HALL HAVING DEVILISHLY GOOD YEAR
Forward among league leaders in points and could get first taste of playoff hockey
Now seems as good a time as any to talk about the MVP-worthy season Taylor Hall is having.
And it’s not because after Tuesday night’s 6-4 win against the Montreal Canadiens he extended his point streak to 26 games. Or that he is among the top 10 scorers in the NHL with 30 goals and 74 points in 62 games. Or that with Patrice Bergeron injured — and Nathan MacKinnon on the outside looking in at a playoff spot — he has entered the conversation for the Hart Trophy.
No, the reason is because it’s March and for the first time in his eight-year NHL career, Hall is playing meaningful hockey.
This is new for him. During his time in Edmonton, Hall’s seasons generally ended when the calendar turned over to March. A year ago at this time, the New Jersey Devils were on their way to finishing with the worst record in the Eastern Conference while the team he left behind in a trade was en route to their first playoff spot in more than a decade.
This season is different. In the last two months, only Evgeni Malkin has been more productive than Hall. Hall is not only on pace for his best season, but also appears headed toward his first playoff appearance. It’s all proof that maybe the 2010 No. 1 overall pick wasn’t as bad a teammate as his critics made him out to be.
The 27th-place Oilers could use a player like Hall these days — something not lost on him.
“I don’t know if vindicated is the right word,” Hall said in a conference call Tuesday. “I always wanted to play on a playoff team. I’ve always wanted to be on a winning team, a successfulteam. For whatever reason, it didn’t happen in Edmonton. More so, I’m happy to be in that situation, I’m happy to be in a playoff race spotlight. That’s a fun place to be for myself after not experiencing that for my career.
“So I don’t think vindicated is the word I’d choose. I’m happy for the season I’m having personally and I’m happy for my team’s season. That’s a good feeling to have after the years that I’ve been through.”
The Devils hold the first wild card spot, but still have a battle ahead of them to keep it.
In other words, Hall will need to continue his magic for the rest of March and possibly the first two weeks of April. But if he does, a player with more than 500 regular-season games under his belt will finally get his first taste of the playoffs.
“I don’t really feel all that much pressure individually,” he said of his recent point streak.
“More so as a team, we feel pressure to make the playoffs, to get in there and get some wins down the stretch. That’s where my attention is now. ”
With the top 20 scorers all producing at a point-per-game pace, this has been a good year for individual star talent. But it’s also been the year of the comeback.
Vegas forward William Karlsson, who has 59 points and was tied for fourth in the NHL with 35 goals heading into Tuesday’s action, has already scored more than he did in his previous two seasons combined in Columbus.
Alex Ovechkin is back leading the Rocket Richard Trophy race after finishing outside the top 10 in 2016-17, while Eric Staal is on pace for his best season in more than 10 years.
Yet it’s Hall who has made the loudest noise.
“I’ve tried to play with a bit of a chip on my shoulder,” he said. “It’s been a year and a half since I‘ve been traded, so a bit of that has worn off. It’s more about how can I help my team here, how can we get into a better spot, how can we get into the playoffs? That’s been my motivation more so this year than last.”