Sports
Experience vs. Youth: Golden Knights take on Mammoth in 1st-round series
Mar 19, 2026; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Utah Mammoth right wing Dylan Guenther (11) slashes the stick of Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb (3) during the second period at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images Following a topsy-turvy season that saw them fire their head coach with just eight games left in the regular-season, the Vegas Golden Knights appear to be peaking at just the right time.
The Golden Knights (39-26-17, 95 points) sprinted to a 10-game point streak down the stretch to claim their fifth Pacific Division title in nine seasons and will host the Utah Mammoth in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs beginning Sunday night in Las Vegas.
Vegas didn’t clinch the Pacific Division until it defeated Seattle, 4-1, in its regular-season finale. The Golden Knights, who won the 2023 Stanley Cup under Bruce Cassidy, captured 15 of a possible 16 points (7-0-1) down the stretch under the guidance of John Tortorella, who replaced Cassidy as head coach on March 29.
Before the coaching change, Vegas had won just five times (5-10-2) since the Olympic break and saw a four-point first-place lead disappear, falling to just four points above the Western Conference playoff bubble.
“Kind of a weird year for sure, especially in the Pacific,” defenseman Brayden McNabb said. “A lot of ups and downs. We were on top there for a while, and then we were in third flirting with the wild card. And then we found our game at the right time and were able to win the division. That’s what we wanted to do and we did it.”
Barely. Edmonton, which finished in second place with 93 points, lost four of its last six games (2-2-2), including a 5-1 home loss to the Golden Knights, while Anaheim, which finished third three points behind Vegas with 92 points, lost eight of its final 10 games (2-6-2).
Tortorella, who guided Tampa Bay to the 2004 Stanley Cup title, is credited with rebuilding confidence in a more relaxed locker room that appeared to have tuned out Cassidy.
“All I know is that since I’ve been here, they have played at a level and played as a team, consistently,” Tortorella said.
Utah (43-33-6, 92 points) finished fourth in the rugged Central Division but captured the top Western Conference wild-card spot, the franchise’s first playoff berth since moving from Arizona to Salt Lake City two years ago. Prior to that, the then-Arizona Coyotes last made the playoffs in 2020, losing in five games in the first round to Colorado.
Mammoth defenseman Nate Schmidt was a member of the inaugural “Golden Misfits” Vegas team in 2017-18 that went all the way to the Stanley Cup final before losing in five games to Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. He believes Utah, which won two of the three regular-season meetings with the Golden Knights, has the potential to do well in its first playoff series.
“I love the idea that our guys are quick, they’re fast, they’re in this time of year for the first time,” Schmidt said. “The youthfulness is going to be something I’m excited to see. When we put pressure on teams and continue to roll over them and roll onto them, get our puck in and kind of let our speed kind of dictate the pace and how we want to play, it makes it really hard to play against us.”
“We did our job getting there, and now it’s on to the next milestone here — getting some wins, getting some experience, and doing what we came here to do,” forward Michael Carcone said.
Tortorella said he’s excited to see how his new team responds to the challenge.
“It’s the most exciting time because everybody’s playing at a different level, and it’s a good test to see how high you can get as a team,” Tortorella said. “Everything is going to be amped up. As each game goes by in the series, it’s going to be harder and harder. So it’s a great challenge for the players.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Early homers propel Rockies to skid-ending win over Cubs
Jun 9, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Rockies catcher Hunter Goodman (15) reacts to his two run home run in the first inning against the Chicago Cubs at Coors Field. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images Hunter Goodman and Ezequiel Tovar homered as the Colorado Rockies beat the Chicago Cubs 7-3 in Denver on Tuesday.
Edouard Julien had two hits and drove in three runs, Willi Castro finished with three hits and Kyle Karros had two hits for Colorado, which snapped a four-game losing streak.
Tomoyuki Sugano (6-4) allowed three runs on six hits in five-plus innings for the Rockies. He struck out three and walked two.
Michael Busch homered and Alex Bregman had two hits and an RBI for Chicago, which has lost six of its past eight games.
Colorado jumped on top in the first inning against Colin Rea. TJ Rumfield was hit by a pitch with two outs, and Goodman followed with his team-leading 18th home run of the season to make it 2-0.
Tovar expanded the Rockies’ lead when he led off the second with his fifth long ball of the season, and the hosts tacked on two more in the frame. Karros hit a one-out single, Julien drove him home with a double and Jake McCarthy followed with an RBI single.
Chicago got one back in the third against Sugano. Dansby Swanson led off with a double, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Busch walked to load the bases, and Swanson scored on Bregman’s sacrifice fly.
Colorado responded in the bottom of the inning. Goodman led off with a walk and went to third on Troy Johnston’s double. Rea fanned Tovar and Cole Carrigg before walking Karros. Julien then laced a two-run single to center to make it 7-1.
Rea (5-4) lasted 4 2/3 innings, allowing season-high totals of seven runs and nine hits. He walked three and fanned two.
The Cubs cut into the lead in the sixth inning. Busch led off with his seventh homer of the season, and Bregman singled. Seth Halvorsen relieved Sugano and walked Ian Happ, then threw a wild pitch that moved the runners to second and third with no outs.
Bregman scored on Seiya Suzuki’s groundout, but Halvorsen got out of the jam with two consecutive groundouts.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Marco Penge WDs from U.S. Open to continue focus on health
Marco Penge during the second round of the 2026 Masters Tournament. Marco Penge has withdrawn from next week’s U.S. Open as the English golfer continues to deal with nervous system issues along with ear and neck problems.
Penge, 28, suffered a viral infection in November 2025 but was enjoying a strong start to his rookie season on the PGA Tour until announcing last month that he was going to take a break from competition to focus on his health.
That came following the PGA Championship, where he missed the cut after contracting a sinus infection that caused vertigo symptoms. Penge hoped to return in time for next week’s major at Shinnecock Hills, but he announced his withdrawal on Tuesday.
“Unfortunately, myself and my team have decided that i am going to have to WD from the @usopengolf championship which Im gutted about,” Penge posted on X. “My health is the no.1 priority for now and until i get to the bottom of the issues i wont be competing. The plan is to return fully fit.
“I have had numerous scans and seen several specialists and we are getting close to resolving the issue that I’ve been struggling with for 8 months. I Appreciate the continued support as always and Ill be back soon!”
Penge posted on X on May 12 that he had been dealing with “ear/neck/nervous system” issues since the viral infection last November and that after continuing to deal with a sinus infection and vertigo, he underwent an MRI on his brain, head and neck.
“Thankfully the images were great and so a few of the doubts I have had have gone away which is a big relief,” he posted at the time.
After winning three times on the DP World Tour last season, Penge has made seven cuts in 12 starts this season, including a tie for fourth at the Valspar Championship. He has reached as high as 29th in the Official World Golf Ranking but has slipped to 47th since stepping away from competition.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Dillon Dingler homers twice, streaking Tigers beat skidding Twins
Detroit Tigers catcher Dillon Dingler (13) bats a three run home run against Minnesota Twins during the sixth inning at Comerica Park in Detroit on Tuesday, June 9, 2026. Dillon Dingler homered twice among four hits and knocked in four runs as the streaking Detroit Tigers pounded the visiting Minnesota Twins 10-4 on Tuesday.
Kerry Carpenter supplied a two-run shot and Riley Greene added a solo blast while driving in two runs as the Tigers won for the sixth time in seven games. Gleyber Torres contributed a two-run single.
Detroit starter Troy Melton (3-0) gave up four runs and eight hits in five innings, striking out five and walking none.
Josh Bell hit his 200th career homer for the Twins, who have lost five of their last six games.
Byron Buxton led off the game with a homer. Buxton had been out of the lineup the previous two games. He sustained a right shoulder contusion while crashing into the wall against Kansas City on Friday.
Brooks Lee and Kody Clemens added solo homers, while Minnesota starter Taj Bradley (5-3) allowed five runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.
The game was delayed one hour and 51 minutes by rain.
Buxton jumped on Melton’s first pitch of the contest for his 19th homer of the season. Dingler matched that with two outs in the bottom of the inning, clubbing a hanging curveball just inside the left field foul pole.
The Tigers took the lead in the bottom of the second. Greene smacked a Bradley fastball to the opposite field in left for his seventh homer.
Bell knotted the game with his opposite-field blast with two down in the third.
Detroit regained the lead once more in the bottom of the inning. Kevin McGonigle drew a leadoff walk, moved to third on a Dingler single and scored on Greene’s sacrifice fly.
Lee and Clemens gave Minnesota the lead in the fifth with their solo shots on consecutive pitches from Melton.
The Tigers erased the deficit two batters into the bottom of the inning, as Dingler delivered a leadoff double and Carpenter homered over the right field wall to make it 5-4.
Dingler’s second homer and team-high 16th of the season gave Detroit some breathing room in the sixth. With two on and two out, he pulled a Taylor Rogers sweeper over the left field wall.
–Field Level Media
Early homers propel Rockies to skid-ending win over Cubs
Marco Penge WDs from U.S. Open to continue focus on health
