Cam Talbot makes NHL history as Blue Jackets top Penguins in shootout

Cam Talbot turned a routine late-game stand into NHL history on Friday night. In his first season with the Columbus Blue Jackets, the 39-year-old goaltender set a league record by earning a victory with his ninth different team, doing it in a 3-2 shootout win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Talbot made 20 saves in regulation and beyond, keeping the game close enough for the skills competition. When the contest shifted to the shootout, he denied Pittsburgh on all three attempts, closing the door on the Penguins’ late momentum and securing the additional point for Columbus.

The record is a singular one. Talbot became the first goalie in NHL history to win a game with nine different teams, a mark that put him ahead of the previous standard held by Curtis McElhinney, Sean Burke, and Ron Tugnutt. Those goalies each won shootout-or-game victories with eight different clubs before Talbot reached the new threshold.

For Columbus, the win matters both as a result and as a statement about how the team is managing close games. Shootouts require more than just stopping the puck in real time, they demand positioning, timing, and repeatable reads under pressure, and Talbot’s three-save finish on the Penguins’ attempts was the deciding factor.

The game also highlighted what Talbot’s reputation is built on. Even without a long look at the season’s bigger picture, Friday’s performance fit a pattern of experienced goaltending that can stabilize outcomes when the margin is thin. The Blue Jackets were able to get to the extra session tied, then win it without giving Pittsburgh any of the late swing that can come from a single failed save.

Pittsburgh, meanwhile, came into the tiebreaker with enough accuracy to get to the shootout, but it could not solve Talbot when it mattered most. All three of the Penguins’ attempts were stopped, meaning the final margin was settled entirely on his ability to reset between attempts and stay disciplined through the rotation of shooters.

What to watch next is how Columbus uses this kind of goaltending performance going forward. A record-setting victory can raise expectations, but it will also draw scrutiny on whether the Blue Jackets can consistently match Talbot’s execution in similar high-leverage stretches, especially when games reach the same kind of late-game stalemates that end in shootouts.