Sports
Veteran-laden Knights, youthful Ducks to clash in second round
Apr 24, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Vegas Golden Knights center Jack Eichel (9) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the Utah Mammoth during the second period in game three of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images The Vegas Golden Knights and the Anaheim Ducks have played each other 38 times over the last nine seasons but have never met in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
That changes on Monday night in Las Vegas when the two teams open a best-of-seven Western Conference second-round series.
The Pacific Division champion Golden Knights, who defeated the Utah Mammoth in six games in the first round, will be playing in the second round for the sixth time in nine seasons.
Anaheim, which eliminated Connor McDavid and two-time defending Western Conference champion Edmonton in six games, will be playing its first second-round series since 2017. The Ducks defeated the Oilers in seven games that year before losing to the Nashville Predators in the Western Conference final.
Vegas is 27-8-3 all-time against the Ducks, including 15-3-1 at home, but division rival Anaheim won all three meetings this season, including two in overtime.
“It’s going to be an exciting matchup,” said defenseman Shea Theodore, a first-round draft pick of the Ducks in 2013 who was traded to Vegas before the 2017-18 season. “They’re a great team. Watching how well they played against Edmonton, and how good Edmonton has been the last couple years, that was a tough matchup. It’s going to be a tough test.”
Third-year defenseman Jackson LaCombe, a member of the U.S. gold medal-winning Olympic team, led the Ducks in the opening round with nine points and a plus-six rating. He also drew praise for his defensive effort against McDavid, who scored just one goal and had five assists in six games.
Left wing Cutter Gauthier, 22, led the team with 41 goals in the regular season and also against the Oilers with four goals. Center Leo Carlsson, the second overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft, had 29 goals and 38 assists in 70 games, then the 21-year-old followed that up with three goals and five assists against Edmonton.
The Ducks were particularly lethal on the power play, converting eight of 16 chances (50%).
“They’re a fast team,” said Vegas center Jack Eichel, who led the Golden Knights with nine points against the Mammoth after scoring a team-best 90 points in the regular season. “I think having played Utah, having improved throughout the series in terms of some of our deep defensive responsibilities, we should be able to take from that a bit.”
“They’re a good team. They’re always trying to make plays through you and around you. ” Golden Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin added. “They’re young. They have some experience, too, on the backend especially. Should be a lot of fun.”
This is the first time since 2018 that Anaheim has played in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
“Now we’ve got a taste of playoff hockey,” said first-year Anaheim coach Joel Quenneville, who led the Chicago Blackhawks to three Stanley Cup titles (2010, 2013 and 2015). “And I think we can feel at this moment that it’s so much more fun playing games that have more meaning. And then it seems to grow from this level on.”
Eichel gave Vegas fans a scare at practice Sunday when he departed with trainers with towels held to his face after getting hit in the lip with a puck. However, he returned to finish practice.
Also noteworthy was center William Karlsson, out since suffering a lower-body injury on Nov. 8, returning to practice Sunday. Vegas was tight-lipped about Karlsson’s possible return to the lineup. Karlsson, a two-way star and a key member on power play and penalty kill units, also is a former Duck who was obtained by Vegas from the Columbus Blue Jackets in the expansion draft.
“He hasn’t played in a while. I’ve been through that,” Vegas captain Mark Stone said. “It’s not the easiest thing in the world to come back right into the playoffs. But he’s a tremendous skater and in tremendous shape.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Kentucky Derby sets several TV ratings records
Golden Tempo reached to nip the lead as Cherie DeVaux takes him out of his stall after winning the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on Sunday, May 3, 2026. An estimated record 24.4 million people watched Golden Tempo’s historic comeback win on Saturday at the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby.
NBC released that figure based on preliminary data collected from Nielsen and Adobe Analytics on Sunday.
The previous peak audience had been 21.8 million the year prior, meaning the 2026 running, in which jockey Jose Ortiz guided Golden Tempo from last place around the final turn all the way into first, was up 12% over the previous most-watched Derby.
Cherie DeVaux, the horse’s trainer, became the first woman trainer to win the Kentucky Derby in the event’s history Saturday.
NBC’s presentation also delivered the event’s highest average audience at 19.6 million, once again topping the previous year’s 17.7 million by roughly 11%.
The streaming numbers, mostly directed through Peacock, represented yet another record, with an average minute audience (AMA) of 1.3 million viewers, clearing 2025’s figure of 959,000.
Friday night’s Kentucky Oaks, contested for the first time in the television primetime window, likewise set viewership records. Always A Runner’s comfortable win averaged 2.4 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, a number that was four times higher than any previous viewership for the event (593,000 in 1997 on ESPN).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Twins ace Joe Ryan has MRI on elbow after early exit
May 3, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan (41) throws to the Toronto Blue Jays in the first inning at Target Field. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Kluckhohn-Imagn Images Minnesota Twins ace right-hander Joe Ryan underwent an MRI after exiting with right elbow soreness nine pitches into Sunday’s home start against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Ryan fanned leadoff man Yohendrick Pinango on three pitches, then walked Kazuma Okamoto. After Ryan’s full-count fastball to Okamoto finished above the zone, he waved for manager Derek Shelton and trainer Nick Paparesta to come out to the mound.
After a brief conversation, Ryan headed to the dugout.
“Well, we got imaging,” Shelton told reporters after Minnesota’s 4-3 win. “We’ll kind of evaluate from there. I think, as you guys were told, it was something in the elbow. We’ll evaluate. We have the off day tomorrow, and then we’ll go off that.”
Following the abbreviated outing, the Twins’ Opening Day starter is 2-3 with a 3.72 ERA, 1.06 WHIP and 40 strikeouts in 38 2/3 innings over eight starts.
Ryan dealt with lower back issues during spring training, which included the need for an MRI exam, but did not miss any turns this season.
Minnesota already has three starting pitchers on the injured list: Pablo Lopez (elbow), David Festa (shoulder) and Mick Abel (elbow). Lopez tore his ACL during spring training and underwent season-ending Tommy John surgery.
Abel posted a 1-2 record and a 3.98 ERA in four appearances (three starts) before being shelved in mid-April, but he’s expected back relatively soon.
Ryan, who made his major league debut in 2021, has fashioned a 48-39 record and a 3.79 ERA in 123 appearances (122 starts).
–Field Level Media
Sports
Yankees option SS Anthony Volpe to Triple-A after rehab stint
Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe continued his rehab assignment with the Somerset Patriots at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, N.J. on April 17, 2026. The New York Yankees reinstated shortstop Anthony Volpe from his rehab assignment but optioned him to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Sunday.
Volpe played four games at Scranton and eight with Double-A Somerset to start the season as he works his way back from offseason shoulder surgery.
However, with Jose Caballero playing well as New York’s everyday shortstop, the club opted not to rush back the 25-year-old — an apparent change of heart after general manager Brian Cashman insisted “the plan” was for Volpe to return to the starting role.
Volpe made his major league debut in 2023 after spending just 22 games at Triple-A the year prior. He won the starting shortstop job in spring training and posted a 21-home run, Gold Glove rookie season. Volpe played in 159 games, then 160 in 2024 and 153 in 2025.
But his batting average and his fielding dipped in 2025, and it was revealed that the Yankees were playing Volpe despite a partial labrum tear in his left (non-throwing) shoulder. He had surgery in October after the Yankees were eliminated from the playoffs.
In 472 career games, Volpe has batted .222 with 52 homers, 192 RBIs, 82 doubles and 70 stolen bases. Across his 12 minor league rehab games, he batted .275 with one homer and six RBIs.
He also made one error, after he tied the American League lead with 19 errors in 2025.
Caballero, meanwhile, has laid his claim to the everyday job for the AL-leading Yankees (23-11). He has batted .259 with four homers, 12 RBIs and 12 steals through 32 games. He has a fielding percentage of .978.
Before the Yankees opened a series against the Baltimore Orioles Friday, manager Aaron Boone said Caballero’s play “complicates it a little bit, clearly,” when it comes to Volpe’s return.
“Jose’s earned opportunities and been a key part of our club here and a part of the success here to start out the season,” Boone said.
Caballero, 29, was a trade deadline acquisition from the rival Tampa Bay Rays last summer and has also played second base, third base and the outfield.
–Field Level Media
Kentucky Derby sets several TV ratings records
Twins ace Joe Ryan has MRI on elbow after early exit
