GAME RECAP: Oilers 5, Stars 2

EDMONTON, AB - Connor McDavid wasn't off the NHL points lead for long.
The Oilers captain recorded a three-point night in a 5-2 victory over the Dallas Stars, including an empty-netter and two assists, to regain the lead in the NHL scoring race from Florida's Jonathan Huberdeau on Wednesday night. McDavid posted his 14th multi-point game in his last 20 outings, and now has 43 goals and 70 assists through 76 games.
Mike Smith saw his shutout streak end at 144:39 after blanking his opponents over three games that included two straight shutouts, but the 40-year-old was stellar again after making 34 saves to win his seventh straight start and clinch his first victory over the Dallas since March 9, 2013.
Evander Kane and Derek Ryan had the Oilers ahead by two in the opening frame until Dallas tied the contest in the second period, but Zach Hyman and Jesse Puljujarvi responded before the second intermission as Edmonton saw out the victory in the final 20 minutes to improve its season total to 96 points with a 45-26-6 record.
Duncan Keith recorded an assist and was an impressive +5 on the night alongside Evan Bouchard, who was +3 with two helpers.

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FIRST BLOOD

Kane followed his captain's lead on a rush just over three minutes into the game when McDavid drove wide with speed and rounded the Dallas net before dishing a backhand feed in front of the near post to his linemate dashing towards goal.
Despite four Stars defenders on all sides of him, Kane had all the space he needed to quickly deliver McDavid's feed into the back of the net past Scott Wedgewood for his 17th of the season. The assist returned McDavid into a tie for the NHL lead for points with his 69th assist and 111th point, which was level with Florida's Jonathan Huberdeau at the time.

PLAY OF THE GAME

The line of Hyman, Draisaitl and Yamamoto was not to be denied on this occasion.
At the end of a possession-dominant shift in the Dallas zone, Leon Draisaitl's stationary shot from the blueline was tipped coming through the slot by Hyman, who corraled his own rebound and calmly slid his 25th of the season past a helpless Wedgewood to return the Oilers to a one-goal lead after Dallas tied the game through Roope Hintz earlier in the second period.

PUCK LUCK

Just three minutes after Kane opened the scoring, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins let fly a snapshot from the left circle that caught the stick of Dallas defenceman Joel Hanley on the way through and took a crazy hop before bouncing off the crossbar. Wedgewood couldn't react to the rebound in time, as Derek Ryan was already winding up the second chance that beat the outstretched pad of the Dallas netminder to double the Edmonton advantage and mark the veteran's first goal in 20 games.

Sometimes you make your own luck, and Puljujarvi was the beneficiary of that when Bouchard's point blast struck the Finn on its way before finding the back of the net with two minutes left in the middle frame. It was Puljujarvi's 14th of the campaign and only his fourth goal in 35 games after last scoring in an April 3 win over the Anaheim Ducks.

SAVE OF THE GAME

The Stars pulled Wedgewood with a minute-and-a-half left, desperate for two goals, and won an offensive-zone faceoff to Klingberg to set up Joe Pavelski down low. The veteran Stars forward got a good shot off, but a sprawling Smith came up with the save up high before his mask was popped off and play was whistled down.

Smith's shutout streak came to an end at 144:39 after Jason Robertson scored nine seconds after a Too Many Men penalty expired in the second frame, but the 40-year-old surely won't mind too much, as Edmonton came away with the two points and he was able to record his seventh straight win and earn his first win in 10 starts against the Stars dating back to March 9, 2013.
In a show of confidence, Smith took two cracks at the open net in the game's final moments. "It would have been nice to see, but he's been moving the puck great," Keith said. "He makes our job so much easier back there when he's playing the puck as well as he is. I don't think I've played with anybody or seen anybody who plays the puck as well as him."

THE DOCTOR DELIVERS

Jamie Benn did his best all evening to get under the skin of the Oilers, but defenceman Darnell Nurse got Edmonton's revenge when he put the Dallas captain into the Oilers bench with a solid check at the blueline. Benn dumped the puck in and Nurse connected on a devastating check that sent the Stars forward into the boards before flipping a full 180 degrees over and into the laps of the Oilers players situated on the bench. The crowd at Rogers Place had plenty to cheer about on Wednesday night, but the check from the Edmonton blueliner might've drawn the biggest cheer.

THE CAPTAIN'S BACK ON TOP

Coming into the game, McDavid was in the unfamiliar position this season of trailing the league leader for points by one after Florida's Jonathan Huberdeau took the lead with 112 points. But a three-point night of a goal and two assists marked McDavid's 14th multi-point game in his last 20 contests and elevated him back into the league lead with 113 points, including 43 goals and 70 assists.

PARTING WORDS

McDavid's thoughts on the 5-2 win over Dallas:
"I thought we got off to a good start, got them on their heels, and pulled ahead. They're a good team and they pushed back, but I liked our response when they pushed. It was a good game, a similar type of story than the last one."
McDavid on the feel of the Oilers group:
"I think guys are confident right now. Up and down the lineup guys feel good about their game and their team game. A lot of good things happening, and we've got to keep at it."
McDavid on playing more structured hockey as of late:
"I think our five-on-five game has improved a lot. I like where it's at. When you're solid five-on-five, not a ton of things are going to go on."
"When you defend well, you have the puck a little bit more and you can play offence more and play in the opposing zone. I think we've done a good job of defending from the offensive zone, in a sense we have the puck and hem teams in. When you're doing those things, offence goes up and your goals against go down."

McDavid on the style of hockey the Oilers have played down stretch:
"This year we've had to fight for our lives. We've been down and out and out of the playoffs by as many as eight points or so. We were out of the race and had to scratch and claw our way in, we still haven't clinched so we have some work to do. We've been playing playoff hockey for a while. I think last year we were more comfortable in our position; I'm not going to say we took our foot off the gas, but we didn't have to play that desperate style of hockey."
Keith on the Oilers resolve when Dallas tied the game in the second period:
"I thought we were playing pretty good the whole game. Maybe that first bit of the second period they were able to get some plays off the rush, but everybody just kind of settled in the way we need to be playing to have success and we were able to pull ahead. Those two goals to pull ahead in the second were the difference."
Keith on how the Oilers compare to other contenders he's been on with Chicago:
"When everybody is contributing, the chances of having success are higher. It's great that we've come a long way in a short amount of time, but there is still a lot of work ahead. Especially come playoff time. It's just a matter of getting there and once we're there, putting together what we've learned and gained over the last couple months to work. That's going to be the real test there's going to be no easy games."

Keith on whether how playing well down the stretch carries over to the playoffs:
"There's probably something to be said about it, but at the end of the day, it's about executing and being in the moment in playoffs. I think right now we've done a good job of staying in the moment, staying one game at a time and knowing that we got a few games left. We try to do our job to play well, we have a tough game coming up on Friday against a top team in our conference. We really don't look past that."
Coach Woodcroft on a strong Oilers start after a few days off:
"I thought we were on our toes. We looked rested, we came out of the gate hot, and all 11 forwards were going. I thought we simplified early in the game and it allowed us to assert our will on the other team."
Woodcroft on the Oilers tracking to the playoffs in good form (15-3-2 in last 20 games):
"I think we're building. We're improving, and improving's fun. I think improving leads to feeling confident, and feeling confident allows you to gain competence and feel good about certain situations as we head into the month of May. I think our team's trending in the right direction but I've said it here over the last couple of days - I don't think we've played to our full potential yet."

Woodcroft on McDavid's push for offence and the team's hopes he finishes top in the scoring race:
"I think our team is pushing to help him win that as the team's pushing to help Leon try and get 60 goals; like how we want Warren Foegele to end up with a career-high in goals, and tonight, Zach Hyman did that (25 goals). We're all working for each other and I think it's important, but if you ask any of those players, their goal is to get our team to 100 points here and find a way to get an 'X' beside your name which signifies that you've earned the right to punch your ticket to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I think that's what everyone's goal is. Everyone wants to do well personally, but at the forefront of everybody's mind is the collective goal of working towards the best we can be and punching our ticket for the NHL playoffs."