monday.
Could Talbot and Kaprizov get the benefit of an excused absence from that practice?
"Let's hope," Talbot said with a grin.
"We'll see," Kaprizov added in perfect English and a big laugh.
And while Talbot and Kaprizov didn't win their share of $1 million in Las Vegas, they are already turning their eyes to a much larger prize come the end of the season.
"We didn't get much of a break, but come Tuesday, we're gonna have to be ready to play again," Talbot said. "It's going to be a sprint to the finish and you gotta be ready when that puck drops on Tuesday.
"We had fun this weekend, but when we get back, it's gonna be right back to business."