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Stars, Panthers excited for benefits of two-game series in Finland

NHL: Dallas Stars at Buffalo SabresOct 22, 2024; Buffalo, New York, USA; Dallas Stars center Roope Hintz (24) skates up ice with the puck as Buffalo Sabres right wing Jack Quinn (22) tries to defend during the first period at KeyBank Center. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images

Two of the NHL’s top teams head to Europe for a two-game series that starts Friday and could also double as a Stanley Cup Final preview.

The Dallas Stars and the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers are in Tampere, Finland, for the second and final leg of the 2024 NHL Global Series.

While Finland is home to just 5.6 million people, the Nordic country is a hockey powerhouse.

According to TheHockeyWriters.com, there are 37 Finnish players on NHL rosters, which equals more than 5 percent of all players. That includes center Roope Hintz of Tampere and defensemen Miro Heiskanen and Esa Lindell for Dallas. Panthers center Aleksander Barkov hails from Tampere, while center Anton Lundell, center Eetu Luostarinen and defenseman Niko Mikkola are also returning to their native country.

Dallas comes off a five-day break after winning its last two games. Last season’s Western Conference finalists are currently second in the Central Division behind the Winnipeg Jets. They arrived in Finland on Monday in preparation for the back-to-back contests.

The trip is a chance for the Stars to bolster team chemistry. Stars coach Pete DeBoer thinks that could pay dividends later in the season.

“It’s really hard to force those situations. They almost have to pop up organically,” DeBoer told reporters on Tuesday. “And this trip, I think, provided that. Guys are across the world and in a different country, and our Finnish players were so excited to show them some of the culture locally here. Our guys dove into it.”

Center Matt Duchene leads the team with six goals and 11 points overall. He tallied three goals and three assists last week in earning the NHL’s Third Star of the Week.

Dallas entered Thursday leading the league in goaltending with a 1.89 goals-against average in nine games. Both top netminder Jake Oettinger and his backup, Casey DeSmith, have a GAA under two and have saved nearly 94 percent of the shots they’ve faced.

Florida heads across the Atlantic having last played on Monday and a winner of three straight. The Panthers lead the Atlantic Division but have a goal differential of only plus-three through 11 games.

Center Sam Reinhart leads the Panthers with seven goals and nine assists. His scoring has come in all aspects of the game, with two goals and two assists on the power play and an NHL-best two short-handed goals.

The series may mark the Panthers debut of Tomas Nosek, whom the team placed on long-term injured reserve at the start of the season after suffering an upper-body injury in camp.

The 32-year-old Czech signed a one-year deal with Florida in the offseason after playing 36 games last season with the New Jersey Devils. Coach Paul Maurice told reporters Thursday that the Panthers plan to activate the nine-year veteran should he come through Friday’s morning skate in good order.

While the Panthers haven’t had as much time in Finland, Maurice, like DeBoer, believes the series will help the team down the road.

“This is going to be a fantastic series. … There’s one guy maybe on each team banged up, but you’re getting the best,” Maurice said. “Barkov and Hintz, those are just two really top-end guys, both playing center ice, very probably playing head-to-head. It’s going to be good hockey.”

–Field Level Media

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Landen Roupp, Giants claim first matchup of season with Dodgers

MLB: Los Angeles Dodgers at San Francisco GiantsApr 21, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Landen Roupp (65) throws against the Los Angeles Dodgers during the first inning at Oracle Park. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

Landen Roupp outpitched Yoshinobu Yamamoto, San Francisco got RBI singles from Rafael Devers and Jung Hoo Lee in a three-run first inning, and the Giants held off the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers 3-1 in the opener of a three-game series Tuesday night.

Roupp (4-1) allowed just one run on one hit in five innings, then watched five relievers combine for four innings of shutout ball, helping the Giants open a six-game homestand with a win after a 4-5 trip.

Roupp struck out seven and walked five in his first career win over the Dodgers.

Seeking his first-ever victory over the Giants, Yamamoto (2-2) went seven innings, allowing six hits and three runs, all of which scored in the first. He walked two and fanned seven.

Willy Adames got the cold night rolling for San Francisco with an infield single, after which Luis Arraez singled and Matt Chapman walked to load the bases.

Each of the next three batters delivered single runs, with Devers’ single chasing home Adames, Casey Schmitt’s sacrifice fly scoring Arraez, and Lee’s single plating Chapman.

Roupp allowed a two-out single by Hyeseong Kim in the second but no other hits until a wild spate in the fourth. He walked four of the first five batters he faced that inning, including Kim with the bases loaded to force home Teoscar Hernandez.

The right-hander got out of the one-out jam by inducing a double play grounder off the bat of Alex Call.

The Dodgers got the potential tying run on the bases with two outs in the seventh before Erik Miller struck out Kyle Tucker to retain the 3-1 lead.

Ryan Walker worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his second save.

Ryan Borucki, Matt Gage and Keaton Winn also contributed to the three-hitter in the first meeting of the season between the longtime California rivals.

Lee was the only player in the game with multiple hits, a pair of singles. The Giants out-hit the visitors 6-3, with the Dodgers’ Hernandez stroking the game’s only extra-base hit, a double.

–Field Level Media

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Logan Cooley lifts Mammoth past Knights for Utah's 1st playoff win

NHL: Stanley Cup Playoffs-Utah Mammoth at Vegas Golden KnightsApr 21, 2026; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Utah Mammoth defenseman Sean Durzi (50) attempts to deflect a shot attempt by Vegas Golden Knights center Brett Howden (21) during the first period of game two of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

Logan Cooley scored the go-ahead goal on a rebound with six minutes remaining to give the Utah Mammoth the first playoff win in franchise history, 3-2 over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 2 of their best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series on Tuesday in Las Vegas.

Cooley buried a rebound of a Dylan Guenther shot just inside the left post, even the best-of-seven series at one victory apiece. The scene now shifts to Salt Lake City for the next two contests, with Game 3 on Friday.

Guenther had a goal and an assist, Kailer Yamamoto had two assists and MacKenzie Weegar also scored for Utah. Karel Vejmelka made 19 saves, including a close-in shot by Mark Stone from the left side of the net with five seconds left to seal the win.

Stone and Ivan Barbashev each a scored goal and Jack Eichel had two assists for Vegas, which lost for the first time in regulation in 10 games (8-1-1) under coach John Tortorella. Carter Hart finished with 26 saves.

The teams exchanged own goals during the first period, which ended with the score 1-1.

Vegas, which rallied for a 4-2 victory in Game 1, took a 1-0 lead at the 11:40 mark on a power-play goal. Stone’s cross-crease pass for Tomas Hertl near the right post caromed straight into the net off the skate of Utah defenseman Mikhail Sergachev. It was Stone’s 43rd career playoff goal and his sixth in the past six games dating back to the regular season.

Utah tied it near the end of the period when Weegar’s shot from the right point deflected off the stick of Vegas defenseman Noah Hanifin and then off the pads of Hart into the low slot toward Golden Knights defenseman Rasmus Andersson, who kicked the rebound into the net.

The Mammoth took a 2-1 lead in the second period on a one-timer from the top of the left circle by Guenther off a pass from Yamamoto.

The Golden Knights tied it 62 seconds later. Barbashev intercepted a clearing pass by Sergachev in the neutral zone and then skated in and split a pair of Utah defensemen before roofing a backhand shot into the top far corner for his second goal of the playoffs.

–Field Level Media

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Munetaka Murakami extends HR streak as White Sox pound D-backs

MLB: Chicago White Sox at Arizona DiamondbacksApr 21, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami hits a home run in the second inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Rookie Munetaka Murakami homered for the fourth straight game, Colson Montgomery went deep for the third straight and the Chicago White Sox slugged four homers in an 11-5 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix on Tuesday.

Murakami, Michael Vargas and Montgomery hit consecutive solo shots with two outs in the second inning to help stake Sean Burke (1-2) to a 7-0 lead.

Murakami, who has nine homers in 23 games, reached base four times, adding two infield singles and a walk. He singled and scored in a four-run first off Merrill Kelly (1-1).

Vargas homered for the second straight game, Montgomery and Sam Antonacci notched two hits and three RBIs apiece and Tristan Peters had three hits. The White Sox have won three of four and scored 33 runs over that span.

Arizona’s Ildemaro Vargas had a three-run homer in the ninth to extend his season-opening hitting streak to 16 games, the longest in the majors. Dating back to the end of the 2025 season, Vargas has hit in 18 straight. Alek Thomas had two hits, including his first homer of the season for the Diamondbacks, who had won 10 of 14.

The White Sox have 11 homers in their last three games and 14 in their last five.

Antonacci had a two-run inside-the-park homer in the ninth when his ground ball inside the bag at third appeared to be touched by the ball boy along the left field line. Left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. did not immediately attempt to field it as Antonacci circled the bases for his first career homer.

Burke gave up two runs on five hits in six innings in his first road victory since a 4-0 decision at Detroit on Sept. 28, 2024. He struck out three and walked one.

Kelly gave up eight runs and 10 hits before leaving with one out in the fifth. He struck out five and walked three in his second start of the season after opening on the injured list.

The first four White Sox batters reached in the first. Andrew Benintendi singled, Murakami reached on an infield single, Vargas walked and Montgomery doubled in two. Everson Pereira hit a sacrifice fly and Antonacci tripled for a 4-0 lead.

Murakami, Vargas and Montgomery homered in the second for a 7-0 lead after 13 batters.

–Field Level Media

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