ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The surprising Edmonton Oilers will face their first big divisional test when they play the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday night at the Honda Center.The Oilers, who finished last in the Pacific Division last season, hold first place by two points over the third-place Ducks. Before this season, Edmonton finished last or next-to-last nine times in the past 10 seasons after reaching the 2006 Stanley Cup final.Connor McDavid, the first overall selection in the 2015 draft, has become the Oilers centerpiece and captain at 19. After missing three months of his rookie season because of a broken clavicle, McDavid leads the NHL with 14 assists and ranks third with 19 points in just his second season.Hes a very mature young man. Its surprising hes only 19-years old, the way he carries himself, left winger Milan Lucic told Sportsnet.ca.A former Oiler and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame went further in his praise of McDavid.I think hes the best 19-year-old hockey player Ive ever seen, Wayne Gretzky told todaysslapshot.com. His teammates idolize him and believe hes the guy who is going to lead them to the Promised Land.But Edmonton brings a three-game losing streak into Anaheim. In each of those losses, the opposing team began the scoring within the first two minutes.I think thats been a little bit of our problem lately, gripping the sticks a little too tight, Lucic told the Edmonton Journal after Sunday nights 3-1 loss at home to the New York Rangers. You know, that confidence and that swagger that we had in the first eight games seemed to get away from us. We havent had it in the last eight games.Tuesday nights game also will feature the home debut of Ducks defenseman Hampus Lindholm, who entered the season as a restricted free agent. The 22-year-old Swede signed a six-year contract worth $31.5 million on Oct. 27 but had to wait for a visa before rejoining the Ducks on Wednesday in Columbus for a 3-2 overtime loss. After three games, Lindholm owns a plus-1 rating but has yet to register a point or a penalty.Meanwhile, goalie Jonathan Bernier is providing stiff competition for John Gibson, Anaheims undisputed starter as the season began. Acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs in July for a conditional draft pick, Bernier ranks eighth among NHL goalies with a .934 save percentage and owns a 2.08 goals-against average despite playing just six games. The 28-year-old veteran also won both of his starts this season.Gibson, however, allowed 13 goals in his past four starts, lost two of three decisions and watched Bernier relieve him in both defeats.Despite Gibsons recent slump, right winger Jakob Silfverberg believes the Ducks are lucky to have two interchangeable starting goalies, a pattern Anaheim followed last year with Gibson and Frederik Andersen.It just brings calmness to the team when he steps up and makes some big saves at key times, Silfverberg told the Orange County Register in referring to Bernier. Weve been very fortunate, in my opinion, to have two very good goalies. I think thats exactly the same case this year. Nike Shoes China . -- The boos poured down on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at the end of a horrible first half. Nike Shoes China Wholesale . LOUIS -- Valtteri Filppula assisted on three of Tampa Bays four goals, and the Lightning beat the St. http://www.chinashoesnike.com/ . Durant finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds, Jackson matched his career high with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Lamb scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, lifting the Thunder to a 94-88 win over San Antonio and snapping the Spurs 11-game winning streak. Cheap Nike Shoes China Free Shipping . The deal is pending a physical, assistant general manager Bobby Evans said. Traded from Seattle to Baltimore on Aug. 30, Morse also can play first base and right field to give manager Bruce Bochy some flexibility in writing his lineup. Nike Shoes Cheap China . -- Sergey Tolchinksy scored his second goal of the game 3:56 into overtime as the Sault Ste. ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Playing inside or outside, Moe Wagner doesnt have a preference. Just being on the floor for extended minutes is a priority right now for the 6-foot-11 Michigan sophomore from Berlin, Germany.Wagner played a season-high 25 minutes and responded with a career-high 20 points, leading four Wolverines in double figures during an 82-55 win over Kennesaw State on Saturday.Prone to foul trouble and defensive lapses for much of his college career, Wagner was able to show off both his 3-point range and post moves against an undersized Kennesaw State (3-6) team. He made 7 of 8 shots from the floor, including 3 of 4 3-pointers.Im just happy my teammates trust me with both aspects (inside and outside), so Im just going to keep working on both of them, said Wagner, who is shooting 17 of 22 (.772) over the past three games.Zak Irvin scored 19 points, D.J. Wilson added 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Derrick Walton Jr. finished with 13 points and eight assists for the Wolverines (6-2).Like Wagner, Wilson has had his own battles with foul trouble. He was limited to two points in 11 minutes before fouling out in the Wolverines last game, a 73-70 loss to Virginia Tech. He and Wagner played together for extended stretches Saturday, giving Michigan a pair of players over 6-foot-10.We havent got the opportunity to play together a lot, but when we do I think it opens up a lot on things on the court, both offensively and defensively, said Wilson, who also made a 3-pointer along with being on the receiving end of two alley-oop passes from Walton. Were both versatile and both skilled.Although Wilson said part of his plan to stay on the floor longer was to take my foot off the gas peddle when going after offensive rebounds. He was still able to post the second double-double of his career.Were going to play a lot better teams than Kennesaw, but its good that (Wilsons) in there and and mixing it up, Michigan coach John Beilein said. Laast year, he spent a lot of time drifting around the 3-point line.ddddddddddddKennesaw State kept things interesting early when Kendrick Ray scored 10 of his game-high 24 points over a five-minute stretch of the first half to help the Owls erase Michigans early 10-2 advantage and take an 18-16 lead of its own.The Owls never led again, however, and Michigan was in control by halftime, when it used a 17-2 run to take a 47-29 lead into the locker room. The Wolverines biggest lead was 35 points midway through the second half.BIG PICTUREKennesaw State: Despite staying close early thanks to outside shooting, the Owls couldnt compete against the bigger Wolverines on the inside. Aubrey Williams, a 6-foot-7 forward who ranked fourth in the country with 12.8 rebounds per game, had just four against Michigans bigger post players.Michigan: Coming off a home loss to Virginia Tech, which Beilein blamed on a poor defensive performance, the Wolverines had a laundry list of things to improve on. Beilein noted that although Ray was able to knock down some shots, Walton and Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman limited him to one assist and forced seven turnovers. The Wolverines also limited the Owls to three offensive rebounds, more than 10 shy of their season average.GOING FOR 80Michigan improved to 51-1 under 10th-year coach John Beilein when scoring 80 or more points.MILESTONE AWAITSSecond-year Kennesaw State coach Al Skinner missed in his first chance to pick up his 400th career victory. Instead, Belein won his 746th game, 488 coming at the Division I level.UP NEXT:Kennesaw State: The Owls have an 11-day break until playing Rider at the Gotham Classic at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 14.Michigan: The Wolverines host Texas at 9 p.m. Tuesday before heading on the road Saturday to face a No. 11 UCLA team just upset No. 1 Kentucky. ' ' '
