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
Astros jump out to 7-run lead, add on in win over Astros
Jun 9, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Los Angeles Angels left fielder Wade Meckler (53) reacts after scoring a run against the Houston Astros during the second inning at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images Oswald Peraza had three RBIs and Jo Adell and Wade Meckler and drove in two apiece as the Los Angeles Angels built an early seven-run lead and cruised to a 10-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night at Anaheim, Calif.
Meckler scored three times and reached base five times on three walks, one hit and once via error for the Angels, who had lost six of their previous eight games. Sebastian Rivero had two hits before exiting with a left wrist injury and Adell and Peraza also had two hits.
Brice Matthews had an RBI single for the Astros, who had won three of their previous four contests.
Walbert Urena (4-4) pitched five scoreless innings to win his third straight decision for the Angels. He gave up three hits, walked five and struck out seven before three relievers finished up.
Houston’s Kai-Wei Teng (3-5) was roughed up for seven runs (five earned) and seven hits over four innings. He struck out five and walked three.
Rivero had a streak of seven straight hits before the injury that occurred when he fouled off a pitch in the fifth. Logan O’Hoppe entered for the final two pitches of the at-bat and took a called strike three with the strikeout charged to Rivero to end his hit streak.
Los Angeles first baseman Nolan Schanuel (calf) departed before the top of the fourth inning due to left calf tightness.
The Angels scored twice without a hit in the first inning.
Los Angeles loaded the bases with one out on two walks and an error before Schanuel was hit by Teng’s pitch to force in a run. Peraza followed with a possible double-play grounder but Jose Altuve dropped the ball on the exchange after securing the out at second as Meckler scored.
The Angels erupted for five runs in the second inning.
The bases were loaded with one out when Meckler hit a two-run double to left to make it 4-0. Adell followed with another two-run double to make it a six-run game. Schanuel singled to put runners on the corners before Peraza hit into a fielder’s choice to score Adell.
Houston scored in the seventh while sending pinch hitters to the plate for Jeremy Pena, Yordan Alvarez, Christian Walker and Altuve in a five-batter span.
With two outs, Collin Price singled and starter Isaac Paredes walked before Matthews stroked an RBI single to right to get the Astros on the board.
Trey Mancini’s bases-loaded sacrifice fly in the eighth made it 8-1. Peraza’s infield hit and Denzer Guzman’s infield out also plated runs.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Veronica Burton, Gabby Williams guide Valkyries past Mercury
Jun 9, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Valkyries guard Kaila Charles (6) is called for the foul against Phoenix Mercury guard Lexi Held (10) during the first quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Neville E. Guard-Imagn Images Veronica Burton scored a season-high 25 points and dished out eight assists, Gabby Williams also had 25 points, and the Golden State Valkyries held off the Phoenix Mercury 87-81 in a Commissioner’s Cup game in San Francisco on Tuesday.
Kayla Thornton scored 12 points and Janelle Salaun added 11 for the Valkyries, who had their 17-point halftime lead trimmed to one before recovering in the final minutes to break a season-worst two-game losing streak.
Alyssa Thomas scored 20 of her 22 points in the second half for the Mercury, who had a two-game winning streak broken in the third game of a four-game road trip. Monique Akoa Makani put up a season-high 19 points.
Thomas, who missed the previous game with a calf injury, had nine assists and eight rebounds.
Akoa Makani’s 3-pointer brought the Mercury (4-9, 2-2 Commissioner’s Cup) within 76-75 with 3:09 left before Williams’ three-point play gave the Valkyries an 84-78 lead with 1:39 remaining.
Thomas’ three-point play closed the deficit to 84-81 on the next possession, but Williams intercepted Thomas’ pass and made 1 of 2 free throws with 11 seconds left. Thornton later sank two to ice it.
Williams finished with three 3-pointers for the Valkyries, who wound up 10 of 29 (34.5%) from long distance. Golden State (7-5, 2-2) made 6 of 12 from beyond the arc in the first half, when it built a 49-32 lead. The Valkyries lead the WNBA with 12.1 treys per game and a 37.9% success rate from long range.
Williams sank three 3-pointers while Burton, Thornton and Salaun had two apiece. Burton went 9-for-11 at the free-throw line.
The Valkyries have won the first two in the season series, including a 95-79 home victory on May 10.
Akoa Makani, playing her sixth game after finishing her season in France, had six points and Thomas had four assists in a 13-0 run for a 16-10 Mercury lead in the first quarter. The Valkyries responded with a 12-2 run for a 22-18 edge.
The Valkyries closed the second quarter on an 18-5 run to take a 49-32 halftime lead, their largest advantage to that point. Burton had 10 points in the period as Golden State outscored Phoenix 27-14. Thomas and Mercury teammate Kahleah Copper were given technical fouls during the half-ending stretch.
Thomas scored 13 points in the third quarter, when the Mercury outscored the Valkyries 29-17. Golden State led 66-61 entering the fourth.
–Field Level Media
Sports
A's continue HR barrage against Brewers to even series
Jun 8, 2026; Summerlin, Nevada, USA; Athletics left fielder Tyler Soderstrom (21) celebrates with teammates after hitting a home run against the Milwaukee Brewers during the seventh inning at the Las Vegas Ballpark. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images LAS VEGAS — Tyler Soderstrom and Nick Kurtz each homered for the third time in two games to power the Athletics to a 7-5 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday night, evening the series in Las Vegas.
After homering seven times in the wild series opener, won by the Brewers 15-14 in 12 innings, the Athletics pounded out another five homers Tuesday at the hitter-friendly home of the A’s Triple-A affiliate.
The A’s scored three runs in the fifth off starter Robert Gasser (0-3) on homers by Soderstrom and Jonah Heim to go in front 6-3.
Shea Langeliers singled with one out and Soderstrom, who homered twice in the series opener, followed with his 11th homer. Heim added a two-out solo shot, his fifth.
The Brewers pulled within 6-5 in the sixth on two walks, two singles and an error, chasing starter J.T. Ginn. Elvis Alvarado relieved with two outs and fanned Jackson Chourio, stranding runners on second and third.
Zack Gelof opened the bottom half with his eighth homer off reliever Joel Kuhnel, acquired from the A’s on Saturday.
Ginn (4-3) allowed five runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings, striking out five and walking three. Mason Barnett tossed two scoreless for his first career save.
Henry Bolte put the A’s up 3-2 in the second with his first career homer, a 446-foot two-run shot to center after Heim’s leadoff single.
The Brewers tied it 3-all in the fourth on Sal Frelick’s RBI single.
Chourio staked the Brewers to a quick 2-0 lead, following Christian Yelich’s game-opening single with his fifth home run.
Kurtz, who also homered twice in the opener, answered in the bottom half with a one-out solo homer, his 15th.
The series with the Brewers will be followed by three games against Colorado. The A’s are currently playing home games in Sacramento until their new climate-controlled stadium opens in Las Vegas for the start of the 2028 season.
–Jim Hoehn, Field Level Media
Astros jump out to 7-run lead, add on in win over Astros
Veronica Burton, Gabby Williams guide Valkyries past Mercury
