Talk » will have something. Our spiinners will also

The best team in the Western Conference is coming to Madison Square Garden on Thursday night, and its the ... Edmonton Oilers?Thats not a misprint; through the 10 games, the Oilers are 7-2-1 and its not outlandish to think that their game against the 7-3-0 New York Rangers is a potential Stanley Cup Final preview. Sure, each team has 72 games remaining and the calendar just flipped to November, but this is the marquee matchup on the NHL schedule.The Oilers are coming off a 3-2 overtime loss to the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Tuesday night, one that saw budding superstars Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews go head-to-head for the first time. McDavid who entered the game as the NHL leader and points, was held off the scoresheet.He was also the object of Leafs coach Mike Babcocks passive criticism of his usage; Oilers coach Todd McLellan gave McDavid 22:46 of ice time, the second-most minutes hes played this season and an unusually high amount for even an elite forward like McDavid.No, no. If you keep your shifts short and all that, I feel like Im in pretty good shape, McDavid said to ESPN. I feel like I can do that. It is what it is.McDavid played a season-high 23:27 in a season-opening 7-4 win in Calgary and had two goals and an assist. He has been held pointless over the past two games, so Thursday against the Rangers could reveal hes in a slump or show he was due for a breakout game.This is also a homecoming for goaltender Cam Talbot, who was a backup goaltender for the Rangers for two seasons before joining the Oilers last season. He is among the league leaders in goals-against average (2.14) and save percentage (.932) and should get the start Thursday.I feel pretty confident, Talbot said to the Edmonton Journal. Its going to be a good test for us, two good teams, its going to be a battle out there. I have to be ready to bring my A game and give us a chance to win.Theres not much to say about it, Oilers coach Todd McLellan said to the Edmonton Journal. We watch him every night and hes played tremendous. Its not even alarming for us -- thats just how he plays night in and night out.Talbot may have to bring something more than an A game against the Rangers, who lead the league with an average of four goals per game. In their past two matchups against the Tampa Bay Lightning and St. Louis Blues -- two perennially quality teams -- they have scored 11 goals and allowed one.The most encouraging part of that two-game stretch was Henrik Lundqvist making 35 saves in a shutout of the Blues. Lundqvist had a .901 save percentage in October but used one outstanding start to get to .917 and perhaps remind people hes still an elite goaltender.He will need to be sharp again with McDavid and the Oilers -- who are seventh in scoring with 3.10 goals per game -- looking to show they are the real deal in a tough road matchup.Obviously you see (McDavids) highlights every night, Dan Girardi said to the Daily News. Hes making big plays every game. 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"It just felt like it was my time to move on," she said in a phone interview from her hometown of Burlington, Ont.Sachin Tendulkar has suggested that every Ranji Trophy game be played on two different pitches to prepare a better Test team for overseas assignments.He also suggested that bilateral Test series could be made more engaging by having back-to-back home-and-away rubbers so that the strength of two teams remains mostly constant but the varying conditions pose a bigger challenge.I have thought a lot about neutral venues in Ranji Trophy [which is being tried this season], Tendulkar said at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in Delhi.I have a suggestion which can be radical. When we go to places like Australia, New Zealand, West Indies and South Africa, we play with Kookaburra balls which swing early. Think about a young Ranji batsman playing with SG Test ball in India and then facing difficulty overseas.Let us have the first innings on a greentop with Kookaburra balls, which would give openers a challenge. Even the bowlers will have something. Our spiinners will also learn how to bowl with the Kookaburra on greentops.ddddddddddddNow let there be a pitch adjacent to the greentop which would be a rank turner. Now the second innings will be played on that track with the SG Test ball which would also help our batsmen play against quality spin bowling. We have been too focussed on playing pace in overseas conditions but we should not forget how to play spin bowling.Tendulkar felt the use of two different pitches and two different balls would nullify the toss factor.A captain would start thinking that winning the toss will give him only 10 percent advantage that is his right to choose first, he said. But if he chooses to bowl on greentop he should remember that he would need to bat on a turner in the fourth innings.BCCI president Anurag Thakur was also among the audience. ' ' '