ninth. He returned to the mound three weeks later but hasnt been nearly as dominant; hes still looking for his first win of September.Neither team can afford a loss as the r

The Edmonton Oilers have gone 10 seasons without a playoff appearance, employed seven head coaches, won the draft lottery four times and lost 488 of 704 games.Yet the only number that matters now is 97.Thats the number on the sweater of generational talent Connor McDavid, whos going into his second NHL season and leading the Oilers into a new era in their new arena. Edmonton will play the first regular-season game at sparkling Rogers Place against the rival Calgary Flames on Oct. 12, raising the curtain on a fresh start for an organization in need of one.Rogers Place isnt the arena McDavid built, though it should be the scene for the 19-year-olds rapid ascent as one of hockeys brightest stars.He kind of adds another level of excitement, center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins said. Its pretty cool with the new building and everything. Its all kind of coming together at the right time, so now weve just got to go out there and perform, obviously. Its exciting the direction that were heading. Connor is going to be a big part of that. Its going to be fun.Winning the 2015 draft lottery to get McDavid set into motion big changes for the Oilers organization, including the hiring of Peter Chiarelli as general manager. This offseason, Chiarelli signed big power forward Milan Lucic, traded Taylor Hall for defenseman Adam Larsson and drafted Finnish winger Jesse Puljujarvi to complement McDavid, Nugent-Hopkins, winger Jordan Eberle, center Leon Draisaitl and defenseman Darnell Nurse -- all first-round picks.A broken collarbone limited McDavid to 45 games in his rookie season, though he still incredibly put up 48 points and was a finalist for the Calder Trophy. He may have a big, new linemate in the 6-foot-3, 235-pound Lucic, who signed a $42 million, seven-year deal to score goals, dish out assists and hits, and serve as something of McDavids bodyguard for some of his prime seasons.The first thing that stands out about him is just how big he is, McDavid said of Lucic. I didnt know he was that big. Hes a great skater and can really shoot the puck. I think hes definitely going to be a great asset for us.Pencil Lucic in on McDavids left wing and put it in ink that the pride of Newmarket, Ontario, will be the youngest captain in NHL history at 19 years, 273 days old when he wears the C for the first time.Here are some other things to watch with the Oilers this season:LIGHTS, CAM, TALBOTGoaltender Cam Talbot enters the first season of his $12.5 million, three-year deal needing to prove he deserves to be a franchise goaltender. After a rough start last season, the former New York Rangers backup had a 2.37 goals-against average and .922 save percentage in his final 40 games. Edmonton would like Talbot to put up those kinds of performances behind a work-in-progress defense and steal some games along the way.THE BIG GERMANLeon Draisaitl could be a matchup nightmare for opponents as the third-line center behind McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins. Stanley Cup-caliber teams are built down the middle and on the back end, and the Oilers are well on their way if the slick, big 20-year-old German continues to adjust to the NHL.MCLELLAN MAGICThe Todd McLellan-coached, star-studded 23-and-under Team North America dazzled at the World Cup with the kind of fast, exciting hockey that had fans drooling about the future of the sport. He has McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins in Edmonton, too, but knows he cant play that kind of up-and-down, blistering pace for 82 NHL games.Well continue to coach with the same concepts, McLellan said. The team that we have in Edmonton is a really good team but not at the same talent level, and thats natural.DEFENSE UNDER CONSTRUCTIONChiarelli has worked to remake the Oilers blue line by acquiring Larsson and signing Andrej Sekera in the summer of 2015, but its still not at a playoff level. The development of Nurse and 23-year-old Oscar Klebom is essential to that, and it could take another offseason of moves.REPLACING HALLGetting Larsson from the New Jersey Devils cost Edmonton its leading scorer in Hall, who had 26 goals and 65 points last season. The Oilers may be better in the long run after dealing Hall, but theyll have to make up for his production somewhere. Hint: Keep McDavid healthy.---Follow Stephen Whyno on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SWhyno Shawn Marion Jersey . U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield in Manhattan agreed that lawyers on both sides could make their formal requests by Nov. 8. A hearing is scheduled for a day earlier. Jordan Siev, a lawyer for Rodriguez, wrote in a joint letter to the judge from lawyers on both sides that MLB lawyers planned to ask that the lawsuit be dismissed. Dwight Powell Jersey . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively. https://www.cheapmavericks.com/743l-dorian-finney-smith-jersey-mavericks.html . Blackwood, 28, has played the last three seasons in the San Diego Padres system, including the past two summers with Class AA San Antonio of the Texas League. Chris Gatling Jersey . -- If this was Aaron Gordons final home game at Arizona, and it almost certainly was, then he went out in style. Cheap Mavericks Jerseys . Uniteds eighth defeat of a wretched campaign means Liverpool, which currently occupies the fourth and final Champions League place, could go nine points clear of its fierce rival by beating West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. Charlie Adam scored both of Stokes goals at Britannia Stadium either side of Robin van Persies equalizer, with a miserable day for seventh-place United capped by first-half injuries to centre halves Jonny Evans and Phil Jones that forced them off. SEATTLE -- The Houston Astros still have time to atone for their September collapse last season, and they took a big step in the right direction Friday night. The 6-0 win over Seattle and ace pitcher Felix Hernandez moved the Astros (77-71) one game closer to the Mariners, Tigers and Yankees in the American League wild-card standings.The barely-breathing Astros can take push themselves further into the crowded group of contenders with a victory Saturday, which would not only win the series but would also put Houston in a tie with Seattle among the teams chasing Baltimore and Toronto for the two wild-card spots.The Astros will turn to Mike Fiers (10-7) in the second game of the three-game series with the Mariners on Saturday night. Fiers is coming off his shortest outing of the season, having allowed seven runs in just 2 1/3 innings of a 9-5 loss to the Cubs last Sunday.Big games like this, Fiers said after that performance, I need to lock it in and play better than I did.Hell get another shot Saturday night, although Fiers has a pretty tough act to follow. Friday starter Collin McHugh shut out the Mariners for seven innings, allowing just two hits, as Houston kept its chances of a second consecutive wild-card berth alive. McHugh has now beaten Seattle in all four of his starts against the Mariners this season.We just match up pretty well with them -- me, specifically, McHugh said after dropping his season ERA against Seattle to 1.36 this season. Whether its pitch mix or this venue, Ive been able to have some success against them.Seattles Hernandez had quite the opposite kind of night. Having never pitched in a postseason game, Hernandez was in the rare position of taking the mound foor a meaningful September game at Safeco Field and fell flat.dddddddddddde certainly was not on top of his game tonight, manager Scott Servais said after Fridays loss, which snapped an eight-game losing streak and dropped Seattle to three games behind co-wild-card leaders Toronto and Baltimore with just 15 games remaining.The Mariners (78-69) are hoping for better results from Saturday starter James Paxton, a 27-year-old left-hander who can be dominant but can also be frustratingly inconsistent. Paxton turned in his best outing of the season on Aug. 7, when he looked to be on his way to a complete-game win over the Angels before taking a line drive off his left elbow one out into the ninth. He returned to the mound three weeks later but hasnt been nearly as dominant; hes still looking for his first win of September.Neither team can afford a loss as the remaining games dwindle and the distance separating them from the Blue Jays and Orioles looks harder and harder to overcome. Houston did the early damage but might need a sweep just to stay in realistic contention, while Seattle cant afford to lose again Saturday.Weve still got a lot of baseball left to play, Servais said. Were still in a very competitive spot. But (Fridays performance) is not what you wanted to see.For the Astros, the momentum of a Friday win could set the tone for this series and beyond.When youre going into a little bit of a playoff push like this, having the experience of last year, and knowing what it takes, I think that can be a little bit of an advantage for us, Houstons McHugh said. ' ' '