"In the end, it was Ryan Nugent-Hockey Night In Canada.

In his first eight games on HNIC, Nugent-Hopkins produced a dozen points. Last night, in a shootout against the Detroit Red Wings, he scored the winner.

But until the moment Jordan Eberle sent the game to overtime with his second goal of the game with 39 seconds remaining in regulation, unbelievably, the night belonged to Sam Gagner.

Again.

Logic insisted that Gagner's four-goal, four-assist, eight-point night Thursday — the first eight-point game in the NHL since before the 22-year-old was born — would be a Haley's Comet sort of occurrence.

There was just no way he could possibly pick up where he left off.

Then he did.

Giveaway

Gagner followed with two more goals and an assist — as well as providing a spectacular giveaway that led to Detroit's first goal — in the opening period.

Considering coach Tom Renney hadn't moved Taylor Hall to join Jordan Eberle and Gagner until the start of the second period against the Chicago Blackhawks, and Gagner had been held pointless in that first period, it gave him 11 points over a stretch of three periods.

Eleven consecutive points!

It's an Oilers record!

Last Thursday's eight-point output only tied the Oilers NHL record for most points in a game, accomplished twice by Wayne Gretzky and once by Paul Coffey."