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The Edmonton Oilers take solace in one thing from their eighth straight playoff-less season: It cant get any worse. "Last year was such a debacle from start to finish in so many ways," Oilers general manager Craig MacTavish explained to TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie, "that we are for sure going to better, its just a measure of how much." In an attempt to get better, the Oilers made plenty of changes toward the end of last season and through the off-season, however the team did not make a change at head coach. Instead the club elected to stand by Dallas Eakins after a trying first year at the helm of an NHL club. "Ill say this for Dallas, quite incredible the way he kept it together for a first-year head coach in an incredibly difficult set of circumstances and to come through a season like that with his integrity and his sanity as rationally as he did was a real testament and tribute to his character," MacTavish said before giving his bench boss another vote of confidence. "We as an organization believe wholeheartedly in Dallas Eakins. We think hes our coach for the future and its up to us in management to give him the tools and support that he needs to have success because hes not an impediment for us moving forward." Amongst those tools and support are newly hired assistant coaches Craig Ramsey and Rocky Thompson, who were brought in to replace Steve Smith and Kelly Buchberger. "When youre in a losing culture, I think change is important," MacTavish told McKenzie. "I think change brings optimism, I think optimism is important in our business, especially when youre talking about coaching. This isnt to blame it on assistant coaches, thats for sure. But, thats the nature of the business, you bring people in and they add a little bit something different, a little bit different set of eyes and thats why we did it." One thing that wont change with the Oilers new set of eyes is their top line. The trio of Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Jordan Eberle will once again be tasked with leading Edmontons offence. Hall proved to be a star last season, scoring 80 points in 75 games, and now MacTavish says his linemates must determine if they can raise their playing level in order for the Oilers to be successful. "We all know Nugent-Hopkins and Eberle are really good players but what we dont know is whether they are star players. They have a lot of room for growth...but theyve had enough experience and enough time. I think, in fairness to them, they want this more so than anybody else. We need to see whether theyre going to be good players or whether theyre going to be star players." Behind the top line, many questions remain for the Oilers lineup and at the top of that list is centre depth. Mark Arcobello, Anton Lander, Leon Draisaitl and Boyd Gordon are all viable options for the team down the middle. But decisions on where each them will play remains undetermined. "Going into camp thats the single biggest question we have," MacTavish said of the centre position. "We think that the goaltendings stabilized with Viktor Fasth and Ben Scrivens, weve added some depth and some puck-moving defencemen, so I think the depth there is certainly going to be better and the wings have always been strong and the wings are going to be good on our team again this year. The question mark is whether we have enough currently to fill those other positions and if we dont, well be looking to find somebody that can." MacTavish said the question at centre would not, however, impact the decision of how to develop the teams third-overall pick, Draisaitl. "Well make our decision on whatever is best for Leon," MacTavish stated. "We dont want to put him into a situation thats not best for his development, because that is really what well be basing that decision on. Hes got lots of NHL-ready attributes but we dont know that it will all mesh to the point that he can play this year, and well make that decision on whats best for him." The Oilers have a recent history of putting pressure on early draft picks. Nugent-Hopkins and Nail Yakupov both played full NHL seasons after being drafted first-overall. Nugent-Hopkins has developed into the teams top-line centre, while Yakupov has struggled. MacTavish says the team has taken a lesson from their handling of Yakupov. "Development is seldom a straight line," MacTavish said of the 2012 first-overall pick. "For very few people, maybe Sidney Crosby started here and went higher, but I think generally we put way too much pressure on young players. I expect Nail to go in (to camp), hopefully be able to breathe a little bit, take some pressure off and just gain some experience and continue to develop." Last season, the Oilers, despite a pressing need at defence, decided not to rush seventh-overall pick Darnell Nurse into the NHL. Now, the Oilers have added Nikita Nikitin, Mark Fayne and Keith Aulie to join Andrew Ference, Jeff Petry and Nick Schultz on the blue line. MacTavish doesnt believe those additions guarantee Nurse, or another prospect, wont crack the roster as well. "Its safe to say that when youre talking about young defencemen, that both Oscar and Darnell, and Marty is in that mix as well, are going to be excellent defencemen for the Edmonton Oilers for 10 or 15 years. Whether next year is the first year of those 10 or 15 years, that I dont know but theyre very good prospects, theyre going to be very good players and its safe to say they have to play somewhere near the top-four for us to make a case to keep them." Behind the defencemen, this year at least, will be goaltenders Scrivens and Fasth, who were both acquired in-season via trade last year. Though the starter has yet to be determined, MacTavish said Scrivens holds the early lead. "Based on last years work Ben Scrivens had a pretty firm hold of the No. 1 spot by the end of last year. Well pick up where we left off last year with Ben being the de facto No. 1 goalie for us but Viktor is a very capable guy and hes going to fight hard for that position, which is exactly what we want." One thing that could help determine who starts in net for the team is analytics. The Oilers hired former analytic blogger Tyler Dellow to help in that respect. MacTavish said the move should help the Oilers recognize problems not otherwise seen on the ice. "I think analytically when you look at your team and your execution of your team in a myriad of different zones and different situations, it will lead you to ask questions maybe that you otherwise wouldnt ask," MacTavish explained. Is this the year the Oilers finally end their eight-year playoff drought? MacTavish says he learned an important lesson last season on high expectations. "Be careful with optimism," MacTavish told McKenzie. "I think (going into last season) I was more optimistic then I should have been. Youre always evolving and youre always learning in this business if youre going to survive and hopefully Ill be stronger and better and more capable in the job that I do because of the struggles we had last year." The Oilers open training camp on Thursday. Cheap Air Jordan Authentic . It will then be back to business once the puck drops as the two clubs battle for key points in their respective playoff races. Watch the game live on TSN Canadiens and listen on TSN Radio 690 starting at 7:30pm et. Air Jordan Clearance . - Vince Wilfork has played only two career games in Kansas City. http://www.airjordanoutletsale.com/ . "[People] keep asking that question and its not a legit question because we dont have that right, we havent arrived yet," Casey responded. "Weve got to take each game at a time, each possession at a time and look at it that way. Air Jordan From China . Venable and Jeremy Hermida drove in three runs apiece, and the Padres beat the Colorado Rockies 7-2 on Sunday to snap a nine-game losing streak. Cheap Air Jordan Outlet Store . Arsenal had already scored its goals in the third round fixture when the fierce rivalry turned ugly in the final ten minutes as Walcott was being carried off on a stretcher. ARLINGTON, Texas -- Texas Rangers starter Colby Lewis did a bit of reminiscing when he noticed the stands filling up while he warned up in the bullpen before the game. The veteran right-hander went out and provided a promising flashback performance against the New York Yankees, even after another leadoff homer by Brett Gardner. The Rangers clinched their first series in a month with a 3-2 victory Wednesday night. Lewis retired the last 13 batters he faced in seven strong innings, much like the 2010 AL championship series when he beat the Yankees twice -- including the Game 6 clincher at home that got Texas to its first World Series. He had since missed the last half of 2012 because of elbow surgery and missed all of 2013, when he had an unprecedented hip procedure for a major league pitcher that was just short of a full hip replacement. "I was definitely an adjustment period getting used to a prosthetic hip, I guess," Lewis said. "As the weeks have kind of transitioned into the second half, I feel like every time I take the mound, I feel like Im getting stronger, my mechanics are sharper." The Rangers had lost seven consecutive series since taking two of three against Minnesota from June 27-29. Texas went ahead to stay with three runs in the first off Hiroki Kuroda (7-7). Elvis Andrus had an RBI double and scored the tiebreaking run on a single by Adrian Beltre, who came home on Leonys Martins single. Lewis (7-8) allowed four hits, with four strikeouts and New York didnt have another runner after Carlos Beltrans two-out single in the third. "He made some adjustments along the way, and he just showed his presence and his veteran presence out there," manager Ron Washington said. Neftali Feliz pitched a perfect ninth for his third save in as many chances since reassuming the closer role after Joakim Soria was traded to Detroit a week ago. Neal Cotts, considered a potential trade possibility before Thursdays non-waiver trading deadline, retired the top three batters in the Yankees lineup in order in the eighth. Kuroda struck out four while allowing nine hits over seven innings. Derek p;Jeter was 0 for 4 in his final game in Texas, where a pregame ceremony honouring him included a personal appearance by former President George W.dddddddddddd Bush. After the Yankees captain was presented a pair of boots, a video was shown of Bush and Jeter when the former president threw the first pitch before Game 3 of the 2001 World Series, just weeks after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Bush then came out and presented the Yankees captain a framed signed picture of the two together that night nearly 13 years ago. "I heard he was coming to the stadium but I didnt know he was going to come out onto the field, so thats pretty special feeling," Jeter said. "When you have a president come out and give me something to honour, Thats definitely a memory Ill have for a long time and get to brag to a lot of different people." GARDNER GOES DEEP -- AGAIN: Gardner led off the game with a homer for the second straight night, after homering twice in the series-opening loss for New York. His 14 homers are already six more than his career high last year. TRAINERS ROOM Yankees: Second baseman Brian Roberts got his third game off in four days. Manager Joe Girardi said the 36-year-old is dealing with general soreness. Roberts has already played in 91 games this season, after averaging only 48 games the last four seasons with Baltimore. Rangers: Left-hander Derek Holland, who had left knee surgery after getting tripped by his dog on the stairs at his home during the off-season, made his first rehab start for Double-A Frisco. He threw two scoreless innings without allowing a hit, throwing 21 of 33 pitches for strikes with four strikeouts and two walks. ON DECK An off day Thursday for both teams. The Yankees go to Boston for the opener of a three-game series Friday night, when the Rangers start a nine-game trip with a series opener at Cleveland. A-GAME: Rangers left fielder Jim Adduci had two hits and a couple of nice catches. Adduci made a running catch in the second, holding on after he leaped, reached out and then crashed into the wall. "There is zero thought process in that," he said. "That wall won." 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