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PHOENIX — If the Arizona Diamondbacks can live up to the Answerbacks moniker that they’ve adopted throughout October as the calendar flips to November, what happened in the final innings of their Game 4 loss will be where the latest story in a postseason full of surprises begins.

Arizona was down 10-1 entering the eighth inning on Tuesday night, but instead of rolling over, Arizona made Texas work — and perhaps most importantly, use closer Jose Leclerc — by scoring six runs in the final two innings of what turned into an 11-7 loss. Down 3-1 in a best-of-seven series isn’t an enviable position to be in, but after their late awakening, the D-backs actually feeling like there’s a little momentum on their side.

“Got the fans engaged,” manager Torey Lovullo said after the game. “Got a ton of energy. Got their closer in the game. There was a lot of positives to draw upon, and I will.”

Is it wishful thinking or something real? Lovullo’s upbeat attitude permeated the clubhouse after the Game 4 defeat, and it was a more upbeat feeling than the last time the Diamondbacks got down big — when they lost Game 2 of the National League Championship Series 10-0 and appeared overmatched by a Philadelphia Phillies team they would eventually oust in seven games.

Now Arizona will have to take this World Series the distance to end an improbable run with a championship celebration. First, it starts with Game 5 on Wednesday night, and it helps to have one of their aces on the mound again after struggling in a bullpen game. With his team’s season on the line, Zac Gallen will get a second chance at a Rangers offense that tagged him for three runs on four hits and four walks over five innings in the World Series opener.

“I don’t get a sense that anyone is worried,” reliever Ryan Thompson stated. “I’m not worried. This is going to sound crazy, but I like where we’re at. Our backs have been against the wall since day one. This feeling is not new to us. We got the best pitcher in the world starting for us. We lost this game but the end of this game was on our side.”

Thompson may like having his ace on the mound in Game 5, but the D-backs will also be up against one of baseball’s top big-game pitchers with Nathan Eovaldi set to get the ball for the Rangers. And Gallen’s 5.27 postseason ERA doesn’t exactly match the best-in-world label his reliever gave him.

The first task on Gallen’s Game 5 to-do list will be attempting to limit the guy who has lit up D-backs pitching throughout this series, Rangers shortstop Corey Seager. He’s as hot as anyone right now, having hit three home runs off three different pitchers and three different pitches. Seager’s latest long ball came off a slider in Game 4, a day after he went deep on a Game 3 change-up. And, of course, there’s the dramatic Game 1-tying shot he hit off a fastball thrown by Arizona closer Paul Sewald.

“He’s locked in,” Gallen told ESPN late Tuesday night. “That’s what you see of the teams left standing. Someone is locked in. He’s always been a good player. I’m not shocked. You have to pick your spots when the time comes. That’s what it ultimately comes down to.”

Solving Seager is easier said than done, but there is one factor that could work in Gallen’s favor, though it clearly did not in Game 5. With Adolis Garcia unavailable due to an oblique injury, the Diamondbacks have one less big bat to worry about in the deep Texas lineup. On Tuesday, Marcus Semien stepped up at the top of the lineup, but that doesn’t change the plan for facing Seager: Proceed with caution.

“We’ve done a really good job of picking and choosing which guys we don’t think can beat us,” Thompson said. “We neutralized [Freddie] Freeman and [Mookie] Betts really well in the divisional round. With the Phillies, we got off to a slow start with [Kyle] Schwarber and [Bryce] Harper but then slowed them down. I do think there needs a little more emphasis on Seager not beating us, but at the same time that’s been our plan from the get-go.

“The more unpredictable we can be in the zone the better.”

While Gallen deals with Seager, Semien and the rest of Texas’ hitters, the Diamondbacks know they need their offense to show up early and often with their season on the line. In two home games this series, Arizona scored just one run in Game 3 and didn’t put up a crooked number in Game 4 until after the outcome was decided. Still, Arizona’s hitters are looking at that late onslaught as inspiration going into Game 5.

“It certainly does help,” Tommy Pham said of the late-inning offense. “We’ve put ourselves in a very tough spot right now. It’s going to take a lot.”

While the end of Game 4 provided a window of hope, the D-backs’ biggest advantage might actually come from the experience gained in facing similar situations throughout this postseason: Arizona was down 2-0 and 3-2 in the NLCS against the Phillies but managed to extend and ultimately win the series.

First baseman Christian Walker said the biggest thing the D-backs learned was to “come in the next day and just be themselves,” which is what they plan on doing as they file into the Chase Field clubhouse on Wednesday knowing it could be their last game of the season..

“One thing I can promise is we’re going to fight as hard as we can every pitch,” Walker said. “We’ve had our backs against the wall before. We’re going to leave it all on the field.”

The attitude that the D-backs believe will permeate through 26 players on their roster for however many games are left starts with their manager. If there’s one person who won’t give in until the final out, it’s Lovullo. He has been an open book throughout every media session of the postseason, wearing his emotions on his sleeve whether standing up to the doubters or celebrating another series victory.

For all of their newfound experience and the belief that comes with it, the task is even tougher than last round. The Diamondbacks need to win three in a row — starting with Game 5 on Wednesday night. Can the Answerbacks do it again?

“It’s an all-in mentality,” Lovullo said. “And this team has done it every time I can remember. They’ve never let one another down. And I expect that to be the same.”

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Danault’s last-minute goal saves Kings in wild G1

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Danault's last-minute goal saves Kings in wild G1

LOS ANGELES — Phillip Danault scored his second goal with 42 seconds to play, and the Los Angeles Kings blew a four-goal lead before rallying for a 6-5 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in the opener of the clubs’ fourth consecutive first-round playoff series Monday night.

The Kings led 5-3 in the final minutes before Zach Hyman and Connor McDavid tied it with an extra attacker. Los Angeles improbably responded, with Danault skating up the middle and chunking a fluttering shot home while a leaping Warren Foegele screened goalie Stuart Skinner.

Andrei Kuzmenko had a goal and two assists in his Stanley Cup playoff debut, and Adrian Kempe added another goal and two assists for the second-seeded Kings, who lost those last three series against Edmonton. Los Angeles became the fourth team in Stanley Cup playoffs history to win in regulation despite blowing a four-goal lead.

Quinton Byfield, Phillip Danault and Kevin Fiala also scored, and Darcy Kuemper made 20 saves in his first playoff start since raising the Cup with Colorado in 2022.

Los Angeles has home-ice advantage this spring for the first time in its tetralogy with Edmonton, and the Kings surged to a 4-0 lead late in the second period in the arena where they had the NHL’s best home record. That’s when the Oilers woke up and made it a memorable night: Leon Draisaitl, Mattias Janmark and Corey Perry scored before Hyman scored with 2:04 left and McDavid scored an exceptional tying goal with 1:28 remaining.

McDavid had a goal and three assists for the Oilers, who reached Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final last season. Skinner stopped 24 shots.

Game 2 is Wednesday night in Los Angeles.

Until Edmonton’s late rally, Kuzmenko was the star. Los Angeles went 0 for 12 on the power play against Edmonton last spring, but the 29-year-old Russian — who has energized the Kings since arriving last month — scored during a man advantage just 2:49 in.

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Skinner finally makes playoff debut, gets assist

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Skinner finally makes playoff debut, gets assist

LOS ANGELES — Edmonton Oilers forward Jeff Skinner finally made his Stanley Cup playoff debut after 15 seasons and a league-record 1,078 regular-season games.

Skinner was in the lineup for Edmonton’s 6-5 loss in Game 1 of its first-round series against the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night, ending the longest wait for a postseason debut in NHL history.

Skinner, who turns 33 years old next month, has been an NHL regular since he was 18. He has racked up six 30-goal seasons and 699 total points while scoring 373 goals in a standout career.

But Skinner spent his first eight seasons of that career with the Carolina Hurricanes, at the time, a developing club that missed nine consecutive postseasons during the 2010s. From there, he spent the next six seasons with the woebegone Buffalo Sabres, whose current 14-season playoff drought is the league’s longest.

Skinner signed with Edmonton as a free agent last summer but struggled to nail down a consistent role in the Oilers’ lineup in the first half of the season. His game improved markedly in the second half, and he scored 16 goals this season while entering the playoffs as Edmonton’s third-line left wing.

Skinner’s teammates have been thrilled to end his drought this month. Connor McDavid presented Skinner with their player of the game award after the Oilers clinched their sixth straight playoff berth two weeks ago.

The veteran was active against the Kings, as his club mounted a furious rally only to lose in the final minute of regulation. Skinner had an assist and five hits across his 15 shifts. He finished the night with 11:12 time on the ice.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Ovechkin nets 1st playoff OT goal, Caps top Habs

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Ovechkin nets 1st playoff OT goal, Caps top Habs

After making NHL history during the regular season, Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin made some personal history in his team’s Game 1 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Monday.

Ovechkin scored the first playoff overtime goal of his career to propel the Capitals to a series-opening 3-2 victory at home in his 152nd career postseason game.

“A goal is a goal,” Ovechkin said after the victory. “Good things happen when you go to the net.”

Ovechkin is the all-time leader in regular-season overtime goals with 27 in 1,491 games. They’re part of his career total of 897 goals, having broken Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894 goals this season.

“The guy’s the best player in the world. What else can you say?” said Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson, who made 33 saves in the win. “He comes in clutch. All game. It’s a privilege to be his teammate.”

After an icing call, Capitals forward Dylan Strome won a faceoff, with Montreal forwards Patrik Laine and Ivan Demidov failing to clear the puck. Winger Anthony Beauvillier collected the puck for a shot on goal and then tracked down his own rebound to Montreal goalie Sam Montembeault‘s right. Montreal’s Alex Newhook and Kaiden Guhle went to defend Beauvillier, who slid a pass to an open Ovechkin on the doorstep for the goal at 2:26 of overtime.

The overtime tally completed a monster night for Ovechkin.

He opened the scoring on the power play at 18:34 of the first period and then assisted on Beauvillier’s second-period goal to make it 2-0 before finishing off the pesky Canadiens in overtime. It was the 37th multipoint performance and 10th multigoal game of Ovechkin’s playoff career.

Ovechkin also had seven hits in the game to lead all skaters.

Ovechkin is the oldest skater in Stanley Cup playoff history to factor in all of his team’s goals in a game. He also became the fourth-oldest player in Cup playoff history to score an overtime goal at 39 years and 216 days. Detroit’s Igor Larionov was 41 years old when he scored a triple-overtime goal in Game 3 of the 2002 Stanley Cup Final against the Carolina Hurricanes.

With his first goal, Ovechkin passed Patrick Marleau and Esa Tikkanen (72) and tied Dino Ciccarelli (73) for the 14th-most playoff goals in NHL history. Ovechkin’s 74th career playoff goal put him in a tie with Joe Pavelski for the 13th-most career playoff goals.

The captain’s overtime heroism rescued Game 1 for the Capitals. The top seed in the Eastern Conference watched the Canadiens rally in the third period on goals by Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki 5:13 apart to send the game to overtime.

“You can see why they made the playoffs. That team doesn’t quit,” Thompson said. “In the third, they didn’t go away. We’ve got to respect them. They took it to us in the third.”

But rather than give Montreal some much-needed confidence and a series lead in its upset bid, Ovechkin shut the door in overtime.

“He played a hell of game tonight,” Beauvillier said.

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