EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) -- Sam Gagner had four goals and four
assists in the NHL's first eight-point game in 23 years, and the
Edmonton Oilers beat the Chicago Blackhawks 8-4 on Thursday
night.



Gagner fell two points shy of matching the league mark of 10,
set by Toronto's Darryl Sittler on Feb. 7, 1976, but he tied the
club record of eight that is held by Wayne Gretzky and
defenseman Paul Coffey.



The 22-year-old Gagner, who had only five goals this season
before Thursday, was chosen as all three stars of the game.



Taylor Hall, Ryan Whitney, Jordan Eberle and Cam Barker had the
other goals for the Oilers (20-26-5), who are 3-0-1 in their
last four games to move into a tie for third to last in the NHL
with Anaheim.



Patrick Sharp had two goals, and Jamal Mayers and Dave Bolland
also scored for the Blackhawks (29-16-7), who have lost four
straight.



Pittsburgh's Mario Lemieux was the last player before Gagner to
have at least eight points in a game when he did it on Dec. 31,
1988, against New Jersey.



Including Sittler's record-setting performance, a player has
recorded eight points in a game 14 times.



The Blackhawks opened the scoring 6 minutes in when Mayers
fluttered a long shot from above the circle that fooled goalie
Devan Dubnyk.



Chicago kept attacking but hit goal posts twice - a long drive
from the point by Brent Seabrook and one from in close by Andrew
Shaw. Just 40 seconds into the second period, Chicago made it
2-0 when Patrick Kane fed a pass to Sharp, who found a clear
lane to beat Dubnyk.



The Oilers responded less than two minutes later when Gagner
began his outburst. With a long pass, Gagner sprung Hall, who
chipped his 18th goal of the year past goalie Corey Crawford.
Hall has scored in three straight games.



Gagner tied it just over seven minutes later when he picked up
his own rebound, circled behind the net, and scored on the
wraparound.



The Oilers took a 3-2 lead with 7 minutes remaining in the
second when Whitney ripped a shot from the point while Edmonton
was on the power play for his first of the season. Gagner earned
an assist.



Chicago tied it 2 minutes later on a short-handed 2-on-1 break
when Dubnyk gave up a rebound to Sharp, who scored his second of
the night.



Gagner made it 4-3 two minutes into the third with his second.
Whitney's shot sailed over the net but bounced in front for
Gagner to put past Crawford.



The Oilers chased the Chicago goalie two minutes later when
Barker fluttered a shot from the point that Crawford waved at as
it went into the top corner. Gagner earned his third assist, and
Ray Emery replaced Crawford.



The Blackhawks got a goal back six minutes into the third as
Bolland made a no-look backhand swat at a puck that squirted
past Dubnyk.



Gagner completed the hat trick 30 seconds later to make it 6-4.
Hall spun around and found Gagner streaking for his sixth point
of the game.



And he wasn't done.



Eberle and Hall did terrific tic-tac-toe passing to get Gagner
the puck, and he slapped his fourth goal of the game into a
wide-open net as Emery slid to try to keep up with the play.



He then added his eighth point of the game by making a prefect
feed to Eberle, who scored his 20th of the season with four
minutes left.



NOTES: It was the fourth and final meeting between the teams.
Edmonton won two of the first three, including a 9-2 home win
over Chicago in November. ... Edmonton's once lengthy list of
injured players is dwindling. D Cam Barker returned from an
ankle injury sustained in November, and rookie scoring leader
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is skating with the team. He is expected to
rejoin the lineup on Saturday, and D Tom Gilbert should be back
next week. ... Chicago LW Andrew Brunette left with an upper
body injury and didn't return. ... Chicago C Brendan Morrison
played in his second game with the Blackhawks since being traded
by Calgary during the NHL All-Star break.