Stars crush Oilers 8-3 as Benn scores 400th career goal for Dallas

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Stars crush Oilers 8-3 as Benn scores 400th career goal for Dallas

2025-11-26 13:06 Last Updated At：13:30

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Nathan Bastian scored two goals, Wyatt Johnston had a goal and three assists, and the Dallas Stars jumped out to a four-goal first-period lead and cruised to an 8-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night.

Jason Robertson had a goal and two assists, Jamie Benn and Sam Steel each had a goal and an assist, while Roope Hintz and Justin Hryckowian also scored goals for Dallas, which is 7-1-1 in its last nine games.

Benn became the second player in franchise history to reach the 400-goal milestone, joining Mike Modano (557).

Connor Clattenburg, Evan Bouchard and Jack Roslovic scored for the Oilers, who have lost four of their last five games.

Jake Oettinger made 22 saves for Dallas, while Edmonton's Stuart Skinner only made four saves on eight first-period shots before being replaced at the start of the second by Calvin Pickard, who made 18 saves the rest of the way.

Dallas played without forward Mikko Rantanen, who was serving a one-game suspension after being ejected for boarding for a second time in a week against Calgary on Saturday. Rantanen currently leads the league in power-play points with 15.

Clattenburg scored his first NHL goal in his second NHL game. He was a fifth-round pick of the Oilers in the 2024 NHL draft.

Johnston picked up his second assist of the game on the Stars’ fourth goal, giving him 100 career assists, to go with 100 career goals, achieved on Nov. 13.

Stars end a four-game road trip at Seattle on Wednesday.

Oilers visit Seattle on Saturday.

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Four astronauts await liftoff on humanity's first flight to the moon in half a century

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) — Four astronauts strapped into NASA's new moon rocket and awaited liftoff Wednesday on humanity’s first lunar trip in more than half a century.

The three Americans and one Canadian waved and shaped their hands into hearts as they emerged from crew quarters to cheers and said goodbye to their families. The crowd applauded and cheered again as the astronauts boarded their astrovan for the nine mile (14-kilometer) ride to the launch pad.

Commander Reid Wiseman thanked the throngs who gathered to see them off.

“It's a great day for us. It's a great day for this team,” Wiseman called out.

Tensions were high earlier in the day as hydrogen fuel started flowing into the rocket. Dangerous hydrogen leaks erupted during a countdown test earlier this year, forcing a lengthy flight delay.

To NASA's relief, no significant hydrogen leaks occurred. The launch team loaded more than 700,000 gallons of fuel (2.6 million liters) into the 32-story Space Launch System rocket on the pad, a smooth operation that set the stage for the Artemis II crew to board.

A problem cropped up with the rocket's flight-termination system with only two hours remaining in the countdown. Commands weren't getting through to the system, which is needed to send a self-destruct signal in case the rocket veers off course and threatens populated areas. But the issue was quickly resolved, according to NASA.

“It is time to fly,” Wiseman declared on the eve of launch via X. Favorable weather was forecast.

The four will fly around the moon without stopping or even orbiting — then head straight back for a Pacific splashdown. They will set a new distance record for the farthest humans have traveled from Earth as they zoom some 4,000 miles (6,400 kilometers) beyond the moon and then hang a U-turn.

Astronauts last flew to the moon during Apollo 17 in 1972.

Artemis II is the opening shot of NASA's grand plans for a permanent moon base. The space program is aiming for a moon landing near the lunar south pole in 2028.

“The next era of exploration begins,” NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman posted on X.

Best wishes already have started to pour in, including from England's King Charles III to Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen.

Hansen will become the first non-U. S. citizen to launch to the moon. The crew also includes Christina Koch and Victor Glover, the first woman and first Black astronaut, respectively, destined for the moon.

“In this historic moment, you stand as a bridge between nations and generations,” the king wrote in a letter to Hansen, “and I commend you for your courage, discipline and vision that have brought you to this threshold.”

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