ndividuaursday night to take a 2-1 lead in their first-

EDMONTON -- Oilers general manager Craig MacTavish feels optimistic about his teams future despite a last-place finish in the Western Conference standings. MacTavish gave his head coach a vote of confidence Tuesday and said while its hard to determine where the team is in its development stage, he feels most of the "heavy lifting" has been done. "Were closer to the end in my mind than we are to the beginning in terms of the development of this team," MacTavish said Tuesday at a season-ending media availability. Expectations were higher in Edmonton this season but the team struggled from the start and finished with a 29-44-9 record for 67 points, good for a 28th-place finish in the 30-team league. There were a few bright lights for the Oilers. Taylor Hall had a strong year with 80 points in 75 games and fellow forwards Jordan Eberle and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had productive campaigns. Defensive woes were a constant problem. The Oilers struggled on the blue-line and between the pipes, allowing a league-worst 270 goals. MacTavish has no plans to add anything "middle of the road" to the current defence core and feels the teams younger players can fill those positions. He does plan to target a high-end defenceman in the off-season. "We need a few pieces that can really move this thing along," said MacTavish. The GM added that Eakins -- who completed his first season as an NHL head coach -- has a bright future with the team. "Im convinced this guy is the right coach to lead us into much more successful times ... hes relentless," MacTavish said. Despite the foundation of young, talented offensive players, the Oilers managed only 203 goals. The goaltending situation was unsettled throughout the season as netminder Devan Dubnyk struggled in the starters role. Dubnyk was dealt to Nashville at the trade deadline and the Oilers acquired Ben Scrivens from Los Angeles. Scrivens and fellow mid-season acquisition Viktor Fasth posted decent numbers as Edmonton finished with a 14-13-3 mark over its last 30 games. MacTavish said there is plenty of work ahead and admitted the team did not live up to expectations. But he likes the young core and is confident improvement can be made. "Were building our team around this group," he said. "And you have to have pieces in that locker-room that you view as guys that are going to develop into winners and guys that are going to develop into superstars. "I feel strongly that we have a number of those pieces in there and those are the guys were going to build that team around. I want them to feel the ownership, I want them to feel the loyalty from myself and the coaching staff that we have the confidence in them to drive this team forward." Air Jordan Shoes For Sale Cheap . Directly ahead was open field, the end zone and the Seattle Seahawks place in the NFC championship game. Air Jordan Shoes From China .Gasol had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and the Bulls beat the winless Orlando Magic 98-90 on Tuesday night.Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 21 points and Taj Gibson added 16 for Chicago, which finally pulled away in the final minutes of a game that was tied after three quarters. http://www.cheapairjordanretro.com/.com) - Devin Booker scored 19 points and top-ranked Kentucky put on a defensive clinic in an 83-44 obliteration of UCLA in the CBS Sports Classic. Cheap Air Jordan China .ca NBA Power Rankings. Winners of 15 straight, with a healthy roster, the Spurs have overtaken the Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder for the number one ranking. Discount Air Jordan Shoes . -- Blake Griffin scored 32 points and grabbed eight rebounds, DeAndre Jordan had 14 points and 22 rebounds and the Los Angeles Clippers outlasted the Golden State Warriors 98-96 on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round series.The countdown is on for Englands opening game of Euro 2016 against Russia on Saturday, but who will be in the starting line-up in Marseille? Former England international Rickie Lambert picked his preferred team on Sky Sports News HQ and there were a surprise omission.Watch the video above to see Lambert explain his selections. England take on Russia at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille on Saturday before facing Wales on June 16 in Lens and then Slovakia four days later in Saint-Etienne. Lambert wants West Brom stay Rickie Lambert keen to stay at West Bromwich Albion Its what weve been looking forward to for such a long time, manager Roy Hodgson told the UEFA website.ddddddddddddWe qualified quite early so weve had our minds on this moment for a long time and its just great to be here.It will be a very good tournament with a lot of good teams taking part. We are relaxed and we think we are in decent form and just hoping we can show that on the field. Also See: England arrive in France Lallana: Winning all that counts Fixtures Latest video ' ' '