EDMONTON, Alberta – Taylor Hall had a hat trick and the Edmonton Oilers scored early and often to make it three victories in a row for the first time this season, cruising past the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 on Saturday.
Devan Dubnyk made 23 saves for his second shutout of the season and Ladislav Smid also scored for the Oilers (14-13-7), who are 6-2-2 in their past 10 games.
Hall's third goal also set an Oilers record for the fastest hat trick to start a game at 7:53, beating 12:38 set by Wayne Gretzky in 1986.
The Oilers are in a four-team tie just one point back of eighth seed St. Louis in the Western Conference playoff race.
The Canucks (19-10-6) had their six-game winning streak ended.
Edmonton was unstoppable to begin the game, scoring on its first three shots.
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