uite circumspect when Wagner banged it in. He was 5 off 24 balls when, from the other end, Boult presented a full, but no

By Alan Eskew, The SportsXchangeGLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Edmonton Oilers had been the laughing stock of the National Hockey League Pacific Division.They finished last in the division last year with 31 victories and made changes at the top after the dismal season. Peter Chiarelli was named the president of hockey operations. Todd McLellan, who left the San Jose Sharks, was named head coach in May.The Oilers won only 24 games in the 2014-15 season and 29 in the 2013-14 season.But with 19-year-old Connor McDavid, the first overall pick in the 2015 draft, leading the way, the Oilers find themselves in an unusual and unexpected position in the Pacific Division -- first place.The Oilers, who are coming off a 6-3 victory Wednesday at Colorado, bring a 12-8-1 record into Gila River Arena on Friday night against the Arizona Coyotes, who have the worst record in the NHL -- 6-10-2, a .389 winning percentage. The Oilers, who won just 12 road games last season, are a NHL best 7-4-1 on the road this season.Its just about keeping perspective over a long season, Chiarelli told ESPN. I dont think, Oh, weve turned corner.McDavid, who has been compared to former Oiler Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky, leads the league with 27 points, 18 assists, including seven on power plays, and 10.3 goals created. McDavid, who missed 37 games with a broken collarbone in his rookie season, had a goal and two assists in the third period against the Avalanche.It starts with us offensively, McDavid told EdmontonOilers.com after the victory at Denver. We had the puck more. Roaming around in their zone and drew a few penalties. (Goalie Cam) Talbot did a good job and our D did a good job. We stuck with it.Talbot leads the NHL with 534 stops and 1,127 minutes.Coyotes goalie Mike Smith had a miserable Wednesday night in a 4-1 home loss to Vancouver.I was awful, Smith told the Coyotes website after the defeat. I was sleeping right from the first goal and through on. It was obvious I wasnt feeling it, but its no excuse. You have to get the job done.He was replaced by Louis Dominque after the fourth goal.Its a goal that has to be stopped and it was obvious after that goal went in my night was over, Smith said. You cant let that in. Its as simple as that. Its one of those nights you have a short memory and get back to work.Coach Dave Tippett said he would wait until Friday to make a decision on who will mend the nets against the high-scoring Oilers.Rookie Christian Dvorak scored the only Coyotes goal. With Brad Richardson out with a broken right leg and former first-round pick Dylan Strome sent back to junior hockey, the Coyotes are searching for offense.You need players to make plays, Tippett said on the teams website. Weve got to make plays and not turn it over. Thats what it is. We need saves. Its all well and good that everybodys willing to fall on the sword, but lets just do the job. Do the job together, and well find ways to win.The Coyotes will need to be at their best to beat the Oilers, who have gone from worst to first in the division.Tigers Jerseys 2020 . Despite the cost, effort and an improved steroid test, its possible that very few -- if any -- positives will be detected, Dr. Richard Budgett told The Associated Press in an interview. "We just dont know what the results from Torino will be," Budgett said. Stitched Tigers Jerseys . It is a cliché dragged out by fans and pundits regularly when discussions take place around which teams are better than others. https://www.cheaptigers.com/ . The recently retired Stern was elected Friday to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and will be enshrined with the class of 2014 on Aug. Detroit Tigers Shirts . Walcott is available for Saturdays home match against Southampton as Arsenal looks to extend its two-point lead at the top of the Premier League. The Gunners are currently the second highest scorers in the league but Wenger insists Walcott will add something extra to his team. Cheap Tigers Jerseys . Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night.India 239 for 7 (Pujara 87, Rahane 77, Henry 3-35) v New ZealandScorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSince 2015-16, most of Indias Tests at home have been played on pitches that were prone to turn in the first hour. Kanpur wasnt as extreme, but there was nothing there for the fast bowlers. New Zealand would have arrived in Kolkata expecting more of the same. The grass on the pitch could well have been arranged to spell surprise. Kane Williamson was stuck in the dressing room with a fever, but his men gave him a get well card that read Skipper, we applied pressure for longer as they reduced India to 239 for 7.Matt Henry helped them forget they had lost another toss. He courted the outside edge and Eden Gardens was only too willing a wingman. The entire square had been dug up and relaid for the new season and bowling back of a length posed a serious challenge to the batsman because of inconsistent bounce. Henry bowled Shikhar Dhawan in his first over of the match and then dismissed the in-form M Vijay with a beauty. Trent Boult set a trap for Virat Kohli and sprung it before the batsman could reach double-digits.India needed someone capable of playing time. They lost three wickets in the morning session, but with the sun beating down, conditions would change. If a batsman could last the early stages, he could really cash in. Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane did for nearly 50 overs, each setting himself up for a century. But New Zealand didnt let them get to the landmark. In the final session of play, Neil Wagner had Pujara caught at short cover for 87 and Jeetan Patel deceived Rahane with pace to trap him lbw for 77.Part of New Zealands success was down to their ability to keep the runs down. Even when they couldnt pick up any wickets in the second session, they allowed India only 79 runs in 31 overs. By doing so, they were able to make sure India couldnt bat them out of the Test as they had done in the second innings in Kanpur. Ross Taylors captaincy and field placements were important in that regard. He had catching men on the drive and the flick, knowing the pitch was offering extra bounce. His bowlers were either wide outside off stump, testing the batsmens patience, or at the stumps, knowing they had protection on the leg side, where India could secure only 12 boundaries. These were either scored off overpitched deliveries - PPujaras flicks early in his innings - or really good shots - Rahanes flick in the 61st over after getting on top of a Santner delivery turning away from him.ddddddddddddndias run-rate struggled to get over three, but they had two batsmen who could lay the foundation for a big first innings. The thing was, when they made the mistake, New Zealand pounced on it. Pujara drove on the up, was caught by Martin Guptill, on his birthday, and a 141-run partnership was broken. Rahane was trapped by a quicker ball from Jeetan Patel after he had forced the batsman back into his crease. The 36-year old offspinner had long abandoned hopes of playing international cricket again. He was chosen ahead of Ish Sodhi despite having only a day and a bit to acclimatise. But his control of line and ability to drift the ball made him dangerous.Only four batsmen reached double-figures for India. Dhawans comeback was limited to 10 balls, Henry making him drag a cut onto his stumps. The 24-year old fast bowler repeatedly beat the right-handers outside edge by straightening the ball off the seam and eventually dismissed Vijay by going a bit wider of the crease, although that may just have been a quirk of fortune because Henry had just been warned for running onto the danger area by umpire Rod Tucker.Kohli had come out had come out seeming determined not to let the bowling get the better of him. He had made a point to prepare for the ball bouncing awkwardly and was quite circumspect when Wagner banged it in. He was 5 off 24 balls when, from the other end, Boult presented a full, but not quite overpitched, delivery. It was hit through the covers for four. The width on offer had triggered the run-scoring instincts in Kohli. In trying to repeat the stroke, to a ball even wider outside off stump, a ball that he probably could have left, he nicked to gully where Tom Latham took a super catch over his head.Henry finished the day on a high for New Zealand with the second new ball, pinning R Ashwin lbw in the 84th over, although replays indicated it may have slid down leg. They would know, though, that Indias bowlers are capable of being as disciplined as they were and they have to win without their best batsman to stay alive in the series. ' ' '