Deadspin | Mammoth host Oilers in high-stakes contest for playoff positioning Apr 4, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Utah Mammoth center Liam O’Brien (38) celebrates his goal against the Vancouver Canucks during the third period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Simon Fearn-Imagn Images The Utah Mammoth continue their push for a playoff berth as they host the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night in Salt Lake City. This will be the third and final game between these teams this season. The Oilers won the first two meetings of the season and have won five straight in the overall series. The Mammoth (40-30-6, 86 points) sit fourth in the Central Division and currently occupy the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference playoff race. They have won three straight and six of their last nine as they shoot for their first playoff berth since the franchise relocated to Salt Lake City in 2024. The franchise made the playoffs once in its final 12 years as the Arizona/Phoenix Coyotes, getting booted from the first round in the truncated 2019-20 season. Utah should be full of confidence after its last time out, a 7-4 win against the Vancouver Canucks. In that game, captain Clayton Keller had his third career hat trick and added an assist. Dylan Guenther and Lawson Crouse each had a goal and an assist, Logan Cooley had two assists and Karel Vejmelka made 19 saves. Liam O’Brien also found the back of the net after not being in the lineup since Feb. 4. “We have a deep lineup, and anyone that steps in is a great player, and someone that knows our systems well and can contribute,” Keller said. “We reacted good to a little adversity. Great effort by everyone and heck of a goal by ‘OB’ there, too. That was unreal. He’s such a great teammate, great guy, and he grinds every single day, so that’s awesome to see too.” “Everybody’s winning, so we need to win,” Mammoth head coach Andre Tourigny said. “At the end of the day, we want to play game 83. In order to do that, you need to win games. You’re not going in because anybody let you in. You need to keep winning games, and it’s not over.” It certainly isn’t over for the Oilers (39-29-9, 87 points), who are hunting for the franchise’s first Stanley Cup since 1990. Edmonton has gone to the Stanley Cup Final each of the last two years, losing both times to the Florida Panthers. Now, the Oilers are tied with the Anaheim Ducks for first place in the Pacific Division and have won seven of their last 10 games. They are also fighting to get back into the win column following a disappointing 5-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, who are just one point behind the Oilers in the division standings. Evan Bouchard scored the lone goal, and Connor Ingram made 28 saves for the Oilers, who were previously riding a five-game winning streak. “When things are going well, you forget about those details, those first couple of strides coming back, get a little extra aggressive on the pinch,” Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said. “You’re thinking maybe you’re overconfident, getting a little bit lazy, or whatever it is, I think we’re just not paying attention to those details.” “We got away from the way that we know how to play,” Oilers defenseman Jake Walman added. “We were slow (Saturday), and that’s the result against a team like that.” –Field Level Media #Deadspin #Mammoth #host #Oilers #highstakes #contest #playoff #positioning

Deadspin | Mammoth host Oilers in high-stakes contest for playoff positioning
Apr 4, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Utah Mammoth center Liam O’Brien (38) celebrates his goal against the Vancouver Canucks during the third period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Simon Fearn-Imagn Images

The Utah Mammoth continue their push for a playoff berth as they host the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night in Salt Lake City.

This will be the third and final game between these teams this season. The Oilers won the first two meetings of the season and have won five straight in the overall series.

The Mammoth (40-30-6, 86 points) sit fourth in the Central Division and currently occupy the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference playoff race. They have won three straight and six of their last nine as they shoot for their first playoff berth since the franchise relocated to Salt Lake City in 2024. The franchise made the playoffs once in its final 12 years as the Arizona/Phoenix Coyotes, getting booted from the first round in the truncated 2019-20 season.

Utah should be full of confidence after its last time out, a 7-4 win against the Vancouver Canucks. In that game, captain Clayton Keller had his third career hat trick and added an assist. Dylan Guenther and Lawson Crouse each had a goal and an assist, Logan Cooley had two assists and Karel Vejmelka made 19 saves.

Liam O’Brien also found the back of the net after not being in the lineup since Feb. 4.

“We have a deep lineup, and anyone that steps in is a great player, and someone that knows our systems well and can contribute,” Keller said. “We reacted good to a little adversity. Great effort by everyone and heck of a goal by ‘OB’ there, too. That was unreal. He’s such a great teammate, great guy, and he grinds every single day, so that’s awesome to see too.”

“Everybody’s winning, so we need to win,” Mammoth head coach Andre Tourigny said. “At the end of the day, we want to play game 83. In order to do that, you need to win games. You’re not going in because anybody let you in. You need to keep winning games, and it’s not over.”

It certainly isn’t over for the Oilers (39-29-9, 87 points), who are hunting for the franchise’s first Stanley Cup since 1990. Edmonton has gone to the Stanley Cup Final each of the last two years, losing both times to the Florida Panthers. Now, the Oilers are tied with the Anaheim Ducks for first place in the Pacific Division and have won seven of their last 10 games.

They are also fighting to get back into the win column following a disappointing 5-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, who are just one point behind the Oilers in the division standings. Evan Bouchard scored the lone goal, and Connor Ingram made 28 saves for the Oilers, who were previously riding a five-game winning streak.

“When things are going well, you forget about those details, those first couple of strides coming back, get a little extra aggressive on the pinch,” Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said. “You’re thinking maybe you’re overconfident, getting a little bit lazy, or whatever it is, I think we’re just not paying attention to those details.”

“We got away from the way that we know how to play,” Oilers defenseman Jake Walman added. “We were slow (Saturday), and that’s the result against a team like that.”

–Field Level Media

#Deadspin #Mammoth #host #Oilers #highstakes #contest #playoff #positioning

Sports news April 7, 2026

Apr 4, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Utah Mammoth center Liam O’Brien (38) celebrates his goal against the Vancouver Canucks during the third period at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Simon Fearn-Imagn Images

The Utah Mammoth continue their push for a playoff berth as they host the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night in Salt Lake City.

This will be the third and final game between these teams this season. The Oilers won the first two meetings of the season and have won five straight in the overall series.

The Mammoth (40-30-6, 86 points) sit fourth in the Central Division and currently occupy the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference playoff race. They have won three straight and six of their last nine as they shoot for their first playoff berth since the franchise relocated to Salt Lake City in 2024. The franchise made the playoffs once in its final 12 years as the Arizona/Phoenix Coyotes, getting booted from the first round in the truncated 2019-20 season.

Utah should be full of confidence after its last time out, a 7-4 win against the Vancouver Canucks. In that game, captain Clayton Keller had his third career hat trick and added an assist. Dylan Guenther and Lawson Crouse each had a goal and an assist, Logan Cooley had two assists and Karel Vejmelka made 19 saves.

Liam O’Brien also found the back of the net after not being in the lineup since Feb. 4.

“We have a deep lineup, and anyone that steps in is a great player, and someone that knows our systems well and can contribute,” Keller said. “We reacted good to a little adversity. Great effort by everyone and heck of a goal by ‘OB’ there, too. That was unreal. He’s such a great teammate, great guy, and he grinds every single day, so that’s awesome to see too.”

“Everybody’s winning, so we need to win,” Mammoth head coach Andre Tourigny said. “At the end of the day, we want to play game 83. In order to do that, you need to win games. You’re not going in because anybody let you in. You need to keep winning games, and it’s not over.”

It certainly isn’t over for the Oilers (39-29-9, 87 points), who are hunting for the franchise’s first Stanley Cup since 1990. Edmonton has gone to the Stanley Cup Final each of the last two years, losing both times to the Florida Panthers. Now, the Oilers are tied with the Anaheim Ducks for first place in the Pacific Division and have won seven of their last 10 games.

They are also fighting to get back into the win column following a disappointing 5-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, who are just one point behind the Oilers in the division standings. Evan Bouchard scored the lone goal, and Connor Ingram made 28 saves for the Oilers, who were previously riding a five-game winning streak.

“When things are going well, you forget about those details, those first couple of strides coming back, get a little extra aggressive on the pinch,” Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said. “You’re thinking maybe you’re overconfident, getting a little bit lazy, or whatever it is, I think we’re just not paying attention to those details.”

“We got away from the way that we know how to play,” Oilers defenseman Jake Walman added. “We were slow (Saturday), and that’s the result against a team like that.”

–Field Level Media

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#Deadspin #Mammoth #host #Oilers #highstakes #contest #playoff #positioning

READY FOR 2026 IN CHAMPAGNE – NATALIE OFF DUTY

Deadspin | Goal is to get Stephen Curry in peak form as Warriors face Kings <div id=""><section id="0" class=" w-full"><div class="xl:container mx-0 !px-4 py-0 pb-4 !mx-0 !px-0"><img src="https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/28667709.jpg" srcset="https://images.deadspin.com/tr:w-900/28667709.jpg" alt="NBA: Houston Rockets at Golden State Warriors" class="w-full" fetchpriority="high" loading="eager"/><span class="text-0.8 leading-tight">Apr 5, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) makes a shot over Houston Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate (8) and guard Aaron Holiday (0) in the third quarter at the Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images  </span></div></section><section id="section-1"> <p>The Golden State Warriors embark upon the Stephen Curry management portion of their schedule when they take on the Sacramento Kings in San Francisco on Tuesday night to tip off a stretch of four games in six days to close out the regular season.</p> </section><section id="section-2"> <p>Curry returned from a two-month absence caused by a sore right knee with a crowd-pleasing performance Sunday against the Houston Rockets, going for 29 points in 26 minutes off the bench in a 117-116 home loss.</p> </section><section id="section-3"> <p>The defeat entrenched Golden State (36-42) in 10th place in the West, from where it would have to beat consecutive opponents on the road in the upcoming play-in contests in order to make the eight-team Western Conference playoffs.</p> </section><section id="section-4"> <p>While noting that Curry would return to the starting lineup by the time the Warriors enter the must-win games next week, Golden State coach Steve Kerr indicated after the Sunday loss that the next four contests would serve as opportunities to find the most compatible combinations, especially with Kristaps Porzingis a relative newcomer to the team as well.</p> </section><section id="section-5"> <p>“We wanted to get Draymond (Green) and Steph together for obvious reasons, so we changed some of the other rotations to fit Steph,” Kerr said of adjustments he had to make by not starting his star point guard against the Rockets. “Obviously this won’t last for long. He’ll be in the starting lineup soon. I’m not sure when just based on minutes.”</p> </section><section id="section-6"> <p>Playing four games in six days will factor into how much guys such as Curry, Green and Porzingis play this week, as well as the best possible time for Al Horford to return from a soleus injury. The Warriors have a back-to-back Thursday at home against the Los Angeles Lakers and Friday at Sacramento.</p> </section><section id="section-7"> <p>Despite missing a potential game-winning 30-footer at the final horn, Curry felt great about the overall outcome of his first night back.</p> </section><section id="section-8"> <p>“That group that we had down the stretch, it felt like old times,” Curry said after the game. “Just reading the defense, the overreact to me on the perimeter, (Gary Payton II) going to the bucket, Draymond’s finding guys. … It was awesome.”</p> </section><br/><section id="section-9"> <p>The Kings (21-58) enter the final week of the season tied with Utah Jazz for the fourth-worst record in the NBA. The three teams with the fewest wins will arrive at the draft lottery with the best odds of landing the first pick.</p> </section> <section id="section-10"> <p>Sacramento has four more wins than the Washington Wizards, three more than the Indiana Pacers and two more than the Brooklyn Nets.</p> </section><section id="section-11"> <p>Other than the two meetings with Golden State, the Kings will play at Portland on Sunday to complete the regular season.</p> </section><section id="section-12"> <p>Sacramento hurt its odds by winning twice last week — 123-115 at Toronto on Wednesday and 117-113 at home against the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday. The Kings were thumped 138-109 by the visiting Los Angeles Clippers in their most recent game on Sunday.</p> </section><section id="section-13"> <p>One thing left for the Kings to achieve would be helping center Maxime Raynaud earn NBA All-Rookie first-team honors.</p> </section><section id="section-14"> <p>The former Stanford star was voted the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for March and has since had a 28-point game against the Pelicans last week.</p> </section><section id="section-15"> <p>“He smashed through the ceiling,” Kings coach Doug Christie said. “The kid is ready, and he wants the opportunity to continue to improve. Sometimes you get an opportunity and you’re not ready to seize it, but he has seized the opportunity.”</p> </section><section id="section-16"> <p>Raynaud is averaging 12.1 points and 7.5 rebounds and shooting 56.7% from the field in 71 games (53 starts). He has 18 double-doubles.</p> </section><section id="section-17"> <p>–Field Level Media</p> </section></div> #Deadspin #Goal #Stephen #Curry #peak #form #Warriors #face #Kings

San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama could barely remember the details of the late-game miscues that cost the Spurs in their agonizing 105-104 loss to the New York Knicks in game two of the NBA Finals on Friday.

The Spurs used a 14-0 scoring run to erase a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit and briefly took a one-point lead before it all fell apart.

Wembanyama keyed the comeback, but two crucial misses — including a potential game-game winner — and an inexplicable turnover with a pass into teammate Stephon Castle’s back doomed the Spurs’ rally bid.

“I’m still very blurry,” he said of the plays. “That’s the whole problem. I need to have more poise, more control over the game.”

The score was knotted at 104-104 with 9.5 seconds left when Wembanyama threw the pass that Castle never saw coming.

“I was looking at him when he first got the rebound,” he said. “I just started to take off to try to give him some space to dribble up the court. I didn’t see him throw it to me.”

San Antonio still had a chance to win it, but Wembanyama’s final jump shot bounced off the rim.

He said he got the shot he was looking for on the inbounds play but couldn’t get it to drop.

“Of course I liked the shot,” he said. “I feel like in this moment you need to shoot to score.”

And Castle said there was no other player the Spurs would want to see taking that shot than Wemby.

“He’s made that shot a thousand times,” Castle said. “He has a game-winner with that shot this year.”

The Spurs now need an unprecedented comeback as the series shifts to New York for games three and four. No NBA team has lost the first two games of the Finals on their home floor and come back to lift the trophy.

“We needed to win that game,” Wembanyama said. “This game was ours. But at this point it’s done. Am I going to regret it? Yes, of course. Am I going to use that to fuel me and to fuel us next game? Absolutely.”

Published on Jun 06, 2026

#NBA #Finals #Game #Victor #Wembanyama #seeks #clarity #heartbreaking #Spurs #loss">

NBA Finals, Game 2 — Victor Wembanyama seeks clarity after heartbreaking Spurs loss San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama could barely remember the details of the late-game miscues that cost the Spurs in their agonizing 105-104 loss to the New York Knicks in game two of the NBA Finals on Friday.The Spurs used a 14-0 scoring run to erase a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit and briefly took a one-point lead before it all fell apart.Wembanyama keyed the comeback, but two crucial misses — including a potential game-game winner — and an inexplicable turnover with a pass into teammate Stephon Castle’s back doomed the Spurs’ rally bid.“I’m still very blurry,” he said of the plays. “That’s the whole problem. I need to have more poise, more control over the game.”The score was knotted at 104-104 with 9.5 seconds left when Wembanyama threw the pass that Castle never saw coming.“I was looking at him when he first got the rebound,” he said. “I just started to take off to try to give him some space to dribble up the court. I didn’t see him throw it to me.”San Antonio still had a chance to win it, but Wembanyama’s final jump shot bounced off the rim.He said he got the shot he was looking for on the inbounds play but couldn’t get it to drop.“Of course I liked the shot,” he said. “I feel like in this moment you need to shoot to score.”And Castle said there was no other player the Spurs would want to see taking that shot than Wemby.“He’s made that shot a thousand times,” Castle said. “He has a game-winner with that shot this year.”The Spurs now need an unprecedented comeback as the series shifts to New York for games three and four. No NBA team has lost the first two games of the Finals on their home floor and come back to lift the trophy.“We needed to win that game,” Wembanyama said. “This game was ours. But at this point it’s done. Am I going to regret it? Yes, of course. Am I going to use that to fuel me and to fuel us next game? Absolutely.”Published on Jun 06, 2026 #NBA #Finals #Game #Victor #Wembanyama #seeks #clarity #heartbreaking #Spurs #loss

mwasimuddin125 0

San Antonio star Victor Wembanyama could barely remember the details of the late-game miscues that cost the Spurs in their agonizing 105-104 loss to the New York Knicks in game two of the NBA Finals on Friday.
The Spurs used a 14-0 scoring run to erase a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit and briefly took a one-point lead before it all fell apart.
Wembanyama keyed the comeback, but two crucial misses — including a potential game-game winner — and an inexplicable turnover with a pass into teammate Stephon Castle’s back doomed the Spurs’ rally bid.
“I’m still very blurry,” he said of the plays. “That’s the whole problem. I need to have more poise, more control over the game.”
The score was knotted at 104-104 with 9.5 seconds left when Wembanyama threw the pass that Castle never saw coming.
“I was looking at him when he first got the rebound,” he said. “I just started to take off to try to give him some space to dribble up the court. I didn’t see him throw it to me.”
San Antonio still had a chance to win it, but Wembanyama’s final jump shot bounced off the rim.
He said he got the shot he was looking for on the inbounds play but couldn’t get it to drop.
“Of course I liked the shot,” he said. “I feel like in this moment you need to shoot to score.”
And Castle said there was no other player the Spurs would want to see taking that shot than Wemby.
“He’s made that shot a thousand times,” Castle said. “He has a game-winner with that shot this year.”
The Spurs now need an unprecedented comeback as the series shifts to New York for games three and four. No NBA team has lost the first two games of the Finals on their home floor and come back to lift the trophy.
“We needed to win that game,” Wembanyama said. “This game was ours. But at this point it’s done. Am I going to regret it? Yes, of course. Am I going to use that to fuel me and to fuel us next game? Absolutely.”
Published on Jun 06, 2026

#NBA #Finals #Game #Victor #Wembanyama #seeks #clarity #heartbreaking #Spurs #loss">NBA Finals, Game 2 — Victor Wembanyama seeks clarity after heartbreaking Spurs loss