Edmonton Oilers Notebook: Draisaitl catching fire, so is Caggiula
HARD LINE
It doesn’t show up on a stats sheet and it’s impossible for the numbers crunchers to quantify, but Milan Lucic’s physical presence had a major impact in Saturday’s game.
Nashville tried several times to get at the likes of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Drake Caggiula after the whistle, but Lucic was having none of it. He’d roll in and start cuffing Predators around, begging somebody to deal with him if they had a problem, and the threat was over.
When your skilled players don’t have to look over their shoulders they are much more effective.
On top of that, he assisted on Edmonton’s second goal of the game, setting Draisaitl up for a sitter in front of the net.
“He’s probably been the bounce back player of the year for us,” said McLellan. “He’s playing in straight lines, his feet are moving, he’s very aware of where the puck is, making good, strong plays and there’s a physicality to his game every shift.
“He polices a little bit, but also has a knack to recover pucks and do things that are making him an effective player.”