Taylor Hall's first career NHL hattrick may not upstage the Heritage Classic in Calgary this weekend, or the ongoing flurry of predeadline deals happening at all hours of the day and night.

But the 19-year-old rookie lit up a snoozy Rexall Place on Saturday afternoon with three straight, third-period goals on the once-anemic Oilers power play to lift the Oilers past Atlanta 5-3, extend Edmonton's winning streak to three games and reach the 20-goal plateau with a flair for the dramatic not seen in this aging building in years.

"I have not seen any young player take over games like Taylor Hall has this season," Oilers general manager Steve Tambellini said. "He's not afraid to be great."

Fearing greatness has not exactly been the Oilers biggest issue the last few years. But Hall, along with youngsters Jordan Eberle and Magnus Paajarvi, who scored Edmonton's first goal in the second period, have provided ample evidence this season that great things could be coming, and soon, despite the 19-32-8 record.

Hall's performance on Saturday was an exclamation point, though, without a doubt.

It was the third straight victory for the Oilers since Tambellini had a chat with the boys to get them refocused on task -winning games, not distracted by other issues, like where the club might finish and what that means for the upcoming NHL entry draft.

The three straight goals wiped out a 3-1 Atlanta advantage and provoked the traditional hat toss when Hall's third of the game made it 4-3 at 14: 35 of the final period. It also drew standing ovation from the sellout crowd of 16,839.

Ales Hemsky added insurance into an empty net, while Paajarvi's goal cut Atlanta's second-period lead to 2-1. Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd and Evander Kane scored for Atlanta.

As a junior with the OHL's Windsor Spitfires and with Canada's national junior team, Hall routinely took over games as he led the Spitfires to backto-back Memorial Cup titles. And he was a key contributor to Canada's silver medal in 2010 at the world junior hockey championship. He made seizing the moment his trademark. And that trademark got him drafted first overall by the Oilers last June.

Seize the moment is exactly what Hall did on Saturday, in a way that can only reinforce that Edmonton's much-discussed rebuilding effort is fraught with promise.

"Not having scouting him at all (in junior), I'm sure that's (performance) is as advertised, with respect to his past," said Oilers head coach Tom Renney. "He certainly looks capable of living up to that billing, moving forward."

The goals lifted Hall into fourth place among rookie scores this season, behind New York Islanders Michael Grabner (25), San Jose's Logan Couture (24), and Carolina's Jeff Skinner (22). He also moved into third place among rookie point getters, with 38, behind Skinner (46) and Couture (37).

But the numbers were less resonant than the fashion in which he took centre stage and stole the show.

"We're a team that's just really fighting to gain respect and create an identity and at the same time, throwing a wrench into the other team's plans.

"Taylor, as did our team, I thought, in the third period too, but certainly Taylor seized the opportunity to really sign his work tonight."

He signed each goal with that lunging fist pump of his and, truly, transformed a dreary afternoon into a magical one.

"It was a fun night on a lot of points," Hall said. "For me get that hat trick is certainly a special moment, one I'll never forget.

"I think even better, honestly, it's a cliché and stuff, but it was really good to get that win.

"We didn't play the greatest hockey in the first two periods, but boy, we came back in the third and played really well.' The Oilers lifted their intensity in the third period when they drew some Atlanta penalties and took full advantage of them.

"The first one, I just took advantage of a walk-in and opened up the garage door," said Hall, who took a feed from Hemsky down low, walked unchecked to the net and jammed the puck between Atlanta goalie Chris Mason's legs. "That was a good one, it was good to get us back in the game.

"The (second) one, Hemsky made a great (give and go) feed to me. All I had to do was put it in about half the net. The third one, I was pretty lucky, I just drove the net again, took a little stab at it, hoping that the puck might be there.

"Sure enough, it was and it trickled in. It was a great feeling."

It was the first time the club had won as many as three in a row since they won four straight in late November and early December. The Oilers now have beaten Dallas and Montreal, both by convincing 4-1 counts, and Atlanta, a 60-point team with playoff aspirations in the Eastern Conference.

Coincidence or not, the little three-game streak has come after Tambellini's meeting with the players.

"That might have been a little bit of a wakeup call," Hall said. "You never want to have your GM come in your room and say stuff like that.

"But it did kind of get us going. It made us realize that even with the trade deadline looming and our record and all that kind of stuff, you still have to go out and play some really good hockey and try to play spoiler.

"That's what we've done the last three games."

jmackinnon@edmontonjournal.com

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Check out my blog, Sweatsox, at edmontonjournal.com/blogs