Gagner has 4 goals, 4 assists in Oilers' win over Blackhawks
EDMONTON, Alberta – Sam Gagner had four goals and four assists in the NHL's first eight-point game in 23 years, and the Edmonton Oilers beat the Chicago Blackhawks 8-4 on Thursday night.
Gagner fell two points shy of matching the league mark of 10, set by Toronto's Darryl Sittler on Feb. 7, 1976, but he tied the club record of eight that is held by Wayne Gretzky and defenseman Paul Coffey.
The 22-year-old Gagner, who had only five goals this season before Thursday, was chosen as all three stars of the game.
Taylor Hall, Ryan Whitney, Jordan Eberle and Cam Barker had the other goals for the Oilers (20-26-5), who are 3-0-1 in their last four games to move into a tie for third to last in the NHL with Anaheim.
Patrick Sharp had two goals, and Jamal Mayers and Dave Bolland also scored for the Blackhawks (29-16-7), who have lost four straight.
Pittsburgh's Mario Lemieux was the last player before Gagner to have at least eight points in a game when he did it on Dec. 31, 1988, against New Jersey.
Including Sittler's record-setting performance, a player has recorded eight points in a game 14 times.
The Blackhawks opened the scoring 6 minutes in when Mayers fluttered a long shot from above the circle that fooled goalie Devan Dubnyk.
Chicago kept attacking but hit goal posts twice — a long drive from the point by Brent Seabrook and one from in close by Andrew Shaw. Just 40 seconds into the second period, Chicago made it 2-0 when Patrick Kane fed a pass to Sharp, who found a clear lane to beat Dubnyk.
The Oilers responded less than two minutes later when Gagner began his outburst. With a long pass, Gagner sprung Hall, who chipped his 18th goal of the year past goalie Corey Crawford. Hall has scored in three straight games.
Gagner tied it just over seven minutes later when he picked up his own rebound, circled behind the net, and scored on the wraparound.
The Oilers took a 3-2 lead with 7 minutes remaining in the second when Whitney ripped a shot from the point while Edmonton was on the power play for his first of the season. Gagner earned an assist.
Chicago tied it 2 minutes later on a short-handed 2-on-1 break when Dubnyk gave up a rebound to Sharp, who scored his second of the night.
Gagner made it 4-3 two minutes into the third with his second. Whitney's shot sailed over the net but bounced in front for Gagner to put past Crawford.
The Oilers chased the Chicago goalie two minutes later when Barker fluttered a shot from the point that Crawford waved at as it went into the top corner. Gagner earned his third assist, and Ray Emery replaced Crawford.
The Blackhawks got a goal back six minutes into the third as Bolland made a no-look backhand swat at a puck that squirted past Dubnyk.
Gagner completed the hat trick 30 seconds later to make it 6-4. Hall spun around and found Gagner streaking for his sixth point of the game.
And he wasn't done.
Eberle and Hall did terrific tic-tac-toe passing to get Gagner the puck, and he slapped his fourth goal of the game into a wide-open net as Emery slid to try to keep up with the play.
He then added his eighth point of the game by making a prefect feed to Eberle, who scored his 20th of the season with four minutes left.
Notes: It was the fourth and final meeting between the teams. Edmonton won two of the first three, including a 9-2 home win over Chicago in November. ... Edmonton's once lengthy list of injured players is dwindling. D Cam Barker returned from an ankle injury sustained in November, and rookie scoring leader Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is skating with the team. He is expected to rejoin the lineup on Saturday, and D Tom Gilbert should be back next week. ... Chicago LW Andrew Brunette left with an upper body injury and didn't return. ... Chicago C Brendan Morrison played in his second game with the Blackhawks since being traded by Calgary during the NHL All-Star break.
