By Alan Eskew, The SportsXchangeGLENDALE, Ariz. -- The Edmonton Oilers had been the laughing stock of the National Hockey League Pacific Division.They finished last in the division last year with 31 victories and made changes at the top after the dismal season. Peter Chiarelli was named the president of hockey operations. Todd McLellan, who left the San Jose Sharks, was named head coach in May.The Oilers won only 24 games in the 2014-15 season and 29 in the 2013-14 season.But with 19-year-old Connor McDavid, the first overall pick in the 2015 draft, leading the way, the Oilers find themselves in an unusual and unexpected position in the Pacific Division -- first place.The Oilers, who are coming off a 6-3 victory Wednesday at Colorado, bring a 12-8-1 record into Gila River Arena on Friday night against the Arizona Coyotes, who have the worst record in the NHL -- 6-10-2, a .389 winning percentage. The Oilers, who won just 12 road games last season, are a NHL best 7-4-1 on the road this season.Its just about keeping perspective over a long season, Chiarelli told ESPN. I dont think, Oh, weve turned corner.McDavid, who has been compared to former Oiler Hall of Famer Wayne Gretzky, leads the league with 27 points, 18 assists, including seven on power plays, and 10.3 goals created. McDavid, who missed 37 games with a broken collarbone in his rookie season, had a goal and two assists in the third period against the Avalanche.It starts with us offensively, McDavid told EdmontonOilers.com after the victory at Denver. We had the puck more. Roaming around in their zone and drew a few penalties. (Goalie Cam) Talbot did a good job and our D did a good job. We stuck with it.Talbot leads the NHL with 534 stops and 1,127 minutes.Coyotes goalie Mike Smith had a miserable Wednesday night in a 4-1 home loss to Vancouver.I was awful, Smith told the Coyotes website after the defeat. I was sleeping right from the first goal and through on. It was obvious I wasnt feeling it, but its no excuse. You have to get the job done.He was replaced by Louis Dominque after the fourth goal.Its a goal that has to be stopped and it was obvious after that goal went in my night was over, Smith said. You cant let that in. Its as simple as that. Its one of those nights you have a short memory and get back to work.Coach Dave Tippett said he would wait until Friday to make a decision on who will mend the nets against the high-scoring Oilers.Rookie Christian Dvorak scored the only Coyotes goal. With Brad Richardson out with a broken right leg and former first-round pick Dylan Strome sent back to junior hockey, the Coyotes are searching for offense.You need players to make plays, Tippett said on the teams website. Weve got to make plays and not turn it over. Thats what it is. We need saves. Its all well and good that everybodys willing to fall on the sword, but lets just do the job. Do the job together, and well find ways to win.The Coyotes will need to be at their best to beat the Oilers, who have gone from worst to first in the division. Authentic Custom Rays Jersey . R.J. Umberger scored twice to lead the Blue Jackets to a franchise-record for consecutive wins with a 5-3 victory Tuesday night over the Los Angeles Kings. Custom Rays Jerseys . Calgary scored on the first shift, and Michael Cammalleri scored twice as the Flames cruised to a 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday. http://www.customraysjersey.com/ . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. Custom Rays Jersey China . Already owning gold from competition in Vancouver in 2010, Loch posted a combined four-run time of 3:27.526. That included a track-record third run of 51. Evan Longoria Jersey Large . Roman Josi had a goal and an assist to lead the Predators to a 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Monday night. AUBURN, Ala. -- The Auburn Tigers have put themselves in position to contend for a division title and possibly set up a huge showdown with No. 1 Alabama.Coach Gus Malzahn wants to put the brakes on any such talk. He declares that the 11th-ranked Tigers are zeroed in on Saturdays matchup with Vanderbilt, not pondering the kind of ambitions fueled by a five-game winning streak.The only thing weve talked about is Vanderbilt, Malzahn said Tuesday. Weve got our hands full. Hypotheticals in this league -- if you look ahead in this league, you get burned. Weve got our hands full. Our players know that, our coaches know it. Weve not said one word about anything left in the schedule.I dont know what everybody else is saying but in our house, in our little room here with our coaches and players, were locked in on Vanderbilt. Thats it, 100 percent.Fans can be excused for perhaps getting ahead of themselves after two straight disappointing seasons for Auburn and a rough start.The Tigers (6-2, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) do figure to be favorites in the next three games before the regular season-ending Iron Bowl. None of the opponents before that have winning records.Auburn is favored by 26 points against Vandy (4-4, 1-3), then travels to Georgia (4-4, 2-4) before hosting FCS team Alabama A&M (3-5).The Tigers have been hot since surviving an 18-13 win over No. 15 LSU. Theyve won their last three SEC games by 24 points over Mississippi State, 53 points over Arkansas and 11 points over Mississippi .Auburrn cornerback Josh Holsey said players cant get caught up in the buzz on campus.dddddddddddd He said the team has embraced the one game at a time approach since a 1-2 start that included losses to No. 3 Clemson and No. 7 Texas A&M.You just cant get too bigheaded into those type of things, Holsey said. Youve got to stay focused, stay level-headed. You cant start getting too ahead of yourself when you start winning. Thats when teams start to slip up.Were hungry right now still. Weve still got a lot to prove.Quarterback Sean White and tailback Kamryn Pettway have led the offensive resurgence after a 1-2 start. Pettway is leading the SEC with 133.3 rushing yards per game, including a nations best 199-yard average in October.White has remained the SECs most efficient passer but also kept a pair of scoring drives alive against Ole Miss with third-down runs. That included a 16-yard scramble to set up the go-ahead score late in the third quarter.The third-and-13 (run) was unbelievably huge, Malzahn said. He sacrificed his body and found a way. There was a third and 5 early in the game, (where) he found a way to get a first down when they were playing man coverage.Hes starting to really evolve as a quarterback in this league and really starting to establish himself as a really good quarterback in this league.---More AP college football coverage: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '