LAS VEGAS — In addition to being one of the Vegas Golden Knights‘ six “Original Misfits,” Jonathan Marchessault can add another title to his name: Conn Smythe Trophy winner.
Marchessault, 32, was named most valuable player of the playoffs following the Golden Knights’ commanding 9-3 Stanley Cup-clinching Game 5 victory Tuesday night against the Florida Panthers at T-Mobile Arena. Marchessault recorded an assist in the win, which gave the Golden Knights their first title in their six-year history.
“It’s one of those things you work all your life for and right now, with what we accomplished with that team, I couldn’t be more proud of our team,” Marchessault said in an interview with NHL Network. “We’ve battled through all year, and I’m so happy for them right now.”
Marchessault finished the postseason tied for first with 13 goals and ranked second with 25 points. His lone point in Game 5 was a secondary assist on the Nicolas Hague goal that gave the Golden Knights a 2-0 lead with more than six minutes remaining in the first. The assist gave Marchessault a short-lived lead atop the playoff points standings. He entered Game 5 tied for first in points with Dallas Stars forward Roope Hintz and Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk with 24.
Marchessault’s lead atop the points standing lasted one period. Golden Knights center Jack Eichel picked up the first of his three assists in the second period. Eichel’s three-point effort saw him finish his first postseason campaign with a league-high 26 points.
“Marchy gets so hot, and he went on a heck of a run,” Eichel said on the TNT broadcast. “So deserving of the Conn Smythe. I’m so happy for him. He’s been here since the beginning.”
Marchessault, who spent one season with the Panthers, was selected by the Golden Knights in the 2017 expansion draft. He’s one of the six remaining players from the first team and has since become one of the cornerstones of a franchise that has reached the playoffs in all but one season.
His postseason surge was gradual. Marchessault, who scored 28 goals and 57 assists in the regular season, had two points — both assists — in the Golden Knights’ opening series against the Winnipeg Jets. He started finding more offensive consistency when he scored five goals and eight points in the three Golden Knights victories that saw them close out the second round against the Oilers in six games.
After failing to score in the first game of the Western Conference finals against the Stars, Marchessault finished the playoffs on a 10-game points streak.
“I wasn’t happy with my first-round production, but at the end of the day we find a way to win hockey games,” Marchessault said at his postgame news conference. “There’s a bunch of guys that stepped up at the right time. This year’s playoffs, every round, there was somebody that stepped up. You don’t get here by just one or two guys. It takes the full effort of the organization. It’s something that we can really be proud of.”
One of the looming questions facing the Golden Knights entering Game 5 — aside from if they would clinch the Cup at home — was centered around who would ultimately win the Conn Smythe.
Several players presented arguments. In addition to leading the league in points, Eichel gave the Golden Knights a top-line center who could drive offensive play while showing he could be trusted in defensive situations. He shrugged off any concerns or questions about being a first-time playoff participant by recording seven multipoint performances, with Game 5 being his third three-point outing.
Adin Hill initially started the playoffs on the bench backing up Laurent Brossoit. Once Brossoit suffered an injury in the second round, Hill took over. His performances made the Golden Knights’ already formidable defensive approach even more challenging to play against, given Hill finished the playoffs first in save percentage, tied for first in shutouts and third in goals-against average and saves.
Everything about Mark Stone‘s shorthanded goal in the first period of Game 5 reinforced why he also made a case. Stone’s two-way prowess allowed him to seemingly be everywhere at once and that’s what happened when he gave the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead. He forced a turnover for a 2-on-1 chance he buried. Stone then scored two more to record a playoff hat trick that also further legitimized his case for the Conn Smythe with 24 points to tie Hintz and Tkachuk. His 11 goals were tied for third.
The value of two-way play was why William Karlsson became a bit of an underdog pick for the Conn Smythe. Karlsson entered Game 5 just two goals shy of being tied for first place. And while his goals have played a major role in Vegas’ success, he has also been at the heart of forecheck that has found success against four of the five players who led the NHL in postseason points before the Cup Final. Of those players, Karlsson was part of the effort that kept four of them pointless for at least one game.
To know Vegas could rely on several players to win games was one of its strengths both in the regular season and in the postseason. It’s the kind of depth that led it to a championship but also made it challenging to accurately judge who would be named playoff MVP.
In the end, it was Marchessault who walked away with the Conn Smythe.
“One night, it’s one guy. One night, it’s another guy,” Marchessault said on the TNT broadcast. “That’s the mentality we had this year. Just next man has to do the good job. We’re a bunch of good teammates in that locker room, and we’re always happy for each other. Everybody stepped up at different times and that’s why today we are winners.”
CHICAGO — Kyle Tucker had the fans on their feet, roaring and pumping their fists as he rounded the bases after hitting the go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning. His screaming line drive cleared the right-field wall with plenty of room to spare.
The Chicago Cubs went from giving up 10 runs in the eighth to scoring six in the bottom half and beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 13-11 on Friday in one of the wildest games on record.
The two teams combined for 21 runs in the seventh and eighth innings, with the Cubs scoring 11 runs and the D-backs plating 10. It was the first nine-inning game in MLB history in which both teams scored 10 or more runs from the seventh inning on, and the third game overall, according to ESPN Research.
“That’s kind of baseball,” Tucker said. “There’s a lot of ups and downs in this game, especially with how many games we play.”
There haven’t been many games like this, though.
The Cubs are just the seventh team in at least the past 125 seasons to allow 10 or more runs in an inning and win. They are also the fifth team to give up 10 or more runs and score six or more in the same inning.
The 16 combined runs in the eighth were the most in an inning at Wrigley Field, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
“If you’ve seen that one, you’ve been around for a while,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said with a laugh. “It was crazy. You know, we gave up 10 runs in an inning and we won. So it was a wild game, but we kept going, and, you know, there’s 27 outs in a game and this kind of proves it, and you’re just happy to get out with a win.”
On a warm day with the ball carrying, Carson Kelly homered twice. Ian Happ belted a grand slam and Seiya Suzuki went deep, helping the Cubs open a weekend series on a winning note.
“You’ve seen it early — having some tough losses, coming back winning the next day,” Happ said. “Losing the first game of the series, winning the series. Little things like that. Today’s a great example of professional hitters going out there and continuing to have really good at-bats.”
The way things transpired in the final two innings was something to see.
Kelly hit a two-run homer in the second against Corbin Burnes, and Happ came through with his grand slam against Ryne Nelson as part of a five-run seventh. But just when it looked as if the Cubs were in control with a 7-1 lead, things took a wild turn in the eighth.
The crowd of more than 39,000 let the Cubs hear it, but their team regrouped in the bottom half. Bryce Jarvis hit Nico Hoerner leading off and walked Pete Crow-Armstrong before Kelly drove a three-run homer to center. Tucker, the Cubs’ prized offseason addition, came through after Happ singled with one out. Suzuki followed with his drive against Joe Mantiply to give the Cubs a 13-11 lead.
Arizona, which had won five straight, became just the third team over the past 50 seasons to lose a game in which it had a 10-run inning at any point, according to ESPN Research.
“You just got to stay locked in,” Kelly said. “Obviously, you don’t want to … give up 10 in an inning. Obviously, you don’t want to do that. I think the biggest thing is coming back, regrouping and continuing to fight.”
Major League Baseball suspended New York Yankees infielder Jazz Chisholm Jr. for one game and fined him an undisclosed amount, the result of his actions during Thursday night’s win against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Chisholm was ejected in the seventh inning by plate umpire John Bacon for arguing after a called third strike on a full-count pitch from Mason Montgomery that appeared low.
Minutes later, he posted on his X account, “Not even f—ing close!!!!!” then deleted the post.
“I didn’t think before I had anything that I said was ejectable but after probably,” Chisholm said after the game. “I’m a competitor, so when I go out there and I feel like I’m right and you’re saying something to me that I think doesn’t make sense, I’m going to get fired up and be upset.
“I lost my emotions. I lost my cool. I got to be better than that. … I’m definitely mad at myself for losing my cool.”
Michael Hill, the league’s senior vice president for on-field operations, said Friday’s discipline was for Chisholm’s “conduct, including his violation of Major League Baseball’s Social Media Policy for Major League Players.”
MLB regulations ban the use of electronic devices during games. The social media policy prohibits “displaying or transmitting content that questions the impartiality of or otherwise denigrates a major league umpire.”
Chisholm did appeal the decision, allowing him to play in Friday night’s 1-0 win against the Rays. He started at second base and went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Manager Dave Roberts said before the Dodgers’ series opener Friday night against the Rangers that Ohtani was with his wife and going on MLB’s paternity list.
“He and Mamiko are expecting at some point. That’s all I know,” Roberts said. “I don’t know when he’s going to come back and I don’t know when they’re going to have the baby, but obviously they’re together in anticipation.”
The 30-year-old Ohtani posted on his Instagram account in late December that he and his 28-year-old wife, a former professional basketball player from his native Japan, were expecting a baby in 2025.
“Can’t wait for the little rookie to join our family soon!” said the Dec. 28 post that included a photo showing the couple’s beloved dog, Decoy, as well as a pink ruffled onesie along with baby shoes and a sonogram that was covered by a baby emoji.
Ohtani can miss up to three games while on paternity leave. The Dodgers have a three-game series in Texas before an off day Monday, then play the Cubs in Chicago on Tuesday.