Sports
Indomitable at home, Ducks continue playoff chase against Jets
Feb 25, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Anaheim Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville (back row, right) celebrates with his coaching staff after winning his 1,000th career coaching victory with a 6-5 win over the Edmonton Oilers at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images The red-hot Anaheim Ducks look to extend their home winning streak to seven games when the Winnipeg Jets visit on Friday.
The Ducks have won three straight overall and 10 of the last 12. That sterling streak includes six consecutive wins in their own rink, which bodes well for the remainder of a season-long nine-game homestand.
Even the NHL’s three-week Olympic hiatus couldn’t slow down the Ducks, though the team had plenty of shaky moments in Wednesday’s 6-5 win over the Edmonton Oilers. Anaheim had to come back from three deficits and never led until Cutter Gauthier broke a 5-5 tie with 1:14 left in regulation.
Such a wild game “kind of jolts us back into where we were” before the Olympic break, Ducks defenseman Jacob Trouba said.
“I think going down two twice and coming back is something to really pull from this game,” Trouba said. “I think that speaks a lot about the group and I guess the character we’re building in the room.”
The victory kept Anaheim five points behind the Vegas Golden Knights for first place in the Pacific Division.
The Ducks are simultaneously chasing a division title and trying to stay above the playoff cutline in the Western Conference’s crowded race.
Winnipeg isn’t out of that race yet, though the Jets sit 11 points behind Anaheim and nine points out of playoff position entering Thursday’s action. They escaped with a critical comeback victory against the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday, winning 3-2 without having led prior to Cole Perfetti’s overtime goal.
Kyle Connor and Gabriel Vilardi each scored on Wednesday, and Mark Schiefele assisted on both of their goals. The three forwards were back playing on the same line, as Jets coach Scott Arniel said he “knew that coming down the stretch here, we’re going to need their offense.”
“They were real good right from the get-go … with that chemistry that they have,” Arniel said. “But the thing I liked about (Connor) is he’s one of our best trackers. He’s one of the guys that pours back on that line and helps to defend. He’s a real solid two-way player for us.”
Scheifele has nine points (two goals, seven assists) and Connor has seven points (three goals, four assists) over their concurrent six-game point streaks.
Gauthier is on a three-game scoring streak and leads the Ducks in goals (26) and points (50).
Since backup Petr Mrazek sustained a season-ending hip injury in early January, Lukas Dostal is 9-3-0 over 12 starts with a .912 save percentage. The Ducks could keep rolling with Dostal, Czechia’s Olympic starter, on Friday or give Ville Husso his first action since Jan. 26.
After his superstar performance for the United States’ Olympic gold-medal-winning team, Connor Hellebuyck is expected to return to Winnipeg’s lineup on Friday. The Jets started Eric Comrie against Vancouver to give Hellebuyck a bit of extra rest after his hectic Olympic schedule.
Leo Carlsson and Beckett Sennecke both scored twice when the Ducks beat the Jets 4-1 in Anaheim on Nov. 9 in their first meeting of the season.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Landen Roupp, Giants claim first matchup of season with Dodgers
Apr 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
Sports
Logan Cooley lifts Mammoth past Knights for Utah's 1st playoff win
Apr 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
Sports
Munetaka Murakami extends HR streak as White Sox pound D-backs
Apr 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
