winning streak including a sweep of a four-game homestand that featured games against two of the top four teams in the NHL, the

Bruce Bennett/Getty ImagesThe Edmonton Oilers fired Peter Chiarelli on Wednesday in the midst of his fourth season as the team's general manager Bobby Ryan Jersey , according to TSN's Ryan Rishaug.Edmonton has 49 points this season via a 23-24-3 record, which leaves the team three points out of a wild-card spot in the Western Conference.If the Oilers fail to reach the playoffs, it would mark the 12th time in 13 seasons that they have fallen short of the postseason.The 54-year-old Chiarelli previously served as the Boston BruinsGM for nearly nine years and led them to a Stanley Cup win in 2011.Days after getting fired by the Bruins in 2015, Chiarelli was hired by an Oilers team that hadn't reached the playoffs since making it to the Stanley Cup Final in 2006.The Oilers made slight improvements under Chiarelli in his first season before registering 103 points in 2016-17 to qualify for the postseason.Edmonton beat the San Jose Sharks in the first round of the playoffs before falling to the Anaheim Ducks in seven games in the second round.Success was short-lived for the Oilers, as they dropped to 78 points in 2017-18 because of an inability to surround star forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl with a strong supporting cast.Edmonton also has a suspect defensive corps and goaltending situation.While Chiarelli did make the slam-dunk selection of McDavid with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NHL draft, he made some questionable decisions as well.Chiarelli traded forward Taylor Hall to the New Jersey Devils for defenseman Adam Larsson, and Hall went on to win the Hart Memorial Trophy as NHL MVP last season.He also signed forward Milan Lucic to aseven-year, $42 million contract. After recording 50 points in his first season with the Oilers http://www.officialsenators.com/authentic-adidas-chris-wideman-jersey , Lucic had just 34 last season and has only 12 points through 50 games this term.Chiarelli's first order of business in Edmonton was hiring Todd McLellan as head coach, but he was fired this season and replaced by Ken Hitchcock.While things haven't gone according to plan in Edmonton during the McDavid era, the Oilers are still in the thick of the playoff race, and they have arguably the best player in the world on their side.With a few tweaks heading toward the trade deadline, the Oilers have enough talent to reach the playoffs and make some noise. SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) The Florida Panthers were one of the best teams in the NHL after the All-Star break, not that it counted for much at the end of the regular season.Despite winning five games over the final seven days and tying for first in the NHL with 25 victories over their final 35 games, the Panthers failed to make the playoffs for the fifth time in six years and the 15th time in 17 seasons.”It’s disappointing Craig Anderson Jersey ,” said center Vincent Trocheck, who finished the season with a team-high 31 goals. ”Everybody here had one goal, and that was to make the playoffs and then go on a push. We were really hoping we’d get a little help from some other teams and maybe get in. I think there’s a lot of teams that didn’t want to play us if we got in.”The Panthers finished with a 44-30-8 record for 96 points, matching the 2014-15 Boston Bruins for most points for a team missing the playoffs. The Panthers were 25-8-2 after the All-Star break, tying the Winnipeg Jets for most victories over the final 35 games.But Florida couldn’t overcome a slow start. The Panthers was 4-8-2 in its first 14 games and played catch-up the whole season. They held a playoff position for one day (after the games of Oct. 12) the entire season.”We’re extremely proud of this group,” Panthers coach Bob Boughner said. ”The effort they put forth, especially in the second half of the season … 96 points is not easy to do in this league. It’s a shame that we’re not in with that kind of a total. Maybe that’s something that’s going to even drive us harder next year.”—Some things to know about the Panthers’ disappointing 2017-18 season, and a look to `18-19:OFFSEASON PRIORITY: The Panthers don’t seem to need much after their post-All-Star break performance Authentic Erik Karlsson Jersey Kids , particularly since every key member of the team is signed through next season or beyond. The top seven scorers, as well as goalies Roberto Luongo and James Reimer, are signed through the 2019-20 season. If anything, the Panthers could use another scorer and maybe a defenseman, but the team has a solid foundation in place.YOUTH IS SERVED: Perhaps the biggest reason for optimism for the Panthers looking ahead has to do with a core that’s been around for a few years but is still very young. The team’s top three scorers – Aleksander Barkov, Vincent Trocheck and Jonathan Huberdeau – and top-four defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Mike Matheson all are 24 or younger.HOME COOKING: The Panthers’ season-ending five-game winning streak including a sweep of a four-game homestand that featured games against two of the top four teams in the NHL, the Nashville Predators and the Boston Bruins. A 4-3 victory against the Buffalo Sabres in the home finale helped the Panthers set a franchise record with 27 home victories, breaking the mark of 26 set in 1999-2000.STILL GOING: Defenseman Keith Yandle completed a ninth consecutive season without missing a game Jean-Gabriel Pageau Jersey , extending the longest active streak in the NHL to 715 consecutive games. Yandle ended the season with 56 points, one shy of the franchise record for defensemen set by Robert Svehla in 1995-96. His blueline partner Aaron Ekblad tied the franchise mark for defensemen with 16 goals, first set by Jason Garrison in 2011-12.HOW LONG CAN LUONGO GO? Goalie Roberto Luongo started three games in four nights last week as the Panthers made their final push to the playoffs, and he joined Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy as the only goalies to play 1,000 games when he defeated Boston on Thursday. But he did turn 39 on April 4 and missed 32 games this season because of injuries. The Panthers will have to decide whether they want to come back next season with Luongo and James Reimer as their goaltending duo.—