Sports
Oilers in search of better starts, beginning with matchup vs. Wild
Jan 29, 2026; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid (97) celebrates after scoring a goal against the San Jose Sharks during the third period at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images The Edmonton Oilers will look to get off to a better start Saturday night when they host the Minnesota Wild.
Edmonton erased a 3-0 deficit and scored four unanswered goals to top the visiting San Jose Sharks 4-3 in overtime on Thursday.
“As a good team, we need to start better, and that’s just hockey,” said Kasperi Kapanen, who had an assist in the win. “Sometimes that happens. They’re a good team as well. They came out flying and have a good young team with a lot of energy. The first period was bad, and then after that, I thought we were playing better.”
Zach Hyman scored the winner while Evan Bouchard and Leon Draisaitl each produced a goal and two assists for the Oilers, who have won three straight for the first time this season and are 6-3-1 in the past 10.
Connor McDavid, who leads the league in assists (60) and points (94), recorded a goal and an assist in the win over the Sharks. Connor Ingram made 18 saves.
“It’s nice having three in a row, but more importantly, we beat a team that we need to keep behind us,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “(San Jose’s) got games in hand on us, and we want to finish as high as we can in the standings.”
Bouchard extended his point streak to four games (four goals, seven assists) as the Oilers improved to 4-2-0 on their eight-game homestand. McDavid (four goals, five assists) and Draisaitl (one goal, nine assists) extended their streaks to three games.
The Wild will try to slow the Oilers’ offensive momentum while aiming to complete a sweep of the three-game season series.
Minnesota won 1-0 at Edmonton on Dec. 2 and picked up a 5-2 home win over the Oilers on Dec. 20.
The Wild just completed a 3-0-1 homestand by winning back-to-back games.
Kirill Kaprizov scored an empty-net goal after notching an assist as the Wild topped the visiting Calgary Flames 4-1 on Thursday night.
Matt Boldy, Vinnie Hinostroza and Danila Yurov also scored for Minnesota, which is 5-1-1 in its past seven games. Filip Gustavsson made 29 saves.
“The one thing I will say is that when you go through 82 games, they’re not all going to be Picassos, right?” Wild coach John Hynes said. “Good teams find ways to win, even when you’re not at your best. We got the goaltending when we needed it. Obviously, early in the game, or throughout the game, the penalty kill came through for us to keep the score where it was, and then we had our opportunities on the power play.
“We were able to find a way to finish. I think that is a good sign, but I think we all know it wasn’t our best tonight.”
Kaprizov has 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) over his past seven games. Defenseman Quinn Hughes extended his assist streak to seven games with a helper in the win over the Flames, tying the longest stretch by a blueliner in Wild history.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Logan Cooley lifts Mammoth past Knights for Utah's 1st playoff win
Apr 21, 2026; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; Utah Mammoth defenseman Sean Durzi (50) attempts to deflect a shot attempt by Vegas Golden Knights center Brett Howden (21) during the first period of game two of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images Logan Cooley scored the go-ahead goal on a rebound with six minutes remaining to give the Utah Mammoth the first playoff win in franchise history, 3-2 over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 2 of their best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series on Tuesday in Las Vegas.
Cooley buried a rebound of a Dylan Guenther shot just inside the left post, even the best-of-seven series at one victory apiece. The scene now shifts to Salt Lake City for the next two contests, with Game 3 on Friday.
Guenther had a goal and an assist, Kailer Yamamoto had two assists and MacKenzie Weegar also scored for Utah. Karel Vejmelka made 19 saves, including a close-in shot by Mark Stone from the left side of the net with five seconds left to seal the win.
Stone and Ivan Barbashev each a scored goal and Jack Eichel had two assists for Vegas, which lost for the first time in regulation in 10 games (8-1-1) under coach John Tortorella. Carter Hart finished with 26 saves.
The teams exchanged own goals during the first period, which ended with the score 1-1.
Vegas, which rallied for a 4-2 victory in Game 1, took a 1-0 lead at the 11:40 mark on a power-play goal. Stone’s cross-crease pass for Tomas Hertl near the right post caromed straight into the net off the skate of Utah defenseman Mikhail Sergachev. It was Stone’s 43rd career playoff goal and his sixth in the past six games dating back to the regular season.
Utah tied it near the end of the period when Weegar’s shot from the right point deflected off the stick of Vegas defenseman Noah Hanifin and then off the pads of Hart into the low slot toward Golden Knights defenseman Rasmus Andersson, who kicked the rebound into the net.
The Mammoth took a 2-1 lead in the second period on a one-timer from the top of the left circle by Guenther off a pass from Yamamoto.
The Golden Knights tied it 62 seconds later. Barbashev intercepted a clearing pass by Sergachev in the neutral zone and then skated in and split a pair of Utah defensemen before roofing a backhand shot into the top far corner for his second goal of the playoffs.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Munetaka Murakami extends HR streak as White Sox pound D-backs
Apr 21, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Chicago White Sox first baseman Munetaka Murakami hits a home run in the second inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images Rookie Munetaka Murakami homered for the fourth straight game, Colson Montgomery went deep for the third straight and the Chicago White Sox slugged four homers in an 11-5 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Phoenix on Tuesday.
Murakami, Michael Vargas and Montgomery hit consecutive solo shots with two outs in the second inning to help stake Sean Burke (1-2) to a 7-0 lead.
Murakami, who has nine homers in 23 games, reached base four times, adding two infield singles and a walk. He singled and scored in a four-run first off Merrill Kelly (1-1).
Vargas homered for the second straight game, Montgomery and Sam Antonacci notched two hits and three RBIs apiece and Tristan Peters had three hits. The White Sox have won three of four and scored 33 runs over that span.
Arizona’s Ildemaro Vargas had a three-run homer in the ninth to extend his season-opening hitting streak to 16 games, the longest in the majors. Dating back to the end of the 2025 season, Vargas has hit in 18 straight. Alek Thomas had two hits, including his first homer of the season for the Diamondbacks, who had won 10 of 14.
The White Sox have 11 homers in their last three games and 14 in their last five.
Antonacci had a two-run inside-the-park homer in the ninth when his ground ball inside the bag at third appeared to be touched by the ball boy along the left field line. Left fielder Lourdes Gurriel Jr. did not immediately attempt to field it as Antonacci circled the bases for his first career homer.
Burke gave up two runs on five hits in six innings in his first road victory since a 4-0 decision at Detroit on Sept. 28, 2024. He struck out three and walked one.
Kelly gave up eight runs and 10 hits before leaving with one out in the fifth. He struck out five and walked three in his second start of the season after opening on the injured list.
The first four White Sox batters reached in the first. Andrew Benintendi singled, Murakami reached on an infield single, Vargas walked and Montgomery doubled in two. Everson Pereira hit a sacrifice fly and Antonacci tripled for a 4-0 lead.
Murakami, Vargas and Montgomery homered in the second for a 7-0 lead after 13 batters.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Jeff McNeil, Shea Langeliers homer as A's take down Mariners
Apr 21, 2026; Seattle, Washington, USA; Athletics catcher Shea Langeliers (23) hits a solo home run during the seventh inning against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park. Mandatory Credit: John Froschauer-Imagn Images Jeff McNeil and Shea Langeliers hit home runs as the Athletics defeated the host Seattle Mariners 5-2 Tuesday night, clinching a series victory against their American League West rivals.
The teams will wrap up the three-game set Wednesday afternoon at T-Mobile Park.
A’s left-hander Jacob Lopez (2-1) earned the victory by allowing two runs on seven hits over 5 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out one.
Right-hander Jack Perkins pitched the final two innings for his first save of the season.
Cal Raleigh homered for a second consecutive night for the Mariners, who have dropped six of their past eight games.
The A’s broke a 2-2 tie against reliever Eduard Bazardo (0-1) in the sixth. Tyler Soderstrom led off with a double off the wall in center field and Jacob Wilson followed by grounding a run-scoring double past diving third baseman Leo Rivas and into the left-field corner.
The loss was the first of Bazardo’s six-year career after eight consecutive victories.
Langeliers made it 4-2 with a solo shot to center with two outs in the seventh off Gabe Speier. It was Langeliers’ second homer in as many nights.
The A’s added an insurance run in the ninth off Cole Wilcox. Nick Kurtz and Langeliers led off with singles and advanced on Carlos Cortes’ chopper down the first-base line. The Mariners intentionally walked Soderstrom to load the bases. Wilson lined a single to center to complete the scoring.
The A’s scored in the first inning as Kurtz drew a leadoff walk, stole second and came home on Soderstrom’s two-out double to right.
The Mariners tied it in the third as Rob Refsnyder lined a leadoff single to center and Raleigh grounded a single into left. Refsnyder took third on Julio Rodriguez’s lineout to left and scored on Josh Naylor’s sacrifice fly to center.
The A’s responded in the top of the fourth as McNeil went deep to right-center with two outs.
Raleigh’s solo shot to left-center with one out in the fifth tied the score at 2-2.
Mariners starter Luis Castillo went five innings and allowed two runs on five hits. The right-hander walked two and struck out six.
–Field Level Media
Logan Cooley lifts Mammoth past Knights for Utah's 1st playoff win
Munetaka Murakami extends HR streak as White Sox pound D-backs
