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 seas

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. Custom Shirts China .com) - The Calgary Flames aim to bounce back from their first regulation home loss of the campaign on Friday night when they host a Detroit Red Wings club that they swept in three meetings a season ago. Custom Shirts Cheap . Supported by three-run homers from Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos, the young right-hander went seven strong innings in the Washington Nationals 8-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night. http://www.shirtscustom.us/ .C. -- Calgarys Kevin Koe did it the hard way again. Custom Shirts Outlet . The formidable trio of Canadian receivers -- individually known as Chris Getzlaf, Rob Bagg and Andy Fantuz -- will share the field at Mosaic Stadium one more time on Sunday. Cheap Custom Shirts .ca NFL Power Rankings, overtaking the Denver Broncos and remaining ahead of NFC competition San Francisco, Carolina and New Orleans. TORONTO -- The UFC takes another step toward filling Conor McGregors sizable featherweight shoes when Max Holloway takes on Anthony Pettis in the main event of UFC 206 on Saturday night.With McGregor now focusing on his lightweight title, Jose Aldo has been upgraded from interim to featherweight champion. But McGregors successor as the undisputed 145-pound title-holder wont be decided until next year when Aldo is supposed to face the winner of Saturdays main event at the Air Canada Centre.Holloway is fighting for the same interim title that Aldo won in July via unanimous decision over Frankie Edgar at UFC 200. Pettis wont receive the same title if he wins since he failed to make weight Friday, weighing in at 148.Confused? The process is the UFCs way of restoring order after the championship havoc caused by McGregor ruling two weight classes. The Irish star wanted to defend both titles but the UFC stepped in to avoid a championship logjam that might see fighters in one weight class chaff while McGregor attended to the other division.The water at this division was super-murky, said Holloway. Now its super-clear. You know, the winner of this fight gets to fight for the undisputed title. And its always great to have extra cash in your pocket, too, so it means a lot. So we will see what happens. Well take care of business (Saturday) and its a straight shot after that.Aldo dethroned Mike Brown in November 2009 to win the WEC featherweight title and, when the UFC introduced lighter weight classes, became the UFCs first 145-pound champion. The Brazilian defended the UFC title seeven straight times before McGregor knocked him out in 13 seconds at UFC 194 last December.dddddddddddd.The 25-year-old Holloway (16-3), a stylish well-rounded fighter, has won nine straight since losing a decision to McGregor in August 2013.The 29-year-old Pettis (19-5) made his featherweight debut in August, submitting Charles Oliveira. Pettis moved down a weight class after losing three straight at 155 pounds, a losing streak that started with Rafael Dos Anjos taking his lightweight title via unanimous decision at UFC 185 in March 2015.When the Toronto card was originally announced, many hoped it would signal a return to action for former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre. But that didnt happen and light-heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier was matched against No. 1 contender Anthony Johnson in a rematch of their UFC 187 fight won by Cormier.That was scrapped when Cormier was injured in training, moving Holloway-Pettis up.Former light-heavyweight champion Rashad Evans was also removed from the Toronto card after failing to secure a license from the local commission for the second fight in a row. Middleweight Tim Kennedy, his opponent both times, will fight Kevin Gastelum instead Saturday.Donald Cowboy Cerrone takes on Matt Brown in the co-main event.The bouts are the first for Cerrone and Kennedy since stepping forward last week as two of the five high-profile fighters serving as the face of the Mixed Martial Arts Athletes Association. ' ' '