Oilers’ Curtis Lazar Could Be a Surprise X-Factor – The Hockey Writers – Edmonton Oilers

It has been a far from ideal start to the postseason for the Edmonton Oilers. Between quickly falling behind the Anaheim Ducks, poor defence, and a couple of key injuries early on, there’s a lot going on. There’s always a bright side, however, as a few guys have played rather well. Curtis Lazar is among that group, despite not even being in the Game 1 lineup. He could play a surprisingly important role moving forward for this team.

Lazar slotted into the Oilers’ lineup shortly before Game 2 after Jason Dickinson was ruled out. He has since taken that opportunity and played a quietly strong couple of games in the bottom six. Now with Dickinson on the brink of a return, it’s likely Lazar is pulled out of the lineup in favour of him. While it makes sense given Dickinson’s high importance to the team, I believe Lazar should be given more consideration moving forward. He could be an impact guy should the Oilers keep this playoff run going.

Lazar Played Well in the Regular Season

It was a rather complicated regular season for Lazar, but he showed up and did his job whenever called upon. He put up four goals and six points in 45 contests while also missing two different periods of time with injury. He was in and out of the lineup, but he shows up on the stat sheet in other crucial areas that are even more important in the postseason.

Lazar recorded 95 hits, good for fifth on the team. He also posted a 61.2% faceoff percentage, which was the best on the team by a decent margin. It’s pretty impressive to rank that high considering he only played just over half the season’s games. He is a stellar perimeter defender and puck protector who rarely turns it over. He also has great penalty-killing abilities that the Oilers have used from time to time. He forechecks and obviously hits hard, and any offence that comes from it is the cherry on top.

Overall, he has done his job in a crowded depth forward group for Edmonton. The regular-season play has translated to the playoffs so far for Lazar, which isn’t a huge surprise given his experience.

Lazar Has Playoff Experience

One major thing that makes Lazar such a strong piece of the forward group is his abundance of playoff experience with different teams. Before this season, he appeared in 30 playoff games with the New Jersey Devils, Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames, and Ottawa Senators. He played a similar depth role for those teams as well, posting just three postseason points. The offensive play isn’t something the Oilers expect a lot of; it’s the physical, shutdown style they need Lazar to continue playing.

Having someone with raw playoff experience like Lazar, who’s able to jump into the lineup and play a productive game, is huge for the Oilers. They should take advantage of this and use him when they can. While Dickinson may knock Lazar out of the lineup for now, he may become important later on. Rookie forward Josh Samanski has also played very well so far. If head coach Kris Knoblauch feels a change is needed later on, Lazar should be the first option to change the momentum in the bottom six.

It’s been a whirlwind to start Round 1 for the Oilers. As they sort out their lineups for the next couple of pivotal games, I hope Lazar’s good start to the playoffs is taken into account.