'First goal of 2018': Milan Lucic scores to end slump as Oilers beat Arizona Coyotes
'I appreciate a good laugh like that once in a while, that’s for sure,' Oilers forward says
At its best, the relationship between a hockey team and its fans can feel like family.
So it makes sense that when Milan Lucic finally scored on Monday to end a 29-game drought, the same people who have discussed him endlessly and derided him mercilessly for weeks rose and cheered him to the Rogers Place rafters.
All goals by the home team lead to bedlam, but this ovation was a little louder and lasted a little longer.
This goal seemed to mean a little more — to the player and the fans.
"They obviously felt the frustration and the tough times that I was going through," Lucic said of the fans. "I'm thankful for the little bit of extra that they cheered for me. A bit of a sigh of relief there."
Even slumps can be funny, after they end
Coach Todd McLellan was ready at the bench to congratulate his beleaguered player.
"He just made a joke about grabbing the puck, you know, first goal of 2018," Lucic said. "I appreciate a good laugh like that once in a while, that's for sure."
It will soon be forgotten that during his terrible slump, which began in late December, Lucic had numerous scoring chances that were far better than the one he finally cashed in.
His goal at the 13:21 mark of the first period gave the Oilers a 2-1 lead over the visiting Arizona Coyotes. It came on a hard slap shot from the top of the circle that Coyotes goalie Darcy Kuemper likely should have had.
None of that matters now.
Lucic scored and the weight was lifted off his wide shoulders and the Oilers went on to win the game in overtime by a score of 4-3.
Let it be noted that the Coyotes did not score on the first shot of the game. They did score the first goal, however, when a point shot headed well wide glanced off a skate in front and got past goaltender Cam Talbot.
Things seemed ready to get darker for the home team minutes later, when the Oilers took the game's first penalty.
Strome sets up short-handed goal
On the resulting power play, Arizona defenceman Kevin Connauton fumbled the puck at the Oilers blue line and Ryan Strome headed down the ice with it. Jujhar Khaira hustled to catch up.
The only Coyote player back was forward Brendan Perlini. Strome had all day to wait, and wait, until finally Perlini surrendered the middle of the ice right in front. Strome took the gift shot, Kuemper stopped it, and Khaira jumped on the rebound to tie the score 1-1.
Five minutes later, the Lucic goal made it 2-1.
Before the period ended, Oilers rookie Jesse Puljujarvi found some open space, took a nice feed from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and ripped a wrist shot high glove side for his 11th of the season.
It was a shot only a goal scorer can make. The number four pick in the 2016 draft, Puljujarvi looks more and more to have the kind of offensive skills the Oilers so badly need.
Talbot kept his team in game
Talbot was the biggest reason the Oilers hung on to their 3-1 lead through the second period. He made several big saves in a period where his team was outshot 12-5.
Things went south for the Oilers halfway through the third. A giveaway below the goal line cost the Oilers the puck, and a few seconds later, the Coyotes scored from close in to make the score 3-2.
From that point on the question was: could the Oilers finish off the worst team in the league?
The answer was no, until it was yes.
With less than five minutes left, during a wild scramble in the their own zone, half the Oilers seemed to be down on their knees. The Coyotes swirled around menacing the net in ever-shrinking circles until defenceman Niklas Hjalmarsson fired a shot from 20 feet out that tied the score 3-3.
The Oilers pushed hard to win it in regulation time. Their best chance came when Leon Draisaitl hit his second goal post of the period.
In overtime, McDavid and Draisaitl dominated, as they often do. Four minutes in, Draisaitl crossed the Coyotes blue line and shielded the puck with his body, as only he can do. He dropped it to McDavid, who rifled a cross-ice pass to Oscar Klefbom, as only he can do.
Klefbom put home the winner, his first goal in 33 games.
The Oilers host the New York Islanders on Thursday and Vancouver on Saturday.
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