Connect with us

Published

on

EDMONTON, Alberta — Alex Iafallo scored the overtime winner as the visiting Los Angeles Kings erased a two-goal, third-period deficit en route to a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers to open their first-round playoff series Monday night.

Iafallo scored a power-play goal at 9:19 of OT by converting Viktor Arvidsson‘s feed from behind the net.

“Alex is kind of our unsung hero,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said. “He cleans up. (Assistant coach) Trent Yawney always says he cleans up a lot of messes. Errors, mistakes, for teammates, he seems to be the cleanup guy. But on the other side of it, he has the ability to score. He can go up and down the lineup, penalty kills, blocks shots.

The Kings won overcoming a multiple-goal deficit in the third period for the first time since Game 2 of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final against the New York Rangers.

Adrian Kempe scored twice, and Anze Kopitar had a goal and three assists for Los Angeles, which held Oilers captain and NHL scoring leader Connor McDavid scoreless.

Kings goaltender Joonas Korpisalo made 38 saves for the win.

Leon Draisaitl countered with a pair of goals, and Evan Bouchard also scored for the Oilers (50-23-9), who ranked second in the Pacific Division this season ahead of third-seeded Kings (47-25-10).

Oilers starter Stuart Skinner stopped 31 shots in his NHL playoff debut.

Edmonton defenseman Vincent Desharnais was penalized in overtime for tripping Blake Lizotte, although Lizotte appeared to step on a broken stick on the ice and fall.

The Oilers almost ended it at 1:54 of OT, but officials ruled Ryan McLeod‘s shot from the blue line deflected off Derek Ryan‘s high stick.

The Oilers will try even the series in Wednesday’s Game 2 at Rogers Place.

Edmonton also dropped the opener of a first-round series against the Kings last year, but the Oilers took it in seven games to advance.

The Oilers led Monday’s opener 2-0 after the first and second periods before a four-goal third.

Kempe halved the deficit 52 seconds into the third period when the clubs played four aside.

Draisaitl restored Edmonton’s two-goal lead at 8:46, only for Kempe to pull his team within a goal again at 11:23.

With Bouchard serving a high-sticking penalty and Korpisalo pulled for an extra attacker, Kopitar produced the equalizer with 17 seconds remaining in regulation.

The puck lay in the crease for Kopitar to poke in after Phillip Danault‘s shot squeezed between Skinner’s pads. It marked the sixth time in team history that the Kings scored a game-tying goal in the final minute of regulation in a playoff game. Los Angeles is now 4-2 in such contests.

The Oilers have now blown a multiple-goal lead in the third period at least once in each of the past three postseasons: Monday night against the Kings, Game 4 of the 2022 Western Conference finals against the Colorado Avalanche, and in the first round of the 2021 playoffs (Game 3) at the Winnipeg Jets.

ESPN Stats & Information and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Continue Reading

Sports

Wisconsin fires offensive coordinator after 2 years

Published

on

By

Wisconsin fires offensive coordinator after 2 years

Wisconsin fired offensive coordinator Phil Longo on Sunday, a day after the Badgers’ 16-13 home loss to No. 1 Oregon.

In a statement, Badgers coach Luke Fickell thanked Longo for his two seasons with the program, while adding, “We are not where we need to be and believe this decision is in the best interest of the team.”

Wisconsin ranks 97th nationally in scoring and 102nd in passing while operating an Air Raid-style offense that Longo brought with him from North Carolina and other stops.

The Badgers, who lost starting quarterback Tyler Van Dyke to a season-ending injury Sept. 14, had only three points and 88 yards in the second half against Oregon, which rallied from a 13-6 deficit entering the fourth quarter.

Wisconsin ranked 101st nationally in scoring in Longo’s 23 games as coordinator and failed to eclipse 13 points on its current three-game losing streak. Quarterback Braedyn Locke had only 96 passing yards against the Ducks.

Fickell did not immediately announce an interim coordinator for Wisconsin’s final regular-season games against Nebraska and Minnesota.

Fickell had long targeted Longo for a coordinator role, going back to his time as Cincinnati’s coach. Longo, 56, oversaw productive offenses at Ole Miss, North Carolina, Sam Houston State and other spots but never consistently got traction at a Wisconsin program that had operated dramatically differently on offense before his arrival.

“This team still has a lot in front of us and I am committed to doing everything we can to close out this season with success,” Fickell said in his statement.

Continue Reading

Sports

4-star QB Jones, former FSU commit, picks Florida

Published

on

By

4-star QB Jones, former FSU commit, picks Florida

Four-star quarterback Tramell Jones Jr. has committed to Florida, he told ESPN on Sunday, joining the Gators’ 2025 class four days after pulling his pledge from Florida State.

Jones, a four-year starter at Florida’s Mandarin High School, is ESPN’s No. 9 dual-threat passer in the Class of 2025. After multiple trips to Florida throughout his recruitment, Jones returned to campus Saturday, taking an official visit with the Gators during the program’s 27-16 win over LSU. A day later, Jones stands as the lone quarterback pledge in a 2025 Florida class that includes five pledges from the ESPN 300.

“I pretty much saw everything I needed to see when I visited last spring — I just love everything around the campus,” Jones told ESPN. “And then hanging out with the guys yesterday, seeing the camaraderie with each other, that really just sealed it for me.”

Jones was the longest-tenured member of Mike Norvell’s 2025 class at Florida State before his decommitment from the Seminoles on Thursday morning.

Jones’ exit came days after Norvell announced the firings of three assistant coaches on Nov. 10, including offensive coordinator and offensive line coach Alex Atkins. Jones was the first Florida State commit to pull his pledge in the wake of the staff shakeup but marked the Seminoles sixth decommitment since the start of the regular season, joining five ESPN 300 recruits who have left Norvell’s recruiting class across the program’s 1-9 start.

Jones’ commitment follows a key late-season victory for Billy Napier on Saturday and marks the Gators’ first recruiting win since athletic director Scott Strickland announced on Nov. 7 that Florida would stick with the third-year coach beyond the 2024 season.

Uncertainty over Napier’s future had weighed down Florida’s recruiting efforts in the 2025 class as the Gators began November with the No. 39 class in ESPN’s latest team rankings for the cycle. But Jones’ pledge comes as a boost for Florida one day after the Gators hosted a handful of high-profile flip targets, including five-star offensive tackle Solomon Thomas (Florida State pledge) and four-star wide receiver Jaime Ffrench (Texas pledge).

When Jones signs with Florida, he’ll arrive on campus flanked by fellow in-state offensive talents in four-star wide receivers Vernell Brown III (No. 44 in the ESPN 300) and Naeshaun Montgomery (No. 115), as well as four-star running back Waltez Clark (No. 223). Florida is also set to sign a pair of in-state defenders from the 2025 ESPN 300 between four-star defensive end Jalen Wiggins (No. 68) and four-star cornerback Ben Hanks Jr. (No. 121).

With Jones’ commitment, Florida has another jolt to its momentum on the recruiting trail as the Gators seek to chart a strong finish in the 2025 cycle next month. More imminently, Florida will host No. 11 Ole Miss on Saturday.

Continue Reading

Sports

Ted Williams’ 1946 MVP award sells for over $500K

Published

on

By

Ted Williams' 1946 MVP award sells for over 0K

A rare souvenir postcard picturing Hank Aaron as a rookie with the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro Leagues sold for nearly $200,000 at a baseball memorabilia auction that also included Ted Williams’ 1946 AL MVP award, which went for $528,750.

The Aaron postcard from the scrapbook of scout Ed Scott, who discovered Aaron, went for $199,750 following a bidding war that soared past the pre-sale estimate of $5,000-$10,000, Hunt Auctions said.

The auction included 280 items from Williams’ personal collection that had been held by his daughter, Claudia, who died last year. Among the other items were a silver bat awarded for his 1958 batting title, which sold for more than $270,000, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom presented to him by fellow naval aviator George H.W. Bush, which went for $141,000.

The sale also included items from the collection of Rutherford Hayes Jones, the business manager of the Washington Giants, one of the earliest Black baseball teams. The trove was discovered in 2001 in a suitcase, where it had been unseen for 40 years.

A first batch of items from Claudia Williams’ collection went up for auction in 2012 at Fenway Park and garnered more than $5 million.

Continue Reading

Trending