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LEDUC, Alta. - These are heady times for Taylor Hall and the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers (4-4-1) have won four straight games against Eastern Conference teams. But now comes an all too familiar challenge for Edmonton: trying to match up against their Western rivals. Edmonton began the season 0-4-1 against Western teams before getting back on track against Eastern squads at Rexall Place. But the final two contests of the Oilers seven-game homestand will be against the Nashville Predators on Wednesday night and Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. We certainly get excited about playing Eastern Conference teams, Hall said after practice Tuesday. Its pretty obvious the Eastern style lends itself to the way our team is built a little bit more than the West. But in saying that, I think the way our team is built this year is more capable of playing Western teams. It might not have shown in the first five games but I think as the season goes on you will see that. Head coach Dallas Eakins feels a reason for Edmontons success against Eastern teams, simply put, is confidence. It seems like weve got a little extra mojo and a little extra swagger when were playing an Eastern team, he said. Against the Western teams I feel were a little more tense and we have to get over that. Listen, Montreal is as good as L.A., theyre as good as Anaheim ... we should be able to play with every team in this league now. Veteran defenceman Andrew Ference, who joined the Oilers two years ago after seven years in Boston, credits the four wins to the Oilers playing more responsibly in the defensive zone. Youve seen a lot better job of five guys working together to prevent chances, he said. The other parts of our game were going all right. The more glaring thing for me was the breakdowns that we have definitely limited, if not eliminated, on many nights. Edmontons 3-0 win over Montreal on Monday improved its record to 4-1 on the homestand. This time last year, the Oilers were 3-9-1 and en route to finishing with a 29-44-9 mark. Last year, Edmonton was 14-14-4 against the Eastern Conference but just 15-30-5 versus Western rivals. Despite its early-season struggles, Hall said the Oilers seemed to adopt a new mindset following a 2-0 home loss to Vancouver on Oct. 17. It seems like we have a different mentality on the bench, the bench doesnt seem to get as down, he said. I dont know if its maturity or what it is, but we dont have that quiet on the bench when something bad happens. Meanwhile, Eakins confirmed centre Leon Draisaitl, Edmontons first-round pick in Junes NHL draft, will remain with the club. Wednesday nights contest will be Draisaitls 10th and activate the first year of his entry-level contract. You shouldnt be surprised, said Eakins. Hes part of our hockey team. Hes earned the right to be here in the lineup (Wednesday). He continues to improve. His perseverance and commitment right now is outstanding. Draisaitl, a native of Cologne, Germany, turned 19 on Monday. He took the good news in stride. Im just trying to get better every day, he said. Just get up in the morning and get better every day. You couldnt say I was confident I would stick around but I think for the most part of the nine games, I think I did a pretty good job. Andrew Ference Jersey . -- Adrian Peterson remained in a walking boot to treat a high ankle sprain on his left leg on Wednesday, and coach Leslie Frazier said he will not play on Sunday against Atlanta if he cant hit the practice field in the next two days. Mark Messier Jersey . Or maybe he already did. Clark hit his first homer, Wily Peralta pitched into the seventh inning, and the Milwaukee Brewers beat the Miami Marlins 4-1 Wednesday night. http://www.hockeyoilersshop.com/paul-coffey-jersey/. -- LaMarcus Aldridge returned to the Trail Blazers lineup, happy to know that things didnt go awry without him. Custom Edmonton Oilers Jerseys . UEFA said Wednesday that the champions of England and France only have to include five home-trained players in their 21-man squads next season instead of the expected eight. Only one of the five players needs to be trained by the club itself. Leon Draisaitl Jersey . Nick Holden scored two goals and had an assist and the Avalanche held off the Nashville Predators 5-4 Saturday night for their fourth straight victory.NEW ORLEANS -- George Hills confidence in the clutch, cultivated by a deep playoff run just last spring, was never more obvious than when he received a pass at the top of the 3-point arc inside the final minute. The moment Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday backed off Hill in order to defend against a possible pass or drive, Hill sprung into his shooting motion and drained a 3-pointer with 31.1 seconds left. The shot provided a four-point cushion, and Indiana went on to complete a 16-point, second-half comeback for its second victory in as many nights, 95-90 over New Orleans on Wednesday night. "Id seen Jrue back up just a little bit to try to play the passing lane and I had that rhythm," said Hill, who finished with 19 points. "Im a big believer in not being scared to make a play. Sometimes youre going to hit it and sometimes youre not and today I hit it." Hills performance was but one example of how the Pacers poise made the difference against a talented but young Pelicans squad that will need time to develop chemistry after several significant off-season moves, highlighted by draft-day trade that brought Holiday, a former Philadelphia All-Star, to the Big Easy. "They stayed consistent. They stayed true to their offence. They executed down the stretch," Holiday said of the Pacers. "They didnt hesitate or get nervous when they were down and I think that is something to learn from. Me personally, I think I could have executed better, got some of our teammates in the right places, gotten into better plays. Its about learning. You can learn from every loss." Holiday also admitted he did not expect Hill to pull up for his pivotal 3. "I should have been a little bit closer," Holiday said. "Hes hit big shots before. Hes definitely a guy we dont want to take that shot. " But New Orleans had other players to worry about, such as Paul George, who scored a game-high 32 points, one night after scoring 24 in Indianas home-opening victory over Orlando. Former New Orleans forward David West also helped Indiana spoil the home opener for the rebranded Pelicans by hitting four free throws in the final 1:06. He finished with 12 points and said he was not the least bit surprised by Indianas ability to orchestrate a methodical comeback on the road. "Thats how we won a lot of games last year. We trust our ppreparation, the work that we put in and trust ourselves in those key moments," West said.dddddddddddd"Weve got guys in this locker room that have confidence thats a mile-high, particularly late in the game. We believe whoevers got the ball is going to make the right play. We came up with another tough win. Were confident in games like this even when a team gets going on us early." Lance Stephenson scored 16 points, Roy Hibbert blocked five shots and Ian Mahinmi blocked four for Indiana, which had 12 blocks in all. Eric Gordon scored 25 points, Holiday added 24 and Anthony Davis had 20 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks. The Pelicans led 85-81 after Holidays jumper, but Hibbert scored on a spin move in the paint while drawing centre Jason Smiths sixth foul, then made the free throw to make it 85-84. West then snagged the rebound of Holidays missed jumper and soon after hit the first of his late free throws, giving Indiana the lead for good. On New Orleans next possession, West helped defend Davis miss on a driving layup attempt, and Indiana followed with Hills 3. Trailing 52-36 after Smiths basket opened scoring in the third period, Indiana quickly closed the gap with a 10-0 run fueled by Hills layup and 3-pointer. Holiday snapped the run with free throws after he was fouled on a fast break. Still, George scored 11 in the period, after which he had 24 points, and the Pacers trailed 66-59. Indiana continued to chip away. Hills 3 pulleough the final period, then Georges pullup jumper tied it at 76. "We didnt give it away," Pelicans coach Monty Williams said. "They took the game. I just dont think we had an understanding of the moment in the fourth quarter." NOTES: The Pelicans announced shortly before tip-off that F Ryan Anderson, one of their best 3-point shooters, would miss one to three weeks because of a chip fracture in a toe on his right foot. ... New Orleans native Danny Granger was out for the Pacers with a strained left calf. ... Double technical fouls were called on Stephenson and Pelicans reserve C Greg Stiemsma for shoving one another in the paint after a Pacers tip-in during the second quarter. ... The Pelicans formally introduced their new Pelican mascot, named Pierre, a nod to Louisianas French colonial influences. Pierre replaces Hugo the Hornet. ' ' '