Seven Oilers score in victory over Stars
EDMONTON, Alberta -- Seven players made the scoresheet with goals for the Edmonton Oilers as they finally got some traction going during their eight-game homestand with a 7-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Tuesday.
Connor McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Benoit Pouliot, Oscar Klefbom, Darnell Nurse, David Desharnais and Patrick Maroon scored for the Oilers (36-24-9) who snapped a three-game losing streak to improve to 2-2-1 on the lengthy homestand.
Brett Ritchie replied for the Stars (27-32-10) who lost three games in a row.
Pouliot broke a scoring drought that extended back to Dec. 8 to get the Oilers on the board 12 minutes into the first period, beating Stars goalie Antti Niemi with a slapper from the slot.
The Oilers increased their lead on the power play with 1:59 left in the first when Klefbom scored his 12th of the season on a long point shot.
Edmonton made it 3-0 early in the second period as Nurse beat Niemi with a deceptive wrist shot.
Dallas got on the board six minutes into the second period when Ritchie slipped a shot past Oilers goalie Cam Talbot for his 12th goal of the season.
The Oilers came flying back with two goals in less than two minutes. Desharnais scored his sixth goal of the season, followed quickly by Maroon with his 22nd. That was all for Niemi, who was pulled in favor of Kari Lehtonen.
Edmonton got two more in the third period as Nugent-Hopkins and McDavid completed the rout.
NOTES: Both teams are back in action Thursday as the Stars play the third contest of a four-game trip in Vancouver and the Oilers meet the Boston Bruins. ... It was the third and final meeting of the season, with each recording a win in the previous encounters. The last time they met, Edmonton recorded a 5-2 victory with Connor McDavid notching his first career hat trick. ... Stars F Jiri Hudler was a healthy scratch for the fourth consecutive game. ... Oilers G Came Talbot made his league-leading 62nd start of the season. ... Edmonton owns the top wild-card spot in the Western Conference after missing the playoffs for the past 10 seasons, going to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final and losing to Carolina in 2006.