SAN JOSE — There will always be a cadre of hockey people who mourn June 29, 2016—the day the Edmonton Oilers traded left-winger Taylor Hall away for defenceman Adam Larsson. Their strengths are so polar opposite; they are such completely different players, judging the deal even in hindsight has proven near impossible.
But the real trade was completed on July 1, when former Boston Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli wheeled in his old left-winger from the 2011 Stanley Cup run, free agent Milan Lucic, to fill Hall’s old spot.
On Thursday, in a hostile rink with home-ice advantage in Round 1 on the line, in a game the Oilers trailed 2-1 after 40 minutes, Lucic’s tour de force provided some perspective.
The big, surly Serb popped a natural hat trick that left the good patrons at the SAP Pavilion wondering the same thing the Sharks players were wondering.
How the heck do you stop this guy?
"I don’t know what to say," said Lucic, a bead of blood glistening on his prolific hook-nose after the 4-2 win. "The last three games, pucks are just landing in the right place, and I’m able to pounce on it. You look around New Year’s, where nothing is really going for you, and you’re getting frustrated because nothing is bouncing your way. You start working to the right places … and it starts going in for you."
Lucic now has 23 goals—three more than Hall’s 20 in New Jersey, though Lucic has played in all of 80 of Edmonton’s games, while Hall has missed some to injury.
Lucic notched his third career hat trick, and has 11-5-16 in the past 20 games. The most important 20 games of the season, we would add. Exactly the reason Chiarelli brought him in.
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That’s on the ice. Off of it, he has been the de facto captain of this team on many occasions over the season, as 20-year old captain McDavid gets his feet wet.
"His play tonight was tremendous," marvelled head coach Todd McLellan, whose club has 99 points—one point away from clinching home ice in Round 1. "Even if you throw the three goals out, his physicality, his ability to keep plays alive, I thought he was tremendous.
"We’re lucky to have him at this time of the year. This is exactly what we brought him in for."
As Lucic raises his level commensurate with the temperature gauge, the Oilers gain confidence that they can beat the Sharks, Anaheim—whomever they see in Round 1. Yes, injured Joe Thornton and Logan Couture were absent, but Edmonton took this game over with size, speed and better special teams—all confidence builders heading into their first post-season since 2006.
"It’s a big confidence boost," said Talbot, who won his 41st game to set a new single-season record for Edmonton. "This is a tough building to play in and they were Stanley Cup finalists last year. They have a lot of veteran guys on the team and a lot of leadership… This is not an easy place to play.
"Going into the third period down 2-1 we showed a lot of resilience tonight and a lot of will power and battle level. We knew that if we came out and played our game in the third period we were going to have a chance… and then Lucic took over and put us on his back."
Connor McDavid played 24:11, had a goal and an assist, and ran his numbers to 30 goals and 97 points. He also crushed Joonas Donskoi with a big third-period hit.
Oscar Klefbom was an absolute horse on defence, playing 24:40 on a four-assist night.
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Edmonton can still win the Pacific, but it would take an Anaheim regulation loss against Los Angeles on Sunday, and two wins for Edmonton over Vancouver.
The Sharks are the likely opponents in Round 1, however, and the Oilers only need one point in the Canucks games—or a Sharks loss—to clinch second spot and home-ice advantage.
"It means less travel, it means being in your bed a little more," said McLellan. "It means having a seventh man behind you on a nightly basis, which is something we’d like to have. The energy in our building has been immense the last month. It means having last change.
"But it doesn’t guarantee you wins. The opposition that we’ll face will likely have a lot more experience than we will regardless of who it is. They will be quite comfortable being on the road if that’s the case."
