Sports
Hurricanes, Golden Knights Appear Destined for Stanley Cup Final Clash
The Vegas Golden Knights have already punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final.
It is just a matter of time before the Carolina Hurricanes do the same.
The Hurricanes are one win away from dispatching the overmatched Montreal Canadiens and advancing to the championship round for the first time in 20 years.
Oh sure, the Canadiens may prolong the series with a victory in Friday’s Game 5, in Raleigh, N.C., but anybody wanting to bet on the long odds that Montreal can erase its 3-1 deficit in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference finals would be a fool parting with their money.
After serving up a dud in the series opener, a 6-2 Montreal victory, the Hurricanes have been the overwhelming better team, and hit another gear in the latest win.
Meanwhile, the Canadiens have managed only 43 shots on goal over the past three games, the exact same Carolina fired in the 4-0 victory on Wednesday.
The Canadiens have taken a big step forward this season, but the Hurricanes have shown the young Montreal squad must make a few more leaps to become legitimate Cup contenders.
Which means it is time to gear up for a showdown between the Eastern Conference’s regular-season champs and a Vegas squad that caught fire down the stretch thanks to a coaching change and provided the surprise of the playoffs to reach the final.
Here are some other thoughts as the Stanley Cup chase heads to the championship round.
As much as the injuries cost the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference finals, the Vegas Golden Knights were full marks for sweeping the league’s regular-season champions.
The Golden Knights are not easy to like with coach John Tortorella and his churlish ways, the cut-throat business decisions and past examples of flouting the rules, but it once again worked in Las Vegas.
The improved goaltending has been a huge boon to the Golden Knights, as has been the play of Mitch Marner, but the impact of replacing Bruce Cassidy with Tortorella with only a couple of weeks remaining in the regular season has been shockingly brilliant.
Tortorella must be credited for how he changed the fortunes without actually changing the system. With him at the helm, all of those players who were under-achieving found their footing just in time to win the Pillow Fight Pacific Division and since marched to the final.
And like Carolina, the Golden Knights have become better as every series continued along.
It will make for an interesting final round.
As for those who will decry a Carolina-Vegas matchup as not being sexy from a marketing perspective, they are missing the boat. The Golden Knights are proud to be the bad boys and a team people cheer against.
Finally, the post-mortem of Colorado’s season is an interesting study. First off, calls for the firing of coach Jared Bednar are absurd. Injuries, especially to Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon were fatal for the club.
That said, the Avalanche are in a precarious spot. Colorado will continue to be a contender, but the window for this core group’s second Stanley Cup title is closing quickly.
Other than Makar and forward Martin Necas, all of the team’s key players are past age 30, their goaltending eventually faltered when needed most and roster holes will become harder to fill for a team that has mortgaged its future in an attempt to duplicate its 2022 championship, having traded away its next three first-round picks.
The Avalanche braintrust must come up with some creative ways to remain a top dog.
Sports
Marta Kostyuk to put clay-court streak on line against Iga Swiatek in Paris
Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk her third round match against Switzerland’s Viktorija Golubic at the French Open on May 29, 2026.
Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine, who has not lost on the clay courts this season, advanced to the fourth round of the French Open on Friday in Paris — with four-time champion Iga Swiatek her next opponent.
The 15th-seeded Kostyuk won titles on the clay courts in Madrid and Rouen leading up to the French Open. She advanced with a 6-4, 6-3 defeat of Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland.
Swiatek, the third seed, most recently won the title at Roland Garros in 2024. She defeated Magda Linette 6-4, 6-4 in an all-Polish match on Friday to advance. With the win, she avenged her three-set loss to Linette earlier this year in Miami.
Swiatek has yet to win a tournament on clay this season and has a record of 9-3. Her most recent title on any surface came last September in Seoul.
Kostyuk had an optimistic tone in her post-match news conference, even though she has lost all three career matchups against Swiatek and hasn’t won a set from her.
“I definitely have a different feeling going into this match,” she said. “Because I feel like last time that I played her in Cincinnati, I lost this match way before it even started, and I don’t feel the same this time.”
Swiatek also won the tournament in 2020 before three straight victories from 2022-24 and is 43-3 overall at Roland Garros. Only Chris Evert (seven) and Steffi Graf (six) have more singles titles in Paris during the Open Era.
Kostyuk knows that history, too.
“She’s won this tournament four times. I would love to be the one who is a favorite in this match, but I still don’t think it’s the case, even though I have this really long streak,” the Ukrainian said. “But it’s not going to ruin my day or ruin my game. I still want to go out and try my best and enjoy. Like, I have never taken a set off her. Even if I win one set in the next match, I’m going to be very happy. That’s how I look at it, and I’m excited for this match.”
Other winners Friday were eighth-seeded Mirra Andreeva of Russia, who defeated Czech 27th seed Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-2. In the fourth round, she will face Jil Teichmann of Switzerland, who upset 10th-seeded Karolina Muchova of Czechia 6-1, 7-5.
Sorana Cirstea of Romania, the 18th seed, shut out Solana Sierra of Argentina 6-0, 6-0 to set up a fourth-round meeting with Xiyu Wang of China, who produced a 6-3, 7-5 win over Ukraine’s Yuliia Starodubtseva.
Seventh-seeded Elina Svitolina of Ukraine ousted Tamara Korpatsch of Germany 6-2, 6-3. She will play 11th-seeded Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, who sailed 6-3, 6-3 past Peyton Stearns.
–Field Level Media
Sports
PWHL Detroit tabs Josh Sciba as head coach
PWHL Detroit will begin play with the 2026-27 season. Michigan native Josh Sciba has been named the inaugural head coach of PWHL Detroit, the expansion team announced Thursday.
Sciba, 41, previously spent two seasons as an assistant coach for the PWHL’s New York Sirens and as an assistant coach for the gold medal-winning 2026 U.S. women’s Olympic hockey team.
“Josh is a highly respected coach with a knowledge of the game and experience at all levels of women’s hockey that set him apart, and his passion for teaching and individual character are qualities I value in a leader,” Detroit general manager Manon Rheaume said in a news release. “Hockeytown is in his blood, and this is an opportunity I know he is eager to embrace with an understanding of what it means to represent this city and be part of its legacy.”
Sciba served as head coach of the women’s hockey team at Union College from 2016-24 after spending four seasons as an assistant coach at Colgate (2012-16).
“I’m incredibly honored and excited for the opportunity to become the Head Coach of PWHL Detroit and beyond grateful for the trust placed in me to help lead the organization from the beginning,” Sciba said. “This is home and especially meaningful for me and my entire family, knowing Detroit’s rich hockey history and identity firsthand and how much the women’s hockey community has been yearning for this moment. Working alongside Manon, someone who has meant so much to the growth of the sport, is a journey I’m so fortunate to be on, with her passion, leadership, and vision that will make Detroit a destination for players.”
Detroit is one of four expansion teams starting play in 2026-27, along with Las Vegas, San Jose and Hamilton, Ontario.
The PWHL now has doubled in size from its original six members in 2023: Boston, Minnesota, Montreal, New York, Ottawa and Toronto. Vancouver and Seattle entered the league in 2025.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Brazil's Neymar (calf) may miss World Cup opener
Neymar in Santos’ match against Cruzeiro at Estadio Urbano Caldeira, Santos, Brazil, on Dec. 7, 2025. Neymar is expected to be sidelined up to three weeks with a right calf injury, putting his availability in doubt for Brazil’s opening match of the World Cup.
The forward has been out of action since May 17. Brazil’s World Cup opening match is against Morocco on June 13 in East Rutherford, N.J.
“He arrived at Granja Comary (Wednesday), underwent a full medical examination, which included an MRI scan that revealed a Grade 2 calf injury, not just swelling,” Brazil national team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said on Thursday. “He is expected to be fit to play in two to three weeks.”
Neymar, who is Brazil’s all-time leading scorer with 79 goals, rejoined his boyhood club Santos last year after a stay with Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal.
Neymar, 34, has collected eight goals through his three World Cups (2014, 2018, 2022) and will try to guide the Selecao to their first title since 2002.
Drawn into Group C, Brazil also will face Haiti on June 20 and Scotland on June 24.
–Field Level Media
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