Oilers lose to motivated Mammoth in possible playoff preview

As it turns out, in a game the Edmonton Oilers led for all but 11 seconds, they were lucky to escape Salt Lake City with a point in a 6-5 overtime loss.

Did the Oilers hold leads of 3-1, 4-3 and (with seven minutes to play) 5-4? Yes they did.

Bur were they absolutely on their heels, pinned in their defensive zone for most of the third period, while the Utah Mammoth possessed the puck in Edmonton’s zone? You bet they were.

“We obviously gave up too many chances,” said defenceman Darnell Nurse. “When you’re trying to score six to win a game, it’s tough to get that done. So defensively, we can definitely up the details in our own zone.”

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Two days after Connor McDavid talked about playing low-event hockey against the offensively talented Mammoth, this game was anything but, with the Mammoth logging 12 high danger chances to Edmonton’s eight.

In what could be a preview of a riveting Round 1 matchup between these teams, it was Utah that controlled the pace in the third period, while Edmonton was hanging on for dear life.

The good news? The Oilers managed to score five times with both Leon Draisaitl and Zach Hyman out of the lineup, and they received depth goals from Colton Dach and Curtis Lazar.

“It was nice to see the offence was there. We had the goals, but just too many chances against,” lamented head coach Kris Knoblauch, whose team just couldn’t break the puck out of their own zone with any consistency. “So many problems tonight started with just not being able to get the puck up ice and having to spend time in the defensive zone.

“If we get those breakouts, we’re out of the zone. We’re also not tired and getting run down in our zone. For me, that’s the starting point.”

The point leaves Edmonton exactly where they were when the night began: tied atop the Pacific and holding the tie-breaker, but with Vegas now, not Anaheim. With four games to play, the Pacific is wide open, with Anaheim losing 5-0 at home to Nashville Tuesday, while Vegas beat the moribund Vancouver Canucks 2-1, surrendering just 11 shots on goal.

Mammoth Opportunity

The franchise shift to Utah from Arizona has been one of Gary Bettman’s great recoveries. After Bettman held his faith in a series of bad owners who left unpaid bills scattered across the desert, Utah owner Ryan Smith is as solid as solid can be in Salt Lake City — and his up-and-coming hockey team looks to be no different.

The Mammoth have become an exciting offensive machine, scoring six or more goals in each of their last four games. They’ve posted an 8-1-1 road record since March 1.

Slight problem though — Utah dragged a 1-5-1 home record since March 1 into Edmonton’s visit, and the Mammoth play five of their final six games at the Delta Center as they cling to a wild card spot and this franchise’s first playoff berth since the 2020 bubble.

If the Mammoth can qualify for the post-season this spring — they control their own destiny and have the first wild card spot all but wrapped up out West — it will be just the second time in 13 years that this franchise played past Game 82, after a lot of bad years in the Arizona desert.

McFeelin’ It

How good was Connor McDavid on a Tuesday night in Salt Lake City? Oh boy…

He walked through the whole Mammoth penalty kill for this goal, a work of art for his 44th of the season.

After Nikita Kucherov pulled one point ahead in the Art Ross race earlier in the evening, McDavid had 1-1-2 in Salt Lake City. The Oilers captain has had at least two points in each of the six games he’s played against Utah.

In fact, McDavid leads the NHL in more than just points, ranking first in rush chances, slot passes, controlled entries and end-to-end rushes. Whether or not he wins his fourth Hart Trophy will be up to the voters from the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, and that award is very much open for interpretation.

But there’s no doubt who the best player in the game is, year in year out.

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Australian selector Shawn Flegler concedes the decision to hand Sophie Molineux the national team captaincy would need to be reassessed if she continued to be troubled by serious injuries.

Molineux’s extensive injury history meant eyebrows were raised when Cricket Australia unveiled her as the retiring Alyssa Healy’s replacement ahead of vice-captain Tahlia McGrath and star allrounder Ash Gardner.

Stephen Curry's second game back for the Golden State Warriors ended healthily and victoriously.

With Curry back in their lineup again after missing 27 games with runner's knee, the Warriors rolled to a 110-105 win over the (tanking) Sacramento Kings at Chase Center on Tuesday night. Returning with 29 points Sunday in a one-point loss to the Houston Rockets, Curry followed with 17 points and four threes in 25 minutes.

De'Anthony Melton had 21 points and Brandin Podziemski scored 20 for the Warriors (37-42) - down Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, Gui Santos and Will Richard - with Charles Bassey adding 14 points and 12 rebounds in his second game in their uniform.

Maxime Reynaud led the Kings (21-59) with 17 points.

Curry stuck to a similar script regarding his workload against the Kings, closing the quarters like he did against Houston to not sit too long and cool down. He first checked in at the 6:24 mark of the first quarter, making a three in his opening shift and following with an 11-point second quarter.

A pair of four-point plays were rewarded with roars with an ear-to-ear grin following the second - preceding "MVP" chants at the free-throw line. He added a technical free throw, too, and a driving finish off the glass - powering Golden State to a 66-53 halftime lead.

Curry's second half included a cut to the lane and assist to Spencer, a game-tying triple down the stretch and the go-ahead assist to Podziemski after rebounding his own missed corner triple.

Golden State returns to play Thursday against the Los Angeles Lakers at Chase Center.

Warriors 110, Kings 105

Percentages: FG .471, FT .706.

3-Point Goals: 11-31, .355 (McDermott 4-10, Plowden 3-6, Hayes 3-7, Clifford 1-4, Monk 0-1, Raynaud 0-1, Achiuwa 0-2).

Team Rebounds: 8. Team Turnovers: 1.

Blocked Shots: 6 (Cardwell 3, Achiuwa, McDermott, Plowden).

Turnovers: 14 (Hayes 3, Achiuwa 2, Clifford 2, McDermott 2, Monk 2, Raynaud 2, Carter).

Steals: 9 (Hayes 4, Clifford 2, Carter, McDermott, Monk).

Technical Fouls: coach Doug Christie, 2:48 second.

Percentages: FG .451, FT .792.

3-Point Goals: 17-38, .447 (Melton 4-6, Podziemski 4-6, St.Curry 4-11, Spencer 3-8, Se.Curry 2-3, Payton II 0-1, Green 0-3).

Team Rebounds: 13. Team Turnovers: None.

Blocked Shots: 5 (Bassey 2, Leons 2, Green).

Turnovers: 17 (Green 3, Leons 3, St.Curry 3, Payton II 2, Podziemski 2, Spencer 2, Melton, Se.Curry).

Steals: 10 (Payton II 3, Bassey 2, Green, Melton, Podziemski, Spencer, St.Curry).

Technical Fouls: None.

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This article originally published at Warriors dispatch the lowly Kings as Steph Curry keys balanced offense.

The struggle against left-handed starters continued for the Philadelphia Phillies (6-5) as they dropped the middle game of their series against the San Francisco Giants (4-8) on Tuesday night by a score of 6-0.

Christopher Sanchez had a rough night, allowing 11 of the Giants’ 12 hits, the second highest total against him in his career. A rough night for the Phillies’ ace is still a decent night for some, as only two of the four runs credited to him during his 5.0+ IP were earned due to several miscues by his backing group.

Giants’ lefty starter, Robbie Ray, dominated all night, scattering six baserunners on three hits and three walks across 109 pitches with seven punch outs.

Ultimately, the additional damage inflicted by the poor defense didn’t matter as the Phillies’ offense offered little resistance to Ray and the rest of the Giants’ staff. With a left-hander on the mound, Alec Bohm out of the lineup nursing a sore groin, and JT Realmuto leaving the game after the first inning following a foul ball ricocheting off his right foot, the lineup featured the whole bench in Edmundo Sosa, Otto Kemp, Dylan Moore and Rafael Marchan.

Sanchez’s only clean inning came in a 1-2-3 bottom of the fourth, but he allowed multiple runners to reach base in each of the four others. He didn’t have his usual putaway stuff as eight of his eleven hits allowed came in two-strike counts.

The defensive gaffes were punctuated by a fielding error by Trea Turner, a throwing error by Marchan and a weak throw-in by Justin Crawford that allowed Wilson Ramos to tag-up from first and take second on a fly ball to center. But there was also the around the horn double play started by Sosa to relieve the jam in the second inning, a dart throw by Adolis Garcia to cut down Adames at home plate in the third, and a pick off throw behind the runner at first by Marchan in the fifth.

The Giants opened the scoring in the bottom of the first on an RBI ground out by Luis Arraez that scored Willy Adames who led off with a double.

They would tack on two more in the fifth after a leadoff single by Daniel Susac, an RBI double by Chapman and an RBI single by Arraez.

Sanchez gave way to Zach Pop in the sixth after surrendering a single to Rafael Devers and a ground rule double to Casey Schmitt with no outs. Pop allowed one runner to score on a sacrifice fly by Jung Hoo Lee but kept his own line clean, as did Tanner Banks in the seventh.

Orion Kerkering made his 2026 debut and likely saw ghosts as his first hitter faced, Ramos, knocked a dying dribbler in between Kerkering and Marchan that, after an instant’s hesitation by both battery members, was fielded by Marchan and errantly thrown to first for an error. That error may have been a mercy in disguise for Kerkering who conceded a walk to Schmitt and a triple by Susac that piled on two more runs for the Giants, neither counting against his ERA.

The offense was 0-6 with runners in scoring position. Their lone extra-base hit was a double by Sosa in the second inning and a runner didn’t reach second base again until Sosa and then Moore walked in the seventh.

Bryce Harper worked two walks and reached on a single. Turner and Kyle Schwarber each had one of the team’s four hits.

It’ll be Aaron Nola versus Tyler Mahle in the series decider tomorrow afternoon.

Seve's dance. Rory's roar. Tiger's fist pumps. In more than 50 years of covering sport, I've been fortunate enough to take some of golf's most iconic photographs.

While my career was kickstarted by a split-second snap that captured Seve Ballesteros' famous celebration at the 1984 Open Championship, others have taken meticulous planning.

Last year at Augusta National, I was setting up at 06:15, almost 12 hours before Rory McIlroy's Masters-winning moment, to make sure I was in the perfect spot to capture his emotion as he completed the career Grand Slam by claiming his first Green Jacket.

And, while I've been privileged to photograph all 15 of Tiger Woods' major victories, one image in particular took months of planning.

Here are a selection of my favourite images - and the stories behind them.

Seve's celebration

This was taken at my first major championship in 1984 and turned into a hugely influential picture. I was covering the final day for the Observer newspaper, and I came away with perhaps the most iconic moment of Seve Ballesteros' career - which is many people's favourite picture from the modern era of golf.

Only a few photographers caught this split-second moment when all the elements came together - where his right arm is, the angle of the putter, the position of his legs, his facial expression.

There is always an element of luck to every great picture but I had been taking photos at sporting events for about a decade by this point so I had some experience of where to position myself and what to look out for.

I knew from previous celebrations he would be animated and emotional, but the timing was everything.

The newspaper didn't need the image until the Tuesday, to go in the following Sunday's paper, so I drove home overnight to my lab in Hemel Hempstead. It was taken using a manually focused lens so it was a huge relief when I saw the image had come out in focus.

It was picked up by several magazines across Europe and Japan and it still sells today.

Tiger's tiger

With Tiger Woods, it was a case of 'just shoot from every angle you could'. Some sportspeople you only need a silhouette to be able to recognise - and Tiger is definitely one of those.

But I had been trying to get this picture for many months - even years.

I wanted a picture that was sharp on his well-known headcover of a tiger but for him to be abstract to it, as opposed to standing next to it.

Photographers often chat to caddies and ask for help from time to time in how they position the bag, or clubs, to aid us in getting the best shot. It's like being in a travelling circus and the caddies are a great and insightful group.

I knew Tiger's caddie Stevie Williams well, and although he did help me out with some shots, I want to stress he didn't here!

This opportunity arose at the Dubai Desert Classic in 2001, when Tiger was bending down to pick grass up to check the wind direction for his second shot to the 18th green.

Faldo's first

This is a photo that came to mean more once Sir Nick Faldo had completed a grinding round of 18 pars to win his first major at the 1987 Open Championship.

Faldo himself called it a key shot - "a fantastic 35-yard shot I knocked to three feet" - as it helped him record an eighth par at Muirfield to keep the momentum of his unusual round going.

I have taken plenty of other photos of Faldo but this one shows a moment where it could have all gone wrong. It shows his focus and determination and what winning is all about.

And that's what he did all day with his solid round, as he overcame a three-shot deficit on the back nine to beat Paul Azinger.

Rory's roar

I was up early to get this shot of Rory McIlroy joining golf's most exclusive club as he completed the career Grand Slam by winning the Masters at Augusta National in 2025.

Given there is no inside-the-ropes access for media and photographers at Augusta, I arrived at 06:15 - around 12 hours before the winning moment - to queue up and put a chair down among the patrons beside the 18th green.

The traditions at Augusta allow you to place your chair greenside and then wander off for the day knowing nobody will have taken your spot.

I had to hope it was going to be the right place to capture history, although experience over the years has helped me learn the best places to be.

Every time I arrive I have to scope out any changes though, because although it may look like nothing much alters from year to year, they may have added trees, so you want to see how that might have added shadows and views to shots.

I'd already decided to follow Rory for as much of the final round as I could. I've got to know him extremely well since first meeting him at a Faldo Series event when he was about 13 years old, and when he holed that winning putt it was like my nephew had won the Grand Slam.

Both Rory and his caddie Harry Diamond have a large print of this. I try to maintain a professional relationship with the players but I will offer major winners a copy of any photos I have of the winning moment.

Bethpage bonus

It is amazing what body language can tell you in a still picture.

I want to get this image at every Ryder Cup and, while it's not easy getting a shot of the captains together while the matches are taking place, this was on the opening morning of Europe's victory at Bethpage in 2025.

You've got a cool, calm and controlled European captain in Luke Donald, while his US counterpart Keegan Bradley has a nervousness in his look. I like the fact Luke is walking in front and Keegan is slightly out of focus - a bit like how the Ryder Cup went that week.

When I spotted them, I wasn't remotely interested in the match they were following. It was all about focusing on them to get this picture.

The captains set the tone and I wouldn't hesitate in putting Bradley in the top five of most passionate captains I've witnessed - but perhaps he wanted that win too much?

Sarazen's stories

What a vivid memory I have of the time I spent with 1935 Masters champion Gene Sarazen on the balcony of the clubhouse at Augusta National in 1994.

The seven-time major winner - and founding member of the six-strong Grand Slam club - was into his 90s when this was taken.

We spent a fabulous hour chatting about how he invented the modern sand wedge and about my golfing hero - Walter Hagen - being a contemporary of his. He regaled me with many wonderful stories of them during their early years on the road.

I wanted to take him down to the 15th fairway where he hit the 'shot heard around the world' [Sarazen holed his second shot on the par-five hole to pick up three shots and eventually win what was the second staging of the tournament] but it wasn't possible.

Instead, we chatted and that relaxed him for the photographs. I ended up with this cool portrait and priceless memories.

Wondrous Woods

While Tiger's comeback win at the Masters in 2019 was an extraordinary story, his previous major victory, at the 2008 US Open, was the most epic major win of his career.

We knew he was badly injured, but when we later discovered the extent of the pain he was playing through [he had surgery and missed the rest of that season] it makes it stand out for me.

This is his reaction to holing a 12-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to get into an 18-hole play-off with Rocco Mediate.

The inside-the-ropes access afforded to photographers at the US Open allowed me to follow Tiger for a number of holes and still be able to get in position to capture this moment.

Lee Westwood had been playing with Tiger and he missed a 15-footer that would have got him in the play-off too.

Woods went on to win the play-off on Monday, but who would have thought then that the 32-year-old, with 14 majors in the bag, would not catch Jack Nicklaus' record of 18?

Happy Harrington

Throughout my career, it's not always been about photographing players in the heat of battle.

I've enjoyed working on features with players at the height of their powers, as I did here with three-time major winner Padraig Harrington in 2009. The year before, he had won the US PGA Championship and his second successive Open Championship title.

He had no idea what I was doing when I put around 1,000 golf balls on the green but I knew the extent to which he practised and after a conversation he understood where I was coming from and he really got into it.

The timing of getting Padraig to do this feature session, just down the road from his home in Ireland at The European Club, really helped create the atmosphere to get this picture.

Dornoch drone

I wanted to include one final image of a golf course close to my heart. This showcases drone photography, which is very much part of my workflow now.

The skill level required was greater when I was starting out 50 years ago without autofocus and limited film in the camera. But you still need skill when using a drone.

Putting a drone up doesn't guarantee a good photo. The camera is how you see a photo in your head. The background, the light, the composition; all need to be as close to perfect as possible.

This picture at Royal Dornoch, in the north of Scotland, was taken at sunrise. I live in the town and it's a great place to head back to after the bustle of a major.

It's difficult to pick a favourite photo out of the hundreds of thousands I've taken.

As one of the few remaining independent golf photographers, I've built one of the most comprehensive private collections in the sport.

It's hard to beat that first major and taking that photo of Seve winning but then I captured Rory's emotions at Augusta towards the end of my career and it has been an utter joy and privilege to photograph every one of Tiger's 15 major wins in the middle.

This week, as I cover my 151st major championship - in addition to every Ryder Cup since 1985 - I am honoured to be receiving the PGA of America Lifetime Achievement Award in Photojournalism.

While there are days that are long and stressful, I love what I do. I'll know when to step away - but that isn't now.