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Ducks rally to upend Oilers, grab series lead in Game 3

NHL: Stanley Cup Playoffs-Edmonton Oilers at Anaheim DucksApr 24, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Anaheim Ducks left wing Alex Killorn (left) celebrates with center Mikael Granlund (right) after scoring a goal during the second period against the Edmonton Oilers in game three of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Beckett Sennecke and Leo Carlsson scored goals 42 seconds apart early in the third period to spark the host Anaheim Ducks to a 7-4 comeback victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Friday and give them a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.

Mikael Granlund tallied once in a three-point performance, while Mason McTavish, Alex Killorn, Jeffrey Viel and Jackson Lacombe added a goal apiece for Anaheim. Carlsson and Lacombe each notched an assist and goaltender Lukas Dostal made 20 saves.

Connor McDavid collected one goal and one assist, while Vasily Podkolzin, Kasperi Kapanen and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each scored once for the Oilers. Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard posted two assists apiece and Goalie Connor Ingram made 32 saves.

Game 4 of the best-of-seven Western Conference series will be Sunday in Anaheim.

With the score tied 3-3, Sennecke scored his first goal of the playoffs at the perfect time. After an Edmonton turnover, Sennecke was sprung on an odd-man rush on which he elected to shoot and found the mark at 2:53 of the third period.

Carlsson gave the hosts a two-goal edge right after another Oilers turnover. Troy Terry made the pass on a 2-on-1 rush that Carlsson converted.

McDavid netted his first goal — and Edmonton’s first power-play marker — of the series at 8:36 to cut the deficit to 5-4, but Viel provided the insurance goal with 3:03 remaining and Lacombe’s empty-net goal rounded out the scoring.

The matchup has been a high-scoring, back-and-forth series, and that trend continued.

The Oilers were outshot 11-3 to start the game, but Podkolzin opened the scoring with a high shot at 13:12 of the first period of the back-and-forth affair. Edmonton has scored first in all three games.

McTavish replied three minutes later with a deflection tally, and Granlund put Anaheim ahead 87 seconds after that with his team’s fourth power-play goal of the series.

Kapanen tied the clash when he unloaded a quick shot from just inside the left circle on a feed from Draisaitl at 3:57 of the second period, and Nugent-Hopkins put Edmonton ahead a second time less than two minutes later by burying a loose puck.

Killorn tied the clash 3-3 just past the midway mark of the second period by finishing a tap-in tally set up by Granlund.

–Field Level Media

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Top-10 G Dylan Mingo, ex-UNC commit, joins brother at Baylor

Syndication: The Commercial AppealPSA Cardinals’ Dylan Mingo (2) shoots the ball during a game at Nike EYBL at the Memphis Sports & Events Center on Saturday, May 17, 2025.

Dylan Mingo, a top-10 recruit in the Class of 2026 who decommitted from North Carolina after its coaching change, will play for Baylor next season.

Mingo joins his brother Kayden Mingo, a fellow guard who transferred from Penn State to Baylor earlier this month.

Dylan Mingo committed to the Tar Heels in February while the program was still led by Hubert Davis. North Carolina fired the head coach after the team’s first-round NCAA Tournament loss to 11th-seeded VCU, in which the Tar Heels squandered a 19-point lead.

The younger Mingo — a combo guard ranked No. 6 overall in his class by the 247Sports Composite — decommitted earlier this month after North Carolina hired ex-Denver Nuggets head coach Michael Malone.

Mingo averaged 23.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 6.8 assists on his way to earning MVP recognition at the NBA Top 100 Camp last summer, according to ESPN.

“Playing with my brother Kayden is a big plus. It is a blessing to play with him again,” he told ESPN in part.

Kayden Mingo, a top-40 recruit in the 2025 class, had a standout freshman campaign at Penn State. He averaged 13.7 points, 4.3 assists, 3.5 rebounds and a Big Ten-best 2.1 steals per game in 28 appearances, all starts.

–Field Level Media

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Touting their tenacity, Knicks set for another scrap with Hawks

NBA: Playoffs-New York Knicks at Atlanta HawksApr 23, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; New York Knicks guard Josh Hart (3) has the ball stolen by Atlanta Hawks forward Jonathan Kuminga (0) in the fourth quarter during game three of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The Knicks will try to ride a tone-setting first quarter from Game 4 of their Eastern Conference first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks into Game 5 on Tuesday in New York.

The Knicks responded to consecutive one-point losses by securing a seven-point lead after the end of the first quarter in Game 4. They doubled the advantage by halftime and extended the lead to as many as 24 points en route to a 114-98 victory on Saturday.

The best-of-seven series is tied at two wins apiece.

“You can’t be satisfied with this performance,” Josh Hart said after his team regained home-court advantage in the series. “You can’t go into Game 5 thinking we had a great game, and they’re just going to lay down, ‘cause they’re not.

“They’re going to come out with a sense of urgency, a sense of physicality that they probably haven’t shown yet. We’ve got to be ready to weather that storm and have our own physicality.”

Atlanta head coach Quin Snyder credited New York’s defensive intensity — and the play of Hart — for contributing to his team’s stumble out of the gate.

“More than anything, the start of the game, their physicality bothered us,” Snyder said.

It’s safe to say Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby bothered the Hawks as well.

Towns recorded his first postseason triple-double after finishing with 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. He is the fourth player in franchise history to record a triple-double in a playoff game, joining Hall of Famers Walt Frazier and Dick McGuire as well as Hart.

“I thought we did a great job coming out with more tenacity. More desperation I think is the proper word,” Towns said.

Anunoby finished with 22 points while making 9 of 16 shots from the floor for the second straight game. He also collected 10 rebounds and All-Star guard Jalen Brunson had 19 points to continue his team’s strong play since the fourth quarter of Game 3.

“The way we’ve been able to (play on both sides of the ball) these past five quarters is how we’ve got to play,” Brunson said.

New York scored 21 points off 19 turnovers in Game 4, much to the chagrin of Atlanta’s CJ McCollum.

“They played better than us. They played harder than us,” said McCollum, who was limited to just 17 points after averaging 27.0 over the first three games.

“We would have liked to go up 3-1, but if you would have told us we’d be 2-2 going back to the Garden, life’s not so bad.”

Jalen Johnson made just 4 of 12 shots to finish with 14 points in Game 4. He averaged 21.3 points over the previous three games.

Like Johnson, the rest of the Hawks struggled to find their range. They shot 41.0% from the floor and 24.4% from 3-point range.

The Hawks, who rely heavily on the transition game, didn’t record a fastbreak point until the fourth quarter in Game 4.

“There’s no transition when you’re turning the ball over and bringing it up out of the net,” Snyder said.

–Field Level Media

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Special teams may decide intense Wild-Stars series

NHL: Stanley Cup Playoffs-Dallas Stars at Minnesota WildApr 22, 2026; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; Dallas Stars right wing Mikko Rantanen (96) celebrates his goal against the Minnesota Wild during the first period in game three of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Grand Casino Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

It’s come down to a best-of-three in the Western Conference first-round series between the No. 2 seed Dallas Stars and the No. 3 Minnesota Wild with Game 5 set for Tuesday night in Dallas.

The teams split Games 1 and 2 in Dallas and then alternated overtime wins in Games 3 and 4 in Minnesota to set up a pivotal Game 5.

“It’s home ice, best-of-three,” said Stars forward Mikko Rantanen, who had two assists in Game 4. “This group has been in this situation before, so we’re pretty familiar.”

Dallas was on the verge of coming home with a commanding 3-1 series lead, but Marcus Foligno tied Game 4 at 14:40 of the third period, then Matt Boldy won it on a deflection with 29 seconds remaining in overtime.

“There’s a lot of belief in here,” Foligno said after the win. “These are two unreal teams, and we’ve got to understand they’re a heck of a hockey club, and it’s going to take this type of effort every night against this squad. … We took a lot of positives out of (a 4-3 double overtime loss in Game 3), and we got rewarded tonight.”

After compiling a career-high 42 goals and 85 points in his fourth NHL season, Boldy has five points (three goals, two assists) in the series and got to the right place at the right time to tip Jared Spurgeon’s shot past Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger to end Game 4.

“He’s a tenacious competitor,” Wild coach John Hynes said after Game 4. “He just continues to do the right things. He continues to play, he continues to push. Plays through whatever the circumstances are and got a huge goal for us.”

Brock Faber had a goal and an assist and Jesper Wallstedt made 43 saves (including nine in overtime) for the Wild. He has a 2.06 goals-against-average in the series and a .929 save percentage. Faber has three goals in the series, becoming the first defenseman in franchise history to do so.

“We just keep fighting, keep getting pucks to the net,” Wallstedt said. “We keep playing, and we never give up.”

Minnesota forward Mats Zuccarello, who has missed the last three games with an upper-body injury sustained in Game 1, practiced with the team Monday.

Jason Robertson scored in his fourth straight game for the Stars and has goals in six consecutive contests against the Wild going back to the regular season. Miro Heiskanen also scored for Dallas and Oettinger made 40 saves.

Both Dallas goals came on its power play, which has scored eight goals in 19 chances during the series. The Wild are 3-for-19 with the man advantage and have just one goal in their past 15 opportunities.

However, Minnesota has registered 11 even-strength goals to just three for Dallas.

“It’s almost the blue paint wars,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said. “If you get there and find some pucks and win some battles . . . it’s really hand-to-hand combat in the blue paint for both sides.”

Stars defenseman Nils Lundkvist was ruled out of Game 5 on Monday after leaving Game 4 with a facial cut from the skate of Wild forward Michael McCarron in the second period.

–Field Level Media

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