WITH ALL OF their offseason wheeling and dealing, the Flyers were banking on increased offensive output from Jakub Voracek, Wayne Simmonds and injured forward Brayden Schenn.
Not from Max Talbot.
He was penciled in as a depth-elevator player, a guy who can move up and down lines with ease, and lauded for his locker- room leadership and wit with an ability to keep teammates loose but focused. Not as a scorer.
So, what the heck has gotten into the kid from Quebec?
Talbot, 27, scored his sixth goal of the season on Monday in Carolina, leaving him just four goals shy of matching his output from the last two seasons combined. He needs just eight goals over the final 65 games to set a career high.
It's still early, but he is on pace to finish with 29 goals, making his 5-year, $8.75 million deal seem like an absolute bargain.
Among players with a minimum of 10 shots on goal, Talbot leads the league with a ridiculous 31.6 percent shooting rate.
"That's good, but I can't forget that my role is to play well defensively and be responsible," Talbot said last week of his hot start. "I don't want you guys to think I'm going to score every game because then I'll put pressure on myself."
Through the first quarter of the season, Talbot has handled his other responsibilities - including his role on the Flyers' top penalty-killing unit - well enough to be considered the team's most complete player. He leads all NHL forwards in shorthanded ice time per game (4:23). Rookie teammate Sean Couturier (3:38) is the only other forward leaguewide in the top 20 in shorthanded time-on-ice per game.
The importance of the Flyers' penalty kill - which has successfully burned off 29 of their last 30 disadvantages - cannot be understated since they lead the NHL in penalty minutes per game. Just once have the Flyers finished out of the top seven teams in penalty minutes per game since the 2004-05 lockout.
Even with their recent success - and heavy use - the Flyers' penalty kill (86.6 percent) has climbed to just 11th thanks to a 40-for-51 start (78 percent) this season.
"The longer the season goes, the more successful we will be. A lot of it is about chemistry and getting comfortable," Talbot said. "You always need time, to know the system, to know who you're killing with, what to do, when to pressure."
