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
Behind Jordan Staal's 2 goals, Hurricanes level Stanley Cup Final 2-2
Jun 9, 2026; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Carolina Hurricanes center Logan Stankoven (22) carries the puck in front of Vegas Golden Knights center William Karlsson (71) during the 1st period in game four of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images LAS VEGAS — Jordan Staal scored two goals, including the go-ahead tally in the third period, and Nikolaj Ehlers had a goal and two assists as the Carolina Hurricanes evened the Stanley Cup Final at two wins apiece with a 5-3 victory on Tuesday.
It marked the fourth straight game that Staal scored a goal. He has five total in the finals after registering just two in Carolina’s first 13 playoff games this spring.
Jackson Blake had a goal and an assist and Logan Stankoven also scored for Carolina. Brandon Bussi, making his first NHL playoff start after coming off the bench in Game 3, made 18 saves.
William Karlsson had a goal and an assist and Brett Howden and Mark Stone also found the net for the Golden Knights. Vegas’ Carter Hart stopped 23 of 27 shots.
Game 5 in the best-of-seven series is set for Thursday in Raleigh, N.C.
The Hurricanes led 3-1 after one period, but the Golden Knights leveled the contest 3-3 in the middle frame.
Staal put Carolina back in front at 6:32 of the third period, flicking in the rebound of Ehlers’ shot over Hart’s glove while diving to the ice near the right post. The score came after the Hurricanes’ Seth Jarvis intercepted a clearing pass from Shea Theodore in the high slot, but Hart turned away Jarvis’ backhand try.
The Golden Knights pulled Hart for an extra attacker late in the game, and Ehlers sealed it with an empty-netter from behind his goal with 54.9 seconds remaining.
The Hurricanes needed only 66 seconds to take a 1-0 lead, and they did it with a goal similar to the one that beat them in double overtime on Saturday. Jalen Chatfield fired a point shot that, like Theodore’s winning tally in Game 3, bounced off the end boards. This one went to Stankoven, who beat Hart with a backhand shot.
Blake made it 2-0 at 3:28 of the first, firing in a wrist shot from the bottom of the left circle off a Taylor Hall crossing pass.
Vegas halved the deficit at 7:22 of the opening period. Stone took a long stretch pass from Theodore and broke in, faked a shot in the slot and then wrapped a wrist shot around Bussi’s right pad.
The Hurricanes, taking advantage of a Vegas penalty for too many men on the ice, extended the lead to 3-1 at 12:48 of the first period. Staal, stationed in front of the crease, knocked in a rebound of a Shayne Gostisbehere point shot.
Vegas nearly scored at the end of the period on a Brayden McNabb shot from the right circle at the buzzer, but the goal was waived off when replays showed time had expired before the puck crossed the goal line.
The Golden Knights battled back to tie it 3-3 in the second period on goals by Karlsson, a one-timer through traffic from the left circle at 4:22, and Howden, who finished an odd-man rush with a wrist shot through the legs of defenseman K’Andre Miller and over Bussi’s right shoulder at 17:08.
It was Howden’s league-leading 14th goal of the playoffs, setting a franchise record for most goals in a postseason campaign.
–Steve Guiremand, 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
Behind Jordan Staal's 2 goals, Hurricanes level Stanley Cup Final 2-2
Early homers propel Rockies to skid-ending win over Cubs
