. It is also the first time a pair of teammates reached the mark since 2010, when Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom of the Washington Capitals accomplished the feat. The Oilers added to their lead just over a minute into the second on a highlight-reel goal by McDavid. The goal was McDavid's 40th of the season, making him the first Oiler to record back-to-back 40-goal campaigns since Kurri in 1989. Dallas got one back on the power play six minutes into the first when Radulov beat Oilers goalie Mikko Koskinen high to the glove side. The Stars tied the game eight minutes into the third period when Heiskanen scored on a shot through a screen to make it 2-2. NOTE: It was the third and final meeting of the season between the two teams. The Stars won two of the three games. ... Dallas goaltender Ben Bishop started Wednesday's win over Calgary, but was injured midway through. Landon Bow was called up from Texas (AHL) to serve as backup for Thursday's game. UP NEXTStars: At Vancouver on Saturday. Oilers: Close out a five-game homestand against Anaheim on Saturday.---More NHL: https://apnews.com/NHL and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Time: 9:00 PM EDT Venue: Rogers Place, Edmonton, Canada / All season, the Dallas Stars have believed Anton Khudobin is one of the NHL's best backup goalies. They'll once again be putting that theory to the test. With No. 1 netminder Ben Bishop sustaining a lower-body injury Wednesday in the second period of Dallas' 2-1 road win over the Calgary Flames, the Stars will be leaning on Khudobin in the immediate future, including their Thursday road game against the Edmonton Oilers." I never feel an 'uh-oh' when Bish comes out, and that's because we have Anton Khudobin," Stars coach Jim Montgomery said. "We have two great goalies. We are very, very fortunate." Bishop is listed as day-to-day, and the Stars are likely to summon Landon Bow from the minors. Khudobin stopped 15 of 16 shots in 26-plus minutes of action against the Flames to net the win that keeps Dallas (40-31-6, 86 points) three points ahead of the Colorado Avalanche and the rest of the pack for the first Western Conference wild-card playoff spot. Both the Stars and Avalanche have five games remaining. Dallas has won two straight, both on the road. After beating the Winnipeg Jets 5-2 to start the trip, the Stars dropped the Flames on Wednesday for their sixth straight road victory." We're playing a good brand of hockey right now," Montgomery said, noting his team's defensive play has been limiting opponents' second and third chances. The Oilers (34-34-8, 76 points) are one of the teams chasing a Western Conference wild-card spot. They are coming off a wild 8-4 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, a night in which numerous Edmonton players either reached career highs in goals or points or extended their best seasons. For example, Connor McDavid, who collected a goal and three assists, now has 112 points, a career best. Leon Draisaitl, who finished with a hat trick and an assist Tuesday, needs one more goal for 50 and one more point for 100 -- standards he's never reached. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who also produced a hat trick against the Kings, has a career-best 28 goals and 64 points. Even lesser lights are getting in on the action. Zack Kassian set a career best with his 15th goal while Alex Chiasson established a career high with his 36th point." The main thing for us is making the playoffs and getting wins as a team," Nugent-Hopkins said with a shrug. "When you have individual success, it doesn't mean as much when the team isn't doing as well. We're still pushing here and we're still in the hunt, so we're going to keep pushing. Individually, we're going to keep going there, and the points come when the team is doing well." Unfortunately, things haven't gone well for the team this season in Edmonton. Instead of gearing up for the Stanley Cup tournament, the Oilers are on the verge of missing the playoffs for the 12th time in 13 seasons. They are seven points out of a playoff spot with six games remaining. They didn't get any help on the out-of-town scoreboard Wednesday night, but they are still alive mathematically." We know what we need to do as a team. The rest is out of our control," Nugent-Hopkins said. "You can look and it can mess with your mind a little bit." --Field Level Media
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