EDMONTON - The Edmonton Oilers really had no place to go but up, however any progress in the right direction is welcome this season.
Kedric Golston Redskins Jersey .Matt Hendricks scored a pair of goals as the Edmonton Oilers snapped a two-game
losing skid with a 5-2 victory over the visiting New York Islanders on
Sunday.Jordan Eberle, Derek Roy and Matt Fraser also scored for the Oilers
(9-22-9), who won for just the third time in their past 25 games.Edmonton is,
however, 2-0-2 in its last four games since interim head coach Todd Nelson took
sole possession of the Oilers bench, with general manager Craig MacTavish moving
back upstairs.Hendricks said there has been a noticeable difference in the team
of late.Weve talked about our team game. Its been improving night in and night
out, he said. The practices have been improving. There is more energy in the
room right now and you can just sense that we have been knocking on the doorstep
the last few games. A couple of overtime losses and a shootout win. It was a big
team effort tonight and a good feeling.Eberle agreed that the Oilers seem to be
getting out from under the dark cloud that has seen them sitting in last place
in the NHL for the bulk of the season.Were playing a more aggressive style, he
said. We have a bit better of an identity as to the way we want to play right
now. Its obviously turning into some wins. When you win it gives you more
confidence in playing that way.Coach Nelson was also pleased to win a game in
regulation as his team had gone to extra time in its three previous outings.Its
a relief, he said. It was nice to get the goal support tonight and Ben
(Scrivens) was very good in net and made some very timely saves. There were a
lot of really solid efforts from a number of individuals.Johnny Boychuk and
Brock Nelson replied with the goals for the Islanders (26-12-1), who saw a
three-game winning streak come to an end.We were slow coming out and we let them
do some things they wanted to do. Give them some credit, but it was slow and
out-worked and just not good enough, said Islanders captain John Tavares. It
starts with me and being on for three goals against isnt acceptable either. We
need a better effort than that, I dont care how good things have been going. We
cant get complacent, we just didnt play very well.New York head coach Jack
Capuano inferred that there were a number of players on his team that seemed to
have taken a night off.I thought we had some guys that were downright pretty
bad, he said. We gave them three gifts and an empty-netter. We were physical, we
did a lot of good things, but at the end of the day its about execution and
there are some guys that need to look in the mirror.The Islanders are,
nonetheless, 7-2-1 in their last 10 games.Edmonton started the scoring with
three minutes left in the first period as newly-acquired Rob Klinkhammer stole
the puck from Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak behind the net and got it to
Hendricks, who looped in front and deposited it into the wide-open net. It was
the first time in seven games that the Islanders allowed a first-period goal.New
York had 10 shots on Oilers starter Scrivens in the opening frame, to five for
Edmonton on Halak.The Oilers made it 2-0 eight seconds into the second period as
Taylor Hall made a nice cross-ice pass to an unmarked Eberle, who scored his
eighth of the season stick-side on Halak.The Islanders got one of those goals
back on the power play four minutes into the middle frame as a Boychuk blast
from the point cleanly beat Scrivens.Edmonton had a great chance to regain the
two-goal lead with five minutes left in the second period after a great chance
for the Islanders at the other end yielded a two-on-none break for Roy and Teddy
Purcell on a crease-clearing pass from Oscar Klefbom. However, the Oilers duo
passed at least one too many times on the play and missed getting a shot on
goal.We really havent practised that, Roy chuckled. Well work on it tomorrow. It
just bounced over my stick. I had the empty net.The shots were even at 19 apiece
after 40 minutes.Edmonton took a 3-1 lead two-and-a-half minutes into the third
period as Islanders defender Lubomir Visnovsky lost control of a puck and sent
it in front of his own net where Roy was able to snap home his first goal as an
Oiler since being acquired via a trade with Nashville.Scrivens kept the
Islanders at bay with a huge glove save in tight on Tavares midway through the
third.The Oilers put the game away with two-and-a-half minutes left as Hendricks
scored his second of the game and fifth of the season from his knees into an
empty net.Just 17 seconds later, Edmonton made it 5-1 as a Fraser shot from the
top of the circle dribbled into the net after Halak got a piece of it with his
glove.The Islanders were able to make the score look a little better with a
power-play goal by Nelson with 30 seconds remaining- his 15th of the
season.Scrivens finished with 33 saves while Halak stopped 18-of-22 shots.The
Oilers play the second game of a four-game homestand on Tuesday against the
Detroit Red Wings. The Islanders play the fourth game of a seven-game road trip
on Tuesday in Vancouver.Notes: It was the first of two games this season between
the Oilers and Islanders. New York has now lost five straight games in Edmonton,
extending back to March 13, 2003… Forward Rob Klinkhammer made his debut for the
Oilers after being acquired along with a 2015 first round pick from Pittsburgh
for David Perron… Edmonton returned 2014 third overall draft pick Leon Draisaitl
to junior on Sunday. Draisaitl, 19, tallied two goals and seven assists in 37
games as a centre for the Oilers this season. Anton Lander was called up from
the AHL to take his place… Out for the Oilers were forward Tyler Pitlick
(lacerated spleen) and defenceman Keith Aulie, who was serving the second of a
two-game suspension… Not dressed for the Islanders were Michael Grabner (lower
body) and Matt Carkner (back). The pair are both with the Islanders on their
current seven-game road trip and are skating with the team, but have yet to be
activated from injured reserve.
Trent Murphy Redskins Jersey . -- Arizona came out of its last meeting with California a bit discombobulated, hurting from
its first loss and the loss of forward Brandon Ashley for the rest of the
season.
Pierre Garcon Redskins Jersey .J. -- After getting permission from his 7-year-old daughter, New York Giants offensive
lineman David Diehl has retired after an 11-year career that included two Super
Bowl championships. ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Its the $5 million question thats
rumbling through NFL front offices and locker rooms alike: Is All-Pro
Jimmy Graham of the New Orleans Saints a tight end or a really big wide
receiver? It matters to men like Pro Bowl tight end Julius Thomas of the Denver
Broncos, whos up for a big pay raise and could be facing a franchise tag himself
after the upcoming season. The Saints gave Graham the franchise tag for about $7
million as a tight end, the position hes been listed at for his entire four-year
career -- and which he himself lists on his Twitter account. Graham contends
that because he more often is split out away from the tackle, he is really a
wide receiver. And, after all, he did lead the league with 16 touchdown catches
last season. That franchise tag is worth about $12.3 million. The sides stated
their cases in an arbitration hearing earlier this week in Louisiana and are
awaiting a ruling from arbitrator Stephen Burbank. Thomas is understandably
interested in the outcome. "Ive kind of been keeping ... an eye on that
situation, obviously, because it could probably come back to affect a lot of us
tight ends," said Thomas, who is scheduled to make $645,000 this year. "But the
way I feel about it is, Does two letters next to your name on the depth chart
really determine your value to a team?" When it comes to franchise tags in the
NFL, it certainly does. The Saints note that Graham made the All-Pro team and
the Pro Bowl as a tight end and was drafted as a tight end. Graham points to the
86 passes he caught for 1,215 yards last season -- numbers any wide receiver
would envy. "Does it matter if hes a tight end, or if he calls himself a slot
receiver or a running back?" Thomas said. "I mean, if youre going to have
double-digit touchdowns and contribute a bunch of yards in the receiving game, I
just say that youre a guy that makes great plays and are a value to your team.
So I dont know why the argument necessarily comes down to either youre a tight
end or a receiver. I think that if yooure a guy that makes plays, thats how you
should be valued.
Kendall Reyes Redskins Jersey. " Its because top-tier wide receivers make much more money than the games best tight ends.
"Thats true. So I guess thats why its a topic," Thomas said. "But Ill say again:
I think if youre a basketball player, they wouldnt say, Ah, youre a power
forward. Really look out for those point guards. So I dont think that the
position matters. I think if youre a guy making plays for your team, then that
should be your value." Denver general manager John Elway has opened talks with
representatives of both Thomas and wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, who are
entering the final year of their respective rookie deals and would like any deal
to get done by the start of training camp next month. Demaryius Thomas, who has
two dozen TD catches since Peyton Mannings arrival and was the lone bright spot
for Denver in the Super Bowl, figures to command around $60 million over five
years after putting up back-to-back stellar seasons that vaulted him to elite
wide receiver status. Yet, it was Julius Thomas who was the key to Denvers
record-breaking offence last season. The 6-foot-5, 255-pound late-bloomer was a
matchup nightmare for defences and the bulls-eye for many of Mannings biggest
moments last season when he earned his first Pro Bowl honour. He caught the
quarterbacks 51st TD throw that broke Tom Bradys single-season record, one of
his dozen TD receptions that broke Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpes team record for
tight ends. And he came up huge in the Broncos two wins that got them to their
first Super Bowl in 15 years. Broncos coach John Fox said the tight end position
has evolved over the years to the point that "its like another receiver" rather
than "an offensive tackle lined up to block." Thats not to say Fox is going to
dive into the debate over whether a tight end actually is a wide receiver. "Im
not getting into that," Fox said with a chuckle. "Ill leave that for other
people."
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