Sports
Oilers in familiar spot trailing high-scoring Ducks in series
Apr 24, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Anaheim Ducks defenseman Pavel Mintyukov (98) and Edmonton Oilers left wing Zach Hyman (18) fight for the puck during the third period of game three of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images The Edmonton Oilers need to repeat history. Again.
The Oilers are looking to kick off yet another series comeback when they continue their Western Conference first-round playoff series on the road against the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.
During runs to the Stanley Cup final in each of the past two springs, the Oilers have erased a handful of series deficits. They were down 2-0 to the Los Angeles Kings last year before rallying to win the opening-round series. Edmonton also won series after trailing 2-1 against both the Vancouver Canucks and the Dallas Stars in 2024 and the Kings the year before that ahead of a second-round exit.
Therefore, trailing the Ducks by a 2-1 margin is not uncharted waters for the core group which boasts plenty of playoff experience.
“There’s a lot of hockey left to be played, right?” Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm said. “The momentum shifts, the swings, we’ve all been through it in here. So lean on that, take a deep breath and know that the sun’s going to come up tomorrow. We’ve got a big game coming.”
That said, Edmonton also must start playing better defensively. Anaheim has racked up 13 goals over the past two games, including a 7-4 throttling on Friday.
Run-and-gun hockey may be more entertaining and fun, but the Oilers learned over their past couple of years that it does not lead to success. Plus, the younger Ducks are beating them at that game.
Whether the Oilers make a goaltending change and turn to Tristan Jarry over Connor Ingram remains to be seen, but their struggles are not all on the netminder.
“Any time you let in seven, it’s not a goalie problem,” forward Zach Hyman said. “It’s just defending better. You’re not going to win. We didn’t give ourselves a chance with the amount of goals we gave up.”
The Ducks are flying high in more ways than one.
Not only is the young, up-and-coming team ahead in the series in its first trip to the playoffs since 2018 and igniting the rush among the fans, but the Ducks also are excelling with an exciting brand of hockey.
They have scored six or more goals in consecutive playoff games for the first time in franchise history, and the seven markers last outing is a franchise record for the postseason.
Even more exciting for their long-term future is that the young guns are firing on all cylinders.
Beckett Sennecke and Leo Carlsson scored 42 seconds apart in the third period to break open Friday’s game.
“Hopefully, they turn out to be great players because they’ve shown all the ingredients,” said Anaheim coach Joel Quenneville, who has guided more than a few young players into champions. “They want to be the best they can be on a daily basis, and I think that kind of pushes them and they’re showing that’s their mindset and that’s their objective.”
Anaheim has netted four power-play goals on eight chances in the series. The Ducks may not yet have their defensive game perfected, but it’s worth noting the Oilers failed to register even one shot on goal in the final 11:24 after making it a one-goal game.
And now the Ducks have the extra confidence of knowing they can beat the Oilers.
“I think we got an exciting team,” Sennecke said. “We can score goals, we can defend and we’re dangerous.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Matt Fitzpatrick and Alex Fitzpatrick get 15-under for four-shot lead at Zurich
Apr 25, 2026; Avondale, Louisiana, USA; Alex Fitzpatrick hits tee shot on hole 2 during the third round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images It might not get much better than this for English brothers Matt Fitzpatrick and Alex Fitzpatrick.
The duo began to break away from the pack by shooting a tournament-record 15-under 57 during the third round of the Zurich Classic of New Orleans on Saturday at Avondale, La.
“I think I can think of one bad shot that we both hit, and that was me,” Matt Fitzpatrick said. “Yeah, it was an awesome day.”
The Fitzpatricks were sparked by Matt’s eagle on the par-5 seventh hole and maintained the momentum during the four-ball format to carry a four-stroke lead into the final round at TPC Louisiana. This is the PGA Tour’s only team event.
The Fitzpatrick team is at 30 under. Davis Thompson/Austin Eckroat (61) and second-round leaders Alex Smalley/Hayden Springer (62) are next at 26 under. The team of Doug Ghim/Jeffrey Kang (61) is at 25 under.
The Fitzpatrick brothers could be headed toward special territory given that last year’s winning score was 28 under from the team of Ben Griffin/Andrew Novak.
“He played brilliant golf both of the last two days,” Matt said of this brother. “His game has really turned a corner these last few months, and I believe in him to continue that trend.”
The Fitzpatricks posted birdies on eight of the nine holes on the backside. They were without a bogey and had four pars.
They each provided the best score seven times.
Matt Fitzpatrick, the older of the brothers, has been on a roll recently, including winning last week’s RBC Heritage.
“Playing alongside my brother, who happens also to be one of the best players in the world is pretty fun,” Alex said. “When he’s playing well, it’s pretty cool to watch.”
The Fitzpatricks placed 11th in the Zurich Classic in 2024 and then missed the cut last year.
The format goes back to foursomes for the final round.
“Your mindset is kind of changed from day-to-day, so (Sunday) will be a different animal,” Thompson said. “Hopefully we can get off to a good start and put some pressure on those guys.”
Smalley said there won’t be an overhaul in strategy.
“I think if we just kind of stick to what we’re doing, just trying to give ourselves as many looks as we can,” he said. “I think that will serve us pretty well.”
The teams pursuing the Fitzpatricks don’t want to become overly consumed by the chase.
“At the end of the day, you have to hit your good shots and try to pick up after your partner if you need to,” Kang said.
Seven teams were in the lead or one shot back by mid-afternoon Saturday.
Then there was the case of Davis Chatfield and Belgium’s Adrien Dumont de Chassart. They were 9 under through 11 holes after Dumont de Chassart ‘s eagle on No. 2, which was the pairing’s 11th hole of the day. But they played the rest of the way at 1 over without another birdie.
Until some of the final groups came in, the day’s best score of 61 belonged to Canada’s A.J. Ewart and South Africa’s Casey Jarvis. That moved them to 22 under and in a tie for 10th place.
“Kind of ham-and-egged it, as some would say,” Ewart said. “Kind of working in shifts and not birdieing the same holes, but making sure we’re setting our partners up to kind of free will it and go at it.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Aryna Sabalenka improves to 25-1; advances to 4th round in Madrid
Mar 28, 2026; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus hits a forehand against Coco Gauff of the United States in the final of the women’s singles at the Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mike Frey-Imagn Images Top-seeded Aryna Sabaleka improved to 25-1 in 2026 and moved into the fourth round of the Madrid Open on Saturday with a routine 6-1, 6-4 victory over 29th-seeded Jaqueline Cristian of Romania.
Sabalenka has moved seamlessly onto the clay after a dominant early hard court season. The Belarussian captured the “Sunshine Double” in March, winning back-to-back titles in Indian Wells and Miami. Her lone loss occurred in the finals of the Australian Open, where she fell to Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina.
Cristian did have four break point chances to go ahead 4-2 in the second set, but Sabalenka wiped them all away, then broke her opponent and 4-4 and will now face Japan’s Naomi Osaka in the next round.
Osaka cruised past Anhelina Kalinina, 6-1, 6-3. She constantly put pressure on the Ukrainian’s service, winning nearly 50% while receiving and breaking six times.
The two WTA Tour veterans have only met twice, splitting their encounters, with Sabalenka prevailing, 6-2, 6-4 in the same round at Indian Wells.
No. 31 Ann Li recorded the biggest upset of the day, defeating fourth-seeded Iga Swiatek of Poland, but not in manner either player was totally satisfied with. Li led, 7-6 (4), 2-6, 3-0 when Swiatek had to retire due to illness.
“Defintely knew it was going to be a tough match, I’m super sorry for her that she’s had to pull out, it’s never easy to go like that,” said Li. “I was just super proud of the way that I fought and I pushed through.”
Ninth-seeded Mirra Andreeva of Russia advanced with a 6-3, 6-2 win over Hungary’s Dalma Galfi. Like Osaka, Andreeva feasted on her opponent’s serve, winning 42 of 75 (56.0%) of her returns.
Andreeva improved to 9-1 on the clay in 2026.
“Clay is such a special surface,” said Andeeva. “You really have to adjust your game.”
In other third-round matches, No. 30 Hayley Baptiste upset eighth-seeded Italian Jasmine Paolini, 7-5, 6-3; Switzerland’s No. 11 Belinda Benic edged Russia’s No. 18 Diana Shnaider, 6-2, 7-6 (6); Hungary’s Anna Bondar eliminated Czechia’s Laura Samson, 7-6 (3), 6-1 and Canada’s No. 24 Leylah Fernandez got post 15th-seeded Iva Jovic, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in a match that lasted two hours, eight minutes.
Fernandez broke Jovic three times in the final set to advance to the fourth round, where she will face Li.
–Field Level Media
Sports
David Martinez's goal lifts LAFC over Minnesota United
Apr 25, 2026; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; Los Angeles Football Club forward David Martinez (30) celebrates his goal during the first half against Minnesota United FC at Allianz Field. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-Imagn Images David Martinez’s goal in the ninth minute was the lone score as Los Angeles FC defeated Minnesota United in Saint Paul, Minn., on Saturday.
For LAFC (6-2-2, 20 points), the win was its first since a victory over reigning CONCACAF champions Cruz Azul on April 7.
Minnesota (5-3-2, 17 points) hadn’t lost since a 6-0 defeat to Vancouver on March 15. Loons goalie Drake Callender recorded six saves in Saturday’s loss, his second highest tally of the season.
Martinez’s goal ended a 278-minute run without a goal scored in Minnesota’s Allianz field, a streak that spanned three matches.
The motto of the match was missed opportunities, as Minnesota accumulated 11 corner-kick opportunities compared to LAFC’s two, and 24 shot attempts to Los Angeles’ seven.
Stephen Eustaquio perfectly executed a touch through two Minnesota defenders that cruised with an in-motion Martinez. From the left side of Minnesota’s penalty area, Martinez delivered a strike to the high right side of the net that secured the only goal for either side.
The victory saw Hugo Lloris record his eighth clean sheet in league play this season, leading MLS. The win was also LAFC’s third straight 1-0 rout of Minnesota United.
LAFC hopes to use the win as momentum as they prepare to face Deportivo Toluca FC in the CONCACAF semifinals on Wednesday night.
Minnesota will look to rebound against San Jose in MLS play on Tuesday night.
Minnesota and LAFC are set to square off again on Nov. 1 in Los Angeles.
–Field Level Media
Matt Fitzpatrick and Alex Fitzpatrick get 15-under for four-shot lead at Zurich
Aryna Sabalenka improves to 25-1; advances to 4th round in Madrid
