Goalie Cam Talbot, favored to return next season, continues his Flyers audition

DALLAS — It’s a no-brainer that Carter Hart will be the Flyers’ No. 1 goalie next season, but it will be interesting to see whom general manager Chuck Fletcher signs as his backup.

Right now, it appears Cam Talbot, who will start Tuesday night in Dallas, is the favorite. For lots of reasons.

For one, Fletcher traded for him. For another, Talbot and Hart have worked out in the summers, and Hart, 20, has called him his mentor. Keeping the franchise goalie in his comfort zone is not a bad plan.

Talbot and Brian Elliott both can become unrestricted free agents July 1. If Fletcher had to pick one of the two based strictly on this season’s performance, he might opt for Elliott (2.81 goals-against average, .912 save percentage) over Talbot (3.32, .895).

But Talbot is younger (he’ll be 32 in July) and not as injury-prone as Elliott, who will turn 34 next week.

In addition, Talbot is just two seasons removed from finishing fourth in voting for the Vezina Trophy, given to the NHL’s top goaltender.

So the odds are pointing toward the Flyers’ signing Talbot, whose career numbers (2.59 GAA, .915 save percentage) are similar to Elliott’s (2.47, .913).

Because he won’t be coming off a long layoff, the 6-foot-4, 196-pound Talbot should be sharper Tuesday in Dallas than he was in Saturday’s 5-2 loss in Carolina, a game in which he allowed three goals on 30 shots. The Hurricanes, who eliminated the Flyers from playoff contention that day, scored a pair of empty-net goals.

It was just Talbot’s second start with the Flyers since he was acquired Feb. 15 in a deal that sent Anthony Stolarz to Edmonton — and his first start since March 1.

Talbot was a bit rusty with his rebound control early against Carolina, but he got better as the game progressed before allowing a power-play point drive by Justin Faulk to beat him, giving the Hurricanes a late 3-1 lead.

“That’s a stop I have to make,” he said

This could be Talbot’s last game of the season, and he said he has been approaching his Flyers appearances as an audition.

If he passes, more Flyers appearances are likely in 2019-20 because Talbot said he wants to remain in Philadelphia.

“I like everything about the organization,” he said.

Dallas, coming off a 3-0-1 road trip through Western Canada, can clinch a Western Conference playoff spot if it collects one point Tuesday. … Defenseman Samuel Morin, who sat out Sunday’s 3-0 loss to the Rangers, will return to the lineup Tuesday. Morin has played in five NHL games in his career. … The Flyers scored a 2-1 win over Dallas on Jan. 10 in their only other game against the Stars this season. Hart made 37 saves in that game. … Despite not being recalled from the minors until Dec. 17, Hart leads the Flyers in the star-of-the-game standings with 46 points, three more than Claude Giroux and six more than Sean Couturier. ... Entering Tuesday, Stolarz had a 4.00 GAA and .898 save percentage in five games with Edmonton.