Savoie scores 1st hat trick, Oilers get key win against Canucks

EDMONTON -- Matt Savoie scored the first hat trick of his NHL career in the first period, and the Edmonton Oilers secured second place in the Pacific Division with a 6-1 against the Vancouver Canucks in their regular-season finale at Rogers Place on Thursday.

As a result of the win, the Oilers will have home-ice advantage when they face the Anaheim Ducks in the Western Conference First Round.

“It was an important one. We wanted to start here at home and give ourselves the best chance in the first round. The start was great,” said Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who had four assists, including on all three goals by Savoie. “(Me and Savoie are) building something a little bit, playing together for a little while now. We’re starting to understand each other a little bit. (Zach Hyman) came in and did exactly what he does, forechecks hard and fills that net-front spot, which frees up a lot of space for us.”

Hyman had an assist in 18:11 of ice time in his return after missing the previous five games with an undisclosed injury.

“Obviously, I’m playing with really good players, and it’s nice to have Hyman back,” Savoie said. “He brings a lot to our group and our line, how good he is around the net and how much he opens up. I really liked it tonight.”

Evan Bouchard had three assists, and Colton Dach had a goal and an assist for the Oilers (41-30-11), who had lost two in a row (0-1-1) and four of five (1-2-2). Connor Ingram made 11 saves.

Ty Mueller scored his first career goal, and Kevin Lankinen made 29 saves for the Canucks (25-49-8), who had won three in a row.

“They came out ready to play and secured their spot in the playoffs on home ice,” Vancouver defenseman Filip Hronek said. “We were not ready for it.”

Josh Samanski put the Oilers ahead 1-0 at 1:58 of the first period. His backdoor pass for Trent Frederic at the left post deflected in off the skate of Canucks defenseman Kirill Kudryavtsev.

Savoie made it 2-0 at 6:48, kicking a pass from Bouchard to his stick below the left circle and snapping the puck past a diving Lankinen.

Mueller, who was playing in his eighth NHL game, closed the gap to 2-1 at 12:10. He got behind the defense, settled a lobbed pass from Curtis Douglas and tucked a shot five-hole on Ingram on a breakaway.

“I just saw ‘Dougie’ coming up the ice with control,” Mueller said. “The weak side of the ice was open, and he made an unbelievable flip that landed right on my stick. I just tried to open up the goalie with a move and was able to slip it through."

The goal was also the first NHL point for Mueller, who was born in Edmonton.

“It was super special,” he said. “The fact that I was able to have some family here and do it against the team I grew up cheering for is something I’ll never forget.”

Savoie pushed it to 3-1 on a power play at 14:35. McDavid skated in on a 3-on-2 rush and sent a backhand pass to Savoie, who shot over Lankinen's right pad from below the left circle.

Savoie then completed the hat trick during a delayed penalty to make it 4-1 at 19:02 of the first. He took a cross-crease backhand pass from McDavid and buried a one-timer past Lankinen from the same spot on his previous two goals.

“I think our mindset was that it was a playoff game, and we came in with that mentality I thought right from the jump," Savoie said.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins extended the lead to 5-1 at 16:46 of the second period, batting the puck out of the air at the right post for a power-play goal.

Dach made it 6-1 at 8:20 of the third period, chipping in a short centering pass from Connor Murphy at the edge of the crease.

“It was 60 minutes of a good hockey game,” Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse said. “We checked well -- we’ve been checking well for a little bit now -- and were able to produce the offense.

“I think for our group it was good overall.”

NOTES: McDavid won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's scoring champion for the sixth time. He finished with 138 points (48 goals, 90 assists), eight more than Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning. ... McDavid recorded his 14th career four-assist game, passing Bobby Orr (13) for the seventh-most in NHL history. McDavid also has 48 career four-point games, passing Jari Kurri (47) for the 10th-most in NHL history. ... Savoie is the first player to score his first career hat trick via three goals in a single period since Nico Hischier of the New Jersey Devils did it on Nov. 25, 2024.