THREE THINGS: Oilers topple Stars

13 different Oilers skaters registered at least a point and seven scored goals in the team's 7-1 romp of the Dallas Stars Tuesday night. Here are three things to take from the win.

1. NURSE BECOMES WORKHORSE
Darnell Nurse went through a long-term injury that kept him out from December 1 to February 26. Now that he's back, the 2012 seventh-overall pick seems to be picking up where he left off.

Nurse scored a goal in the Oilers win over Dallas, and finished +4 with three shots on goal, two blocked shots and two hits. Perhaps more importantly, Nurse led the Oilers in ice time, playing 21:16. That is the most Nurse has played in a game since he skated 22:31 against the Los Angeles Kings on November 17.
"I think he's still evolving," said Oilers Head Coach Todd McLellan. "He's obviously coming off of a severe injury that kept him out for quite a while so his game is just catching up to him. Tonight is a night where you're ahead and can just play him a lot, make him feel good and he deserved to play a lot."

2. DROUGHTS END
A few Oilers players saw scoring droughts come to an end on Tuesday. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins potted his first since February 22, and Nurse had his first since November 17.

"It was a nice feeling. As you could see I just picked that corner and ripped it," Nurse quipped. "It was a good feeling to get one, but it was nice to get the win. That was a big one for us."
Benoit Pouliot also had his first goal since December 8.
"To get the first one, an important one, and get rewarded, I'm sure his confidence will go up and we need that from him," said McLellan.
3. THIRD LINE DANGEROUS
The Oilers have plenty of firepower on their top two lines, but imagine if the third line could be an offensive mismatch for opponents. That's what seemed to happen Tuesday night and has been a trend since Pouliot returned from injury.
There appears to be instant chemistry with Pouliot, NHL Trade Deadline acquisition David Desharnais and Zack Kassian. Pouliot and Desharnais each scored a goal and Kassian registered two assists against Dallas.

"The chemistry has been good," said Pouliot. "Davy has been winning a lot of draws, making good passes. Kass just skates all the time and is always on the rush. It helps us a lot."
Desharnais has two goals in five games as an Oiler, while Kassian has four points in his last four games.
"Every team that has had success going far in the playoffs has a third line," said Pouliot. "They say the third line is a checking line, but you've got to produce, you've got to bring some goals and you've got to do something offensively and make sure the pucks don't go in our own net. So I think it's really important. Our fourth line has been good all year long and the top two get (involved) every game. It's something that's collective. The whole team has to bring it."