Oilers 8, Blackhawks 4
Sam Gagner etched his name in the franchise record book with eight points as the Edmonton Oilers rolled to an 8-4 home victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday.
With four goals and four assists, Gagner matched the Edmonton mark for points in a game previously shared by Hall of Famers Wayne Gretzky (twice) and Paul Coffey.
All-Star Jordan Eberle and Taylor Hall each recorded a goal and three assists, defenseman Ryan Whitney added a tally and an assist and former Chicago blue-liner Cam Barker also scored for the Oilers, who have won three straight meetings with Chicago by a combined 21-9 score.
Gagner snapped his 11-game goalless drought 7 1/2 minutes into the second period as he grabbed the puck after his pass attempt was blocked, skated around the net and buried it at the left post to forge a 2-2 tie.
He gave the Oilers a 4-3 lead at 1:54 of the third and completed his second career hat trick – and first since March 19, 2009, at Colorado – less than five minutes later with a shot from the right faceoff circle.
Gagner, who entered with five tallies in 43 games this season, wrapped up his first four-goal performance by completing a tic-tac-toe passing play with 5 1/2 minutes remaining. He recorded his eighth point of the night by setting up Eberle's 20th goal of the season with 3:45 to play.
Patrick Sharp scored twice while Jamal Mayers and Dave Bolland also tallied for the Blackhawks, who fell to 0-1-1 on their franchise high-tying nine-game road trip. Chicago has lost six straight away from home and four in a row overall.