Dallas @ Edmonton preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 3, 2018 ) Edmonton 1, Dallas 4

The Dallas Stars have begun a four-game road trip with victories over a pair of division leaders, tightening their hold on the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference. Dallas attempts to strengthen its grip even more when it visits the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.

The Stars kicked off their trek Monday with a 5-2 triumph over Central-leading Winnipeg and two days later posted a 2-1 win versus Calgary, which leads the Pacific - and the West - with 101 points. Alexander Radulov and defenseman Miro Heiskanen scored power-play goals as Dallas extended its road winning streak to six games and maintained its three-point lead in the race for the top wild-card spot despite losing goaltender Ben Bishop to a lower-body injury in the second period. Edmonton kept alive its slim playoff hopes by trouncing Los Angeles 8-4 on Tuesday to improve to 2-0-1 on its five-game homestand. Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each recorded a hat trick while the former added an assist for the Oilers, who trail Colorado by seven points for the second wild-card spot in the West with six games remaining.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, FS Southwest Plus (Dallas), Sportsnet West (Edmonton)

ABOUT THE STARS (40-31-6): Tyler Seguin helped set up a tally against the Flames to increase his team-leading point total to 74. The 27-year-old center is riding a five-game point streak during which he has notched four goals and five assists. The team has clamped down defensively of late, as it has allowed fewer than three tallies in 11 of its last 13 contests.

ABOUT THE OILERS (34-34-8): Draisaitl, who is one point shy of 100, and Nugent-Hopkins became the first Edmonton teammates to record hat tricks in the same game since Jari Kurri (four goals) and defenseman Paul Coffey accomplished the feat on Dec. 20, 1985 - also against the Kings. Connor McDavid matched Draisaitl's four-point effort with a tally and three assists Tuesday, giving him points in 15 of his last 16 contests. The 22-year-old captain, who is riding a three-game goal-scoring streak, has collected eight tallies and 22 assists while recording 11 multi-point performances during that stretch.

OVERTIME

1. Oilers LW Milan Lucic needs one point to reach 500 for his career.

2. Dallas C Justin Dowling (upper body) exited Wednesday's contest after two periods and is day-to-day.

3. Edmonton D Matt Benning's next game will be his 200th in the NHL.

PREDICTION: Oilers 3, Stars 1