Then, buoyed by the formation of the line of Martin Gelinas, Graves, and Murphy, the Oilers embarked on a run where they lost only once in 13 games. While many of their offensive stars were not scoring as they did in previous seasons, the Oilers succeeded by playing an all-around game, and overtook the slumping Calgary Flames for first place in the division. The Oilers' record over their next twenty games was 15-3-2, and they finished the halfway point of the season with a record of 21-12-7, good for second place in the entire NHL behind the Buffalo Sabres. Messier continued his stellar play in all areas of the ice, and was considered to be one of two favourites for the Hart Trophy along with Bruins' captain Ray Bourque.