‘YOU CAN’T JUST GO AROUND JUMPING PEOPLE’
Lucic taking heat for staying quiet during fight-fest with archrival Oilers
Moments earlier, Calgary Flames backup Cam Talbot had a crowd of reporters in stitches as he revealed the fallout from the first goalie fight in the storied history of the NHL’S Battle of Alberta.
“My wife wasn’t too happy with me,” Talbot said. “I had to drive her car home … she ended up having to have a couple of drinks to settle herself down she was so mad at me.”
Nobody wants to be in hot water with their better half, but Flames thumper Milan Lucic — next up in Monday’s media session at the Saddledome — arguably had it worse.
The entire city, it seemed, was mad at him, with countless analysts and fans wondering why one of the NHL’S toughest customers didn’t demand a dance in Saturday’s embarrassing 8-3 loss to archrival Edmonton Oilers.
“(Lucic) didn’t fight because no one wants to fight him, that’s the bottom line,” said Flames captain Mark Giordano, rushing to the defence of his teammate. “Whether he fights or not, he brings it every night, the physical part of his game. Just having him out there, I think he’s a big presence for our team.”
It seemed like everybody was able to find a fight during the emotional home-and-home set between the Flames and Oilers.
Sharpshooting centre Sean Monahan found one, his first at the NHL level. Buddy Robinson, freshly arrived from the AHL’S
Stockton Heat, found one.
Talbot found fellow puck-stopper Mike Smith waiting at the centre line. Heck, Enemy-of-edmonton Matthew Tkachuk found one each night … and almost a second in Saturday’s late stages.
When the Flames acquired Lucic this past summer in a rare swap between provincial rivals, it was supposed to shift the fear factor in the Battle of Alberta.
He was, however, not involved in any of the extra-curriculars.
Between Wednesday’s score settler and shootout in Edmonton and the rematch a few hours south, the two squads combined for 140 penalty minutes, but No. 17 didn’t even register a minor for roughing (he was credited with four hits in each contest).
The six-foot-three, 231-pound winger seemed, in the eyes of many, a little too buddy-buddy with his former teammates.
“You know, scrums happen, things happen and there are certain situations that you kind of wish you were on the ice for,” Lucic explained after Monday’s practice, certainly aware he’d been singled out on social media and elsewhere for not dropping his mitts against the Oilers. “The goalie fight and all that type of stuff, that’s all stuff that just kind of happened organically. It’s not like I could jump off the bench or just go around punching people in the head. I mean, I got a two-game suspension earlier this season for defending my goaltender with a jab. I don’t know what people expect. Like we talked about, it’s not the ’80s anymore. You can’t just go around jumping people.
“I’m just trying to do whatever I can to help the team win the game. As you notice, it’s pretty quiet out there when I’m on the ice. There’s never anything after the whistle when I’m on the ice. Even when I try to mix it up, things kind of cool off really quick. Especially for a guy like me, I wish I was on the ice when that stuff was going down, to be a part of it. But with today’s game and the league policing it the way that they do, you can’t just go around being an idiot.”
That explanation might not satisfy those in Cowtown who were thirsty for a water-cooler retort after a night that the Oilers won every other battle — ‘Yeah, but Looch beat up So-and-so!’
Lucic scrapped in Calgary’s season opener and again five nights later but hasn’t been in a tussle since. As he pointed out, he was also dinged with a twogame suspension for clubbing Kole Sherwood with a gloved hand after the Columbus Blue Jackets call-up had poked at netminder David Rittich. And he did spend the past three winters with the Oilers, so they realize he can be a very scary dude.
“I’ve said a lot of times before, you keep your friendships before and after the game, and when you’re on the ice the only people that are your friends are the guys wearing the same jerseys as you, regardless of old teammates and old teams,” Lucic said. “But it’s no secret, those guys know me well over there, too. They know that I play better when I’m riled up and when someone gets me going ... don’t poke the bear, right?
“I definitely could have been better last game. I think we all could have been better. But in saying that, moving forward, you learn from things all season long and even though I wasn’t a part of it, I think we did a really good job of sticking up for each other.
“We lost the game, but I’m sure a lot of people were entertained from watching that game.”
Indeed, Saturday’s slugfest didn’t disappoint, even if there were lingering questions about why one of the heavyweights was such a non-factor.
“It’s the world that we live in,” Lucic replied after Monday’s practice when asked if he was frustrated about having to explain himself. “When I’m done playing, nobody is going to be asking me anything anyway. So I’d rather be asked questions when I’m playing and enjoy it while I can.”