goal

The Ducks’ second-round playoff showdown with the Vegas Golden Knights has become a best-of-three series.

With a 4-3 victory Sunday before a raucous sold-out crowd at the Honda Center, the Ducks evened the series 2-2 as it heads back to Las Vegas for Game 5 on Tuesday. But it wasn’t easy, with the Golden Knights twice rallying from one-goal deficits, only to see the Ducks answer each time.

And the Ducks’ power play, so lethal in the team’s first-round win over Edmonton and so ineffective in the first three games of this series, finally found a spark, scoring goals in each of the first two periods.

The Ducks’ goals came from Beckett Sennecke, Mikael Granlund, Alex Killorn and Ian Moore. Pavel Dorofeyev, Brett Howden and Tomas Hertl scored for Vegas.

The Ducks were fast and physical in the early going, playing with an urgency they lacked in their Game 3 loss. They also did a better job protecting the puck and that paid off with the team’s first power-play goal of the series 8:43 into the first period.

Vegas had killed 11 penalties against the Ducks and 21 in a row dating back to Game 3 in their first-round series against Utah. But after Dylan Coghlan went off for interference, Sennecke teed up a slap shot from the top of the right circle for his fourth goal of the playoffs, putting the Ducks up 1-0.

The lead didn’t last long, however, with Dorofeyev evening things with a power-play goal of his own about a minute and half later. The goal, on a tip-in, was Dorofeyev’s fifth of the postseason.

Ducks defenseman Ian Moore celebrates with teammates after scoring in the third period of a 4-3 win over the Golden Knights in Game 4 on Sunday at Honda Center.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Granlund put the Ducks back on top less than five minutes before the first intermission, taking a pass from Jeffrey Viel along the left-side boards and getting off a shot as he battled Vegas forward Cole Smith. The puck appeared to strike the blade of Smith’s stick as Viel let it go and that proved fortunate for the Ducks since the deflection fooled defenseman Noah Hanifin and goalie Carter Hart, who both let the bouncing puck tumble through them and into the goal.

That lead didn’t last long, either, with Howden tying things again for Vegas 4:04 into the second period. The goal, on the Golden Knights’ ninth shot, was Howden’s seventh of the playoffs, giving him a share of the NHL lead. Mitch Marner assisted on the first two Vegas goals, giving him a league-best 15 points in 10 postseason games.

However, Killorn scored the Ducks’ second power-play less than two minutes before the second intermission, putting the Ducks in front to stay. Moore doubled the lead 3:43 into the third, lining in a slap shot from well above the right circle.

The two-goal lead matched the largest of the series for the Ducks. Hertl cut that in half with 64 seconds to play after Vegas pulled their goalie for an extra attacker. But the Golden Knights got no closer.

Both teams have split their two games at home. The Golden Knights will have the home-ice advantage — if there is one — over the last three games since two are scheduled in Las Vegas.

Sunday’s win marked the sixth consecutive time the Ducks evened a playoff series it trailed 2-1 after three games.

Vegas played without winger Mark Stone, whose 28 goals were second-most on the team during the regular season. Stone, who had a goal and an assist in the first three games against the Ducks, is the team’s all-time playoff scoring leader with 79 points (39 goals, 40 assists) in 94 games. He sustained an undisclosed injury in the first period of Game 3 and his status for the rest of the series is unclear.

Jack McGlynn scored a goal in each half and the Houston Dynamo thumped LAFC 4-1 on Sunday night at BMO Stadium.

McGlynn used an assist from Lawrence Ennali in the 25th minute to score on a shot from well outside the box, giving Houston a 1-0 lead. It was McGlynn’s first goal after scoring a career-high six times last season.

Guilherme Santos scored off a free kick in the 34th minute for a two-goal lead. The first-year midfielder has six goals in 11 matches.

McGlynn had a shot from nearly the same spot hit the far post, also in the 42nd, and Nathan Ordaz answered for LAFC three minutes later to cut it to 2-1 at halftime. McGlynn was booked for a yellow card in the fourth minute of stoppage time.

Stephen Eustáquio notched his third assist in seven appearances on Ordaz’s second goal, and Jacob Shaffelburg picked up his second in five outings this season and his 15th in 134 appearances. Ordaz has found the net eight times in 67 matches.

Mateusz Bogusz got a second chance to score in the 51st minute, using his left foot to find the net for the second time for a 3-1 lead. Bogusz scored 18 goals in 60 appearances with LAFC from 2023-24.

McGlynn gave the Dynamo a three-goal lead in the 55th with assists from Ennali and Santos, who already has five helpers. Ennali collected his first two assists of the campaign.

Jonathan Bond finished with five saves for Houston (6-5-0), which improved to 2-3-1 on the road.

Hugo Lloris saved two shots for LAFC (6-3-3), which drops to 4-2-1 at home. Lloris entered with eight shutouts through his first 10 starts, posting three more clean sheets than any other keeper in the league.

The Dynamo have gone 5-2-1 in the last eight matchups, holding LAFC scoreless in five of them.

LAFC beat the Dynamo 2-0 in Houston to close out February.

LAFC’s Sergi Palencia left with an apparent injury in the 42nd minute.

Up next for LAFC: visits St. Louis City on Wednesday.

Dudinha had a goal and an assist to lead the San Diego Wave to a 2-1 victory over rival Angel City on Saturday at BMO Stadium.

Dudinha beat multiple Angel City defenders before firing a shot that was deflected off defender Sarah Gorden for the opening goal in the 49th minute.

Angel City’s Emily Sams scored in the 54th minute to even the score.

San Diego (6-0-3) took the lead for good when Dudinha’s cross found the head of rookie defender Mimi Van Zanten in the 81st minute. Dudinha’s fourth assist tied her for the league lead with Portland’s Olivia Moultrie.

Angel City (3-0-4) started the 2026 season with three straight wins but it has lost its last four games.

Former Angel City head coach and current Wave assistant Becki Tweed led the club with Jonas Eidevall suspended because of a red card in last week’s 1-0 home loss to Bay FC.

LAS VEGAS — Perhaps you were a little surprised when the Ducks, who haven’t had a winning record in seven seasons, led the Pacific Division for most of the season, or when they made the playoffs for the first time since 2018, or when they eliminated the Edmonton Oilers — who played in the last two Stanley Cup Finals — in the first round of the playoffs this spring.

If you were surprised by any of that, wait until you hear what they’ve done now.

Because with a dominant 3-1 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday in Game 2 of a best-of-seven playoff series, the Ducks evened the series at a win apiece and wrested home-ice advantage away from the division champions. Now they come home for Game 3 on Friday with a strong wind at their backs in a series they were supposed to lose.

“We kept the momentum and we’re headed home, which is fantastic,” center Ryan Poehling said.

If the series goes a full seven games, the Ducks will play three of the last five game at home where — would it surprise you to learn? — they had the best home record in the division this season?

But it’s not just that the Ducks won, but how they won that’s important. The younger, speedier team has skated rings around the older — and frustrated — Golden Knights, who have made the playoffs eight times in nine years, winning a Stanley Cup in 2023. Two games into this series, however, the plodding Golden Knights have looked like they’re skating through quicksand at times and have really had no answer for Anaheim in this series.

“The way to beat them is just outpacing them,” Poehling said. “And it’s not just with speed. It’s how we play. Guys are supporting one another, and you saw that. Tonight was kind of a game plan of what we want to do to win, for sure.

Ducks forward Beckett Sennecke celebrates after scoring in the second period against the Golden Knights in Game 2 on Wednesday.

(Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

“We didn’t like how Game 1 ended, but we liked our game. That’s hockey sometimes. You can play the right way, do all the right things, we end up losing.”

The Golden Knights won Game 1 when a blown icing call allowed them to score the go-ahead goal before adding an insurance goal into an empty net. So the Ducks made sure one play wouldn’t decide Game 2, taking their first lead of the series on a Beckett Sennecke goal midway through the second period.

“We had some great opportunities to score first,” coach Joel Quenneville said. “Finding a way to score first was important.”

The Ducks also scored second and third, with Leo Carlsson doubling the lead 6:36 into the third period before Jansen Harkins scored into an empty net with 3:30 to play to ice things. That didn’t end the drama though because the Ducks were six seconds away from their first shutout of the season when Vegas’ Mark Stone scored a power-play goal into an empty net.

For the Ducks, that goal spoiled nothing.

“It doesn’t matter,” goalie Lukas Dostal said. “It doesn’t matter how you win, where the score is. Obviously it’s always the cherry on the top. But it doesn’t really matter. We got a W and that’s all we focus on.”

Maybe. But after a regular season in which the Ducks gave up more than 3.5 goals a game, most of any playoff qualifier, the defensive effort was…. well, surprising.

And important.

“That’s not our tradition of playing that type of game. Low-scoring affair, when we score first and we’re leading throughout,” Quenneville said.

Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal protects the net in front of Vegas forward Tomas Hertl during the second period.

(John Locher / Associated Press)

But if the Ducks hope to make a long playoff run, that’s the blueprint they’ll have to follow.

“The only way you’re going to be successful in the playoffs is you’ve got to win games like tonight,” said Quenneville, whose three Stanley Cup wins with Chicago are the most by an active NHL coach. “We showed that it’s going to take everybody to play these type of games. And everybody contributed.”

“We’re picking a good time,” added defenseman Jacob Trouba “to play our best hockey.”

Still, the Ducks’ best hockey can get better. Anaheim was for 0 for Las Vegas on the power play, failing to score on nine opportunities with the man advantage in the two games — including an eight-minute stretch in the first period when Vegas had one, and sometimes two, players in the penalty box.

“We had some great chances on the power play,” said Quenneville, whose team scored on half of their 16 power-play chances in the first-round series with Edmonton. Vegas, however, has killed 19 straight penalties and 24 of 25 in the postseason.

Ducks forward Leo Carlsson scores past Vegas goaltender Carter Hart during the first period Wednesday.

(John Locher / Associated Press)

Yet that wasn’t good enough for the sweep at home, so the once-favored Golden Knights must break serve in Anaheim.

“They split here. We’ve got to go in and try to get a game out of there,” Vegas coach John Tortorella said. “We’re going to keep our composure and get about our business. This team has always been really good in these type of situations, so I have full confidence we’re going to find our way.”

If the Golden Knights fail to do that, they just might be in for a surprise.

Bukayo Saka reacts quickest as Leandro Trossard’s shot is saved by Jan Oblak, putting in the rebound from close range to give Arsenal a 1-0 lead against Atletico Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final at the Emiates Stadium.

MATCH REPORT: Champions League – Arsenal 1-0 Atletico Madrid (2-1 agg)

Available to UK users only.

SEOUL, May 6 (UPI) — North Korea has revised its constitution to remove all references to reunification with South Korea, a document shared by Seoul’s Unification Ministry showed Wednesday, formalizing leader Kim Jong Un’s push to redefine inter-Korean ties as relations between two separate states.

The document, which was shared at a news conference by the ministry, removes language calling for the “peaceful reunification” of the Korean Peninsula that had been part of the North’s constitution since a 1992 revision.

The new version codifies a policy shift Kim first laid out in 2024, when he abandoned Pyongyang’s long-standing goal of reunification and defined South Korea as an adversary.

At a March meeting of North Korea’s rubber-stamp legislature, where the revision is believed to have been adopted, Kim called for recognizing South Korea as the “most hostile state.”

However, the revised constitution did not define South Korea as a “primary foe” or “hostile state,” despite Kim’s increasingly confrontational rhetoric toward Seoul, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The new constitution also introduces language defining North Korea’s territory as bordering China and Russia to the north and South Korea to the south.

It does not specifically address maritime boundary lines, including the de facto maritime border in the Yellow Sea known as the Northern Limit Line. The NLL, which was drawn unilaterally by the U.S.-led United Nations Command after the Korean War, has long been a source of tension between the two Koreas.

The waters around the boundary, which Pyongyang does not recognize, have been the site of multiple naval clashes since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, including the 2010 including the North’s 2010 torpedo attack on a South Korean warship that left 46 dead.

In January 2024, Kim called the line “illegal” and warned that even the slightest violation of the North’s territory would be considered a “war provocation.”

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has sought to ease inter-Korean tensions since taking office in June, calling for the resumption of dialogue and making conciliatory gestures such as dismantling border propaganda loudspeakers.

Pyongyang has largely ignored those overtures while continuing to expand its military posture. In April, North Korea conducted several weapons tests, including tactical ballistic missiles with cluster bomb warheads and electronic warfare systems.

The revision also elevates Kim’s position as “head of state,” further consolidating his authority over state affairs and the country’s nuclear forces.

LAS VEGAS — T-Mobile Arena sits just off the Las Vegas Strip, not far from a faux Manhattan skyline, a pyramid and a casino made to look like a castle.

The line separating illusion from reality can be a thin one in Sin City, where the Ducks opened the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs Monday intent on proving their first-round victory over the Edmonton Oilers was more than a facade. It didn’t go well, with Brett Howden’s goal early in the second period and Ivan Barbashev’s tie-breaking tally late in the third period giving the Vegas Golden Knights a 3-1 victory in the best-of-seven series.

Mitch Marner added an empty-net goal with six seconds to play to end any hope of a Ducks comeback. Mikael Granlund scored for the Ducks with six minutes left in the game. Game 2 is in Las Vegas on Wednesday.

The Ducks were a shadow of the team that eliminated Edmonton. After averaging a playoff-high 4.33 goals a game, the Ducks were stymied by Vegas goalie Carter Hart, who turned away 33 shots. And after converting eight of 16 power-play opportunities against the Oilers, the Ducks were shut out in four chances against the Golden Knights.

Although the Ducks played their best defensive game of the postseason, giving up just 21 shots, the balanced Knights gave them few good scoring opportunities, especially on the power play.

The Ducks, who needed to use their superior speed to counter the Knights’ edge in experience, pushed the pace in the opening period but got nothing to show for it. The Knights took the lead less than four minutes into the second period when Howden made a dash to the edge of the crease to deflect in a pass from Marner for his fifth goal of the playoffs.

Vegas defenseman Rasmus Andersson celebrates after Mitch Marner’s empty-net goal in the final seconds of a 3-1 win over the Ducks on Monday.

(Ethan Miller / Getty Images)

Howden had a chance to double the lead less than six minutes before the second intermission, but he whiffed trying to bat a loose puck in an open net from the right side.

Mark Stone had an opportunity to score on the power play with less than nine minutes left, but Ducks’ goalie Lukas Dostal made a spectacular save to keep it a one-goal game. And that paid off when Granlund put the puck through Brayden McNabb’s legs 2½ minutes later.

The tie was short-lived, however, with Barbashev redirecting in a pass from Pavel Dorofeyev for the go-ahead goal. Ducks players and coaches vehemently protested, believing officials missed an icing call before the goal.

The Ducks mounted a furious rally after pulling Dostal with about two minutes to play, but that ended with Marner clearing the puck the length of the ice into the empty net.

Match of the Day pundits Alan Shearer and Micah Richards believe Benjamin Sesko’s goal against Liverpool should not have stood after it brushed his fingers, saying under the laws of the game it should have been a handball.

MATCH REPORT: Premier League – Manchester United 3-2 Liverpool

Available to UK users only.

SAN DIEGO — Ryan Hollingshead scored his first goal this season in the 14th minute of stoppage time and Denis Bouanga added a goal for LAFC on Saturday night in a 2-2 tie with San Diego FC.

Mathieu Choiniere’s soft header off a corner kick played to the back post by David Martinez bounced in front of the goal and Hollingshead slammed home the finish to cap the scoring.

Marcus Ingvartsen scored two goals — his first career multi-goal game in MLS — for San Diego.

Anders Dreyer played a corner kick to the near post and Ingvartsen headed home the finish to open the scoring in the seventh minute.

On the counter-attack, Dreyer played a cross from the right side to Ingvartsen, who knocked down the ball with his first touch and then blasted a shot from the center of the area inside the left post and into the side-net to make it 2-0 in the 71st minute.

Ingvartsen has seven goals and two assists this season. The 30-year-old had two goals and one assist in eight appearances, five starts, in 2025, his first season in MLS.

Denis Bouanga scored in the 82nd minute, LAFC’s first shot on goal. Bouanga, who has scored at least 20 goals in each of the last three seasons, has five goals this season.

LAFC (6-2-3) beat Minnesota 1-0 last time out to snap a three-game winless streak.

San Diego (3-5-3) snapped a five-game losing streak.

CJ Dos Santos made his season debut and had three saves for San Diego but left due to injury in stoppage time and was replaced by Duran Ferree. The 24-year-old Dos Santos, who had 10 shutouts last season, suffered a fractured cheekbone and orbital floor fracture in a playoff loss at Portland on Nov. 1.

Mathias Laborda scored in the 82nd minute for the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday night, sealing a 1-1 tie with the Galaxy at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson.

The Whitecaps (8-1-1), who were only the second MLS team in the post-shootout era (since 2000) to win eight of their first nine games to begin a season, had their club regular-season record four-game win streak snapped.

Sebastian Berhalter played a free kick from the left side to the back post and Laborda headed home the finish from point-blank range to cap the scoring.

The Whitecaps had 58% possession and outshot the Galaxy 19-7, including a 5-2 edge in on target shots.

Joseph Paintsil opened the scoring in the 46th minute. Lucas Sanabria, in the opening seconds of the second half, stole a misplayed ball from Whitecaps goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka and fed Paintsil for a finish from the right side of the area.

JT Marcinkowski had four saves for the Galaxy (3-4-4).

Takaoka finished with one save.

Ruby Cochrane and Olga Nikolaeva epitomized the mindset Mira Costa brought to Saturday afternoon’s Southern Section Division 1 girls’ beach volleyball championship match at Long Beach City College.

Trailing 13-9 in the deciding third set of their match against JSerra’s top duo of Sara Moynihan and Emma Champagne, the Stanford-bound seniors rallied to win the last six points and complete the Mustangs’ 5-0 sweep to reclaim the title they lost 3-2 to league rival Redondo Union last spring.

“We wanted to end our senior year with a bang and not be the only pair to lose,” Cochrane said.

Upon receiving the championship plaque, players formed a circle and took turns kissing it as they passed it around.

Mira Costa captured its third title in four tries since the CIF sanctioned the sport in 2023 and when you add the eight Interscholastic Beach Volleyball League titles the Mustangs won prior to that they deserve to be called queens of the beach.

Our coach was like, ‘you’re capable of coming back,’ so we had to do it,” Nikolaeva added. “Ruby is one of my best friends and we have a great bond.”

The Mustangs’ other four tandems each won in straight sets — Allyn Hilt and Lily Sprague at No. 2; Lily Vandeweghe and Lucy Matuszak at No. 3; Sofia Sala and Samantha Nammack at No. 4 and Lily Enfield and Lerin Rosenthal at the No. 5 spot.

Mira Costa (24-1) is 75-3 in four seasons of CIF Southern Section competition, including 67-0 against every team other than Redondo Union, against which it holds an 8-3 advantage. The Mustangs improved to 5-0 against the Lions (17-3), who upset Redondo Union in the semifinals.

The Mustangs have won 14 of 15 sets in their three Division 1 finals victories.

DIVISION 2

Bishop Montgomery, making its first finals appearance, prevailed 3-2 over Edison thanks to the heroics of sophomore twins Hailey and Alyssa Waters, who clinched the championship with a 13-21, 21-17, 15-12 victory over the Chargers’ tandem of Sydney Kershaw and Emery Oakes.

“Being twins causes fighting but we’ve always played together and our connection makes us stronger,” Alyssa said.

“Before that last set we took a minute to talk to each other,” Hailey added. “We knew what we were doing.”

The Knights’ No. 1 duo of sisters Stacy and Stephanie Balestrieri and the No. 4 duo of Kendall McKechnie and Carli Duda both won in straight sets.

DIVISION 3

Freshmen Hannah Martin and Lucy Morris earned the decisive point with a 21-16, 22-20 win on Court 5 in Long Beach Millikan’s 4-1 triumph over Windward.

“We didn’t know the score or what was going on in the other matches,” Martin said. “:Lucy and I were just focusing on ours. We’re really close friends but this is our first time playing together in CIF. We both play indoor too but in beach you have to have more trust because it’s only two of you.”

Madison Jones and Johanna Swerdloff won 21-17, 16-21, 15-8 at No. 2, Bella Bonales and Estale Lopez won 21-15, 21-18 at No. 3 and Olivia Vits and Samantha Guman won 21-12, 21-15 at No. 4 for the Rams (14-7), who lost to Long Beach Wilson in the Division 2 final last year.

Millikan is the third Moore League school to win a Southern Section title in the brief history of the sport, joining Wilson and Long Beach Poly, who won Divisions 2 and 3 last year. The Bay League is only other with multiple champions (Mira Costa and Redondo Union).

DiVISION 4

In the first finals appearance for both programs, Oak Park swept the last four courts to claim the inaugural Division 4 crown against Campbell Hall, a Division 3 semifinalist last season. Seniors Athena Trewyn and Kaela Raquel won 19-21, 21-19, 15-12 on Court 3 to notch the clinching point for the Eagles (11-5).

“We’ve never made it past the quarterfinals and we didn’t even make the playoffs last year,” said second-year coach Josh Giron, whose team practices at North Ranch Playfield in Thousand Oaks, a 30-minute drive from campus. “We have one court for 20 girls and sometimes we have to cancel practice because another team’s using it.”

Wrexham’s dream of reaching the Premier League is over, for this season anyway.

And for Ryan Reynolds, it was tough to stomach.

“I am completely gutted by today’s result but incredibly proud of our season,” the actor wrote on X after the Welsh club he co-owns missed out on a place in the playoffs in the second-tier Championship by drawing 2-2 with Middlesbrough in a dramatic final round of the regular season on Saturday.

That allowed Hull to jump ahead of Wrexham and into sixth place — the fourth and final spot in the playoffs — courtesy of a 2-1 win over Norwich in a match played at the same time.

The winning goal for Hull, by Oli McBurnie in the 67th, appeared to be scored from an offside position but there are no video reviews in the English Football League.

It ended Wrexham’s unprecedented run of three straight promotions under its famous owners — a streak that began by getting out of the fifth tier in the 2022-23 season and has been documented in the globally popular, Emmy Award-winning “Welcome to Wrexham” series.

Still, seventh place marked the Wrexham’s highest finish in its history, bettering the 15th position it achieved in the second tier in the 1978–79 season.

“We’ve come a long way in five years and this was the best result in our 150+ year history,” Reynolds wrote alongside a graphic that showed how Wrexham has risen from the National League. “More to do. But for now, we have so much to be proud of, Reds.”

Elsewhere, Ipswich secured the second automatic promotion spot behind champion Coventry — and an immediate return to the Premier League — by beating Queens Park Rangers 3-0.

Ipswich is owned by U.S. investment group Gamechanger 20 Limited and counts pop star Ed Sheeran as a minority shareholder.

Joining Hull in the playoffs, which begin next week and are over two legs, are Millwall, Southampton and Middlesbrough.

Millwall will face Hull, and Southampton will meet Middlesbrough.

Best-ever finish by Wrexham

It was a memorable campaign by Wrexham in its first season in the second tier since the 1980s.

However, the short-term pain was acute, and Wrexham’s players sat on the ground and looked disconsolate after the final whistle — even though the Hull-Norwich match hadn’t finished.

Wrexham started the day in sixth place, ahead of Hull on goal difference, and conceded in the fourth minute to Middlesbrough, only to score through Josh Windass and Sam Smith for a 2-1 lead by the 41st.

Middlesbrough hit back immediately with a 43rd-minute equalizer but Wrexham finished the stronger, squandering a string of great late chances for a winner that would have secured a playoff place on goal difference.

Wrexham’s Josh Windass squats on the field and looks dejected following a draw with Middlesbrough on Saturday.

(Michael Steele / Getty Images)

In the end, Wrexham finished two points behind Hull.

“This squad as it stands, with a preseason together, will be even stronger next year,” said Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson, who oversaw a summer spend of around $40 million last year.

“Of course we’ll always look to add to that to try and give ourselves an even better chance … we know where we’d like to strengthen and what we need to improve on. We’ll do that and we’ll make this squad as strong as we possibly can to mount a challenge next year.”

Douglas writes for the Associated Press.

Interim head coach D.J. Smith will be among the candidates for the Kings’ full-time job when general manager Ken Holland conducts his coaching search this month.

Smith took over March 1 when Holland fired Jim Hiller with the Kings at 24-21-14 and out of the playoff picture. The former Ottawa head coach rallied the Kings to an 11-6-6 finish to claim the last wild-card spot in the Western Conference, but the Kings were swept by the powerhouse Colorado Avalanche in their fifth consecutive first-round postseason exit.

“D.J. did a great job,” Holland said Friday. “The team responded to him, so he’s a candidate. … I don’t want to talk to 20 people. I’d like to talk to probably five to eight people, and then make a decision. Some with experience, some maybe assistants, and some who haven’t been a head coach.”

Holland will begin his coaching search next week, looking for a candidate who can get this team out of its first-round playoff exit rut. He reiterated his disinterest in a full-scale rebuild, but also hinted that the Kings might want to make adjustments to their longstanding defense-first philosophy.

The Kings have failed to advance beyond the first round in seven consecutive postseasons since winning the Stanley Cup in 2014, including six first-round exits since team president Luc Robitaille took ultimate charge of hockey operations in 2017. The current Kings had 15 fewer points than last season’s team.

“As I sit here today, I’m not happy,” Holland said. “Luc Robitaille isn’t happy. Our players aren’t happy. It was a disappointing season. Under .500 at home, 29th in the league in goals scored, squeaked into the playoffs, got swept up by a Presidents’ Trophy-winning team. So I’m not happy. We’ve got to make the team better.”

Holland, who replaced Rob Blake a year ago, identified the obvious reason the Kings weren’t a real Stanley Cup contender this season: Their long-standing offensive struggles. The Kings scored only 225 goals, fourth-worst in the NHL and 25 fewer than last season.

Holland attempted to address the problem by trading for Artemi Panarin before the Olympic break, but the high-scoring forward couldn’t make up for the Olympic injury loss of fellow high scorer Kevin Fiala. Holland revealed Fiala might have been ready to return from his broken leg if the Kings had advanced to the second round.

The Kings have prioritized defense for most of the past two decades, often playing a sticky, trapping style that doesn’t promote offensive creativity or attack. That’s tough to overcome against opponents that are more talented while equally committed to defense — such as the Avalanche, who allowed only five goals in their four-game sweep.

Defense won two Stanley Cups for the Kings, but Holland openly wondered whether the Kings need to think bigger.

“Are we too defensive-minded? I’ve got to sort that out,” Holland said. “You’ve got to be good defensively. … You can’t win four games 6-5 in the playoffs. But we’re 29th in the league in goals scored. We’ve got to find ways. Power play has got to be better. We’ve got to generate a little more attack from the back end.”

The Kings also had inept special teams, ranking 28th in the NHL on the power play and 30th in penalty-killing. The Kings were the league’s third-best team at five-on-five defense, but only seventh in total goals allowed thanks to its feckless special teams.

Holland’s coaching hire will have to fix those units without the help of two-time Selke Trophy-winning forward Anze Kopitar, who retired after a 20-year career with Los Angeles. The Kings will need a new captain to replace Kopitar in the dressing room and a high-usage center to take Kopitar’s minutes.

The Kings will be relying even more heavily on Quinton Byfield, the former No. 2 overall draft pick who has grown into a dependable two-way player with the potential to improve in a more open system.

“Obviously it’s going to be QB’s team up front,” Holland said. “Kopi [leaves] a massive hole. He’s the highest-scoring forward in the history of the franchise. He plays 200 feet. He’s big and he’s strong. He wins draws. In my opinion, he’s a first-ballot Hall of Famer. I don’t think we’re just going to be able to go out and find a way to replace him with one person, and I don’t expect it.”

The Kings still have ample veteran talent next to Byfield, Fiala and Panarin, including top scorer Adrian Kempe, emerging forward Alex Laferriere and promising defenseman Brandt Clarke. Holland claims he is eager to add talent across the lineup after he settles on a coach.

“We have lots of good players,” Holland said. “I’ve got to build a better team.”

Beacham writes for the Associated Press.

EDMONTON, Canada — Leon Draisaitl scored a pair of goals and Evan Bouchard chipped in with three assists as the Edmonton Oilers staved off elimination by beating the Ducks 4-1 on Tuesday night.

The Oilers now trail the best-of-seven Western Conference playoff series 3-2 with Game 6 on Thursday night at Honda Center.

Vasily Podkolzin and Zach Hyman also scored for the Oilers who had previously yielded six separate leads to slip away in the first four games of the series.

Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins each had a pair of assists. Edmonton is now 18-3 when scoring first in a game when facing elimination.

Alex Killorn scored for the Ducks.

Connor Ingram made 29 stops for Edmonton, while Ville Husso recorded 10 saves for the Ducks after coming in to relieve Lukas Dostal, who gave up three goals on nine shots.

For the fifth straight game the Oilers struck first, scoring on the game’s first shot just 2:22 into the contest as Podkolzin beat Dostal high for his second of the postseason.

Edmonton took a 2-0 lead 8:33 into the opening period as a point shot was deflected twice, the second time through Dostal’s legs by Hyman.

The Oilers took a 3-0 lead just 1:14 later as Draisaitl tipped Bouchard’s point shot in for his second of the playoffs. That spelled an early end of the night for Dostal.

The Ducks got on the board on the power play 8:26 into the second period as Mason McTavish dropped it back to Killorn, who extended his points streak to four games with his third goal of the playoffs.

Edmonton responded with a power-play goal a couple of minutes later on a one-timer by Draisaitl, who tied Wayne Gretzky for the most postseason power-play goals in franchise history at 23.

Edmonton has played the most playoff games of any NHL team since 2022 with 80, two more than the Florida Panthers, who beat the Oilers in the last two Stanley Cup Finals before failing to qualify this season.

Playing in his 80th playoff game, Bouchard collected his 88th point, moving into a tie for third place for players through 80 games with Brian Leetch, behind only Bobby Orr (92) and Paul Coffey (92).

McDavid (63 points) passed Adam Oates for the second-most points in NHL history when trailing in a playoff series. Only Gretzky (80) has more.

Marco Reus scored two goals, the second one on a penalty kick in the 85th minute, to rally the Galaxy to a 2-1 victory over Real Salt Lake on Sunday.

Reus scored from 21 yards out off a free kick to give the Galaxy a 1-0 lead in the ninth minute. The kick was awarded after Gabriel Pec was fouled by Real Salt Lake midfielder Stijn Spierings.

Galaxy goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski was charged with an own goal in the final minute of stoppage time, tying it 1-1 at halftime. The ball deflected off the post and into the net when he dove to make a save on Zavier Gozo’s shot.

Reus scored the winner on a PK after a foul on Sam Junqua for shoving Elijah Wynder in the back on a corner kick. It was the fourth goal this season for Reus and his 10th in 37 career appearances.

Marcinkowski saved nine shots for the Galaxy (3-4-3).

Rafael Cabral totaled four saves for Real Salt Lake (5-3-1).

Real Salt Lake went 5-0-1 in a six-match stretch before losing 2-0 to visiting Inter Miami on Wednesday. The club falls to 1-2-1 on the road.

The Galaxy were coming off a 1-1-1 road trip and improve to 2-2-1 at home.

Ryan Poehling scored 2:29 into overtime, and the Ducks pushed Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers to the brink of first-round elimination with a 4-3 victory in Game 4 on Sunday night.

Jeffrey Viel tied it with 6:29 left in regulation for the Ducks, who rallied from an early two-goal deficit and another third-period hole before taking a 3-1 series lead with their third consecutive victory over the back-to-back Western Conference champion Oilers.

The Ducks won when Poehling’s sharp-angled shot trickled under Edmonton goalie Tristan Jarry, who had played well in his first playoff start for his new team. An extensive video review revealed no reason to overturn the judgment on the ice that the puck had barely crossed the goal line underneath Jarry’s skate.

Game 5 is Tuesday night in Edmonton.

The Ducks celebrate their Game 4 victory.

(Sean M. Haffey / Getty Images)

Cutter Gauthier and Mikael Granlund scored power-play goals in the second period for the Ducks, whose first playoff series in eight years has been an exciting demonstration of their revamped roster’s skill. Lukas Dostal stopped 24 shots for the Ducks, which have scored 20 goals in four games against the Oilers.

Evan Bouchard scored a tiebreaking goal early in the third period and Jarry made 34 saves for the Oilers. Kasperi Kapanen and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored first-period goals.

Edmonton nearly won it late in regulation, but Dostal made a spectacular, sprawling pad save to deny McDavid on a late breakaway. The Oilers’ superstar center has a goal and two assists in the series.

LA JOLLA — Sinia Plotz scored to begin each half and Anna Reed finished with 10 saves to lead USC to a 10-9 victory over California on Sunday night at the Canyonview Aquatic Center, earning the Trojans a seventh national championship in women’s water polo.

It’s the first championship for Casey Moon in his second season as the Trojans’ head coach. USC last claimed the title in 2021.

Holly Dunn scored on a power play with 23 seconds left in the first quarter to pull Cal even, but Ava Stryker answered with seven seconds remaining and USC took a 3-2 lead.

Emily Ausmus scored for a two-goal lead and Stryker added her second goal to give the Trojans a 6-3 advantage with 3:15 left before halftime. Eszter Varro answered with a goal eight seconds later for the Golden Bears and another one with 2:07 left to cut it to 6-5.

Ausmus found the net with eight seconds left, but Dunn scored on a shot just before the buzzer to get Cal within 7-6 at the break.

Plotz scored to begin the second half and give USC a two-goal lead, but Varro scored for the third time and Cal trailed 8-7.

Meghan McAninch scored on a power play midway through the quarter for a 9-7 lead. Julianne Snyder cut into the deficit with 48.7 seconds left and the Golden Bears had a tying shot by Dunn hit the crossbar. Talia Fonseca had one of her 11 saves on a shot by USC’s Alma Yaacobi at the buzzer and Cal trailed 9-8 heading to the final quarter.

Rachel Gazzaniga scored two minutes in to again give USC a two-goal lead. Despoina Drakotou scored the final goal of the match on a five-meter penalty shot after an exclusion on Reed with 5:23 remaining. Reed had a save on an earlier penalty shot.

The fourth-seeded Golden Bears (16-8), looking for their first championship, knocked out defending champion and top-ranked Stanford 13-11 in the semifinals to advance to their second final in three seasons under coach Coralie Simmons — in her 10th season. UCLA beat Cal 7-4 in the 2024 final and Stanford topped Cal 9-5 for the 2011 championship.

No. 3-seed USC advanced with an 11-10 victory over second-seeded UCLA in the other semifinal.

The event was hosted by UC San Diego.

Seeing Tripp King flick a rubber ball toward the net with his stick is like spotting an unidentified flying object and wondering if you missed it because the shot happens faster than the blink of an eye.

His lacrosse coach at Loyola High, Jimmy Borell, brings out one of those baseball radar guns twice a year to clock how fast his players can send that ball through a net.

King’s right hand delivers the ball at 100 mph and his left hand at 90 mph.

“I pray he doesn’t cut the net,” Borell said.

In a sport that’s beloved on the East Coast, King is helping bring respect to lacrosse players learning the game on the West Coast.

He started lacrosse in kindergarten, showing up to participate in South Bay Lacrosse Club. By first grade, he was wearing lacrosse pads. He also played football and basketball. When he reached Loyola as a freshman, he was still a three-sport athlete, but he had become so talented in lacrosse that it became his focus.

“I always loved the speed of lacrosse,” said the junior. “I see that similarity in basketball. It’s always pulled me knowing you have to be good at everything instead of one particular skill.”

At 6 feet 1 and 200 pounds with the thick calves of a football player, he’s an attacker that every opponent must track. He’ll stand behind the net ready to receive the ball and make a pass to teammates who will quickly get the ball back to him for a goal with one flick of his wrist.

He had 102 points during the regular season (65 goals, 37 assists) for a Loyola team seeded No. 1 for the seven-team Southern Section Division 1 playoffs that begin this week. Loyola has a bye in the opening round and won’t play until May 9.

“He’s pretty special,” Borell said. “He’s got the tangibles, very skilled, can use both of his hands and has a very quick step.”

He’s committed to North Carolina, which is a dream come true since he was born to be a Tar Heel. Both of his parents went to North Carolina.

Tripp King, wearing No. 11, is an attacker for Loyola’s No. 1-ranked lacrosse team.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

“I’ve grown up a Tar Heel,” he said.

He’s also a kind, friendly future Tar Heel, something you can’t always say about lacrosse players who often feel they are either entitled or frustrated when people don’t pay enough attention to them.

Classmates swear by King.

“Nice,” is what several told me.

He returns to the South Bay Lacrosse Club to give back, working with young players just like when somebody helped him as a 5-year-old.

He’s someone ready to head to the East Coast determined to be proof of how determined West Coast players have become.

“A lot of the stereotypes of the West Coast are surfer boy or doesn’t take it seriously,” he said. “We’ve made it an atmosphere at Loyola where every day we’re waking up at 5 o’clock for 6 a.m. practices. We’re getting in extra work before and after practice. I think that lazier, not tough stereotype isn’t true. The West Coast is growing.”

King lives in Manhattan Beach, where celebrities and pro athletes can be seen walking or riding bikes on any given day.

King is only 17, but if he’s taking a walk or riding a bike, pay attention, because one day, he’s going to be recognized as lacrosse trendsetter from the West Coast.

Beckett Sennecke and Leo Carlsson scored 42 seconds apart in the third period, Mikael Granlund had a goal and two assists, and the Ducks celebrated their first home playoff game in eight years with a 7-4 victory over the Edmonton Oilers and a 2-1 series lead on Friday night.

Jeffrey Viel and Jackson LaCombe also scored in the third and Lukas Dostal made 20 saves for the upstart Ducks, who have poured in 16 goals in three games to take an early lead in this first-round series against the two-time Western Conference champion Oilers. Mason McTavish and Alex Killorn scored early goals.

Backed by a raucous sellout crowd hungry for Orange County’s first playoff hockey since 2018, the Ducks overcame their season-long defensive shortcomings by outscoring the powerhouse Oilers even after Connor McDavid recorded his first points of the series.

Game 4 is Sunday night in Anaheim.

McDavid had a power-play goal in the third period and an assist for Edmonton. Vasily Podkolzin, Kasperi Kapanen and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored, and Connor Ingram stopped 32 shots.

Appropriately for a defense-deficient series, the Ducks capitalized on two transition sequences early in the third to take control.

Moments after Sennecke ripped a wrist shot for the tiebreaking goal and the precocious rookie’s first playoff point, Carlsson clinically finished a textbook 2-on-1 rush with Troy Terry.

McDavid trimmed the Oilers’ deficit with a fortunate deflection off Pavel Mintyukov’s stick, but the Oilers superstar short-circuited another power play later in the third by cross-checking Tyson Hinds.

Viel then flipped home a backhand with 3:03 left to cap a strong game by the Ducks’ fourth line, and LaCombe lofted home an empty-net goal all the way from the Ducks’ goal line to seal Anaheim’s first home playoff victory since May 14, 2017, in the conference finals against Nashville.

The clubs split the series’ first two games in Edmonton, but the Ducks demonstrated they could stay with the playoff-tested Oilers despite the obvious deficiencies of an inexperienced group that allowed more goals this season than any other playoff team.

Anaheim rode the wave of crowd energy and dominated play early in Game 3, putting 20 shots on Ingram in the first period. Killorn tied it for Anaheim in the second with his 39th career playoff goal.

Oilers forwards Adam Henrique and Jason Dickinson missed Game 3 with injuries.

The Colorado Avalanche rode swagger, poise and the league’s stingiest goaltender to the best record in the NHL this season. And nothing about that formula has changed in the postseason, with goals from Gabriel Landeskog, Cale Makar, Artturi Lehkonen and Brock Nelson giving Colorado a 4-2 win Thursday over the Kings and a commanding 3-0 lead in their best-of-seven first-round playoff series.

The Kings, who have lost their last six first-round playoff series, need a victory at home Sunday to extend their season. Their goals in Game 3 came from Trevor Moore in the second period and Adrian Kempe on a third-period power play.

“They’re best team in the league for a reason. But we’re right there,” forward Quinton Byfield said. “We’re a confident group.”

“One game at home. Must-win game,” defenseman Drew Doughty added. “Everyone’s going to give everything they’ve got. We’ve got to win that one, and then hopefully get to go back to Denver.”

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews celebrates a goal by defenseman Cale Makar on Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg during the second period of Game 3 Thursday at Crypto.com Arena.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The difference in the series has been Avalanche goalie Scott Wedgewood, who was nearly perfect again, making 24 saves to place the Kings 60 minutes away from the offseason.

Anton Forsberg, playing in the postseason for the first time, has been almost as good in goal for the Kings, though he was victimized by two fluke goals and an empty-netter.

“Both goalies in the series have been unbelievable,” Kings coach D.J. Smith said. “Give Wedgewood credit. This guy looks like he’s putting his name on the circuit as a big-time goalie.”

The Avalanche, who certainly haven’t needed many lucky breaks in this series, got one early in the first period when Landeskog spun and launched a wild wrister from the blue line that went well wide of the net, only to have the puck carom off the end boards and into the net off Forsberg’s right skate blade.

The goal was the second in as many games for the Colorado captain.

The Kings then got their own break six minutes into the second period when Alex Laferriere jumped Brett Kulak’s clearing pass in the neutral jump and fed Byfield, whose pass into the crease struck Moore’s leg and ricocheted past Wedgewood to tie the score.

Colorado defenseman Devon Toews reaches for the puck against Kings right wing Quinton Byfield in the first period.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Colorado needed less than seven minutes to get the lead back, with Makar getting the puck along the boards on the left wing, skating into space at the point, then zipping a wrist shot through heavy traffic and just under the crossbar.

The Avalanche then increased the advantage 7:39 in the final period after Kempe fanned a shot from the point. Lehkonen collected the loose puck and took it the length of the ice before deflecting a centering pass off Kempe’s skate and by Forsberg for a short-handed goal, his second score of the series.

That appeared to put the game away, but after the Kings pulled Forsberg for an extra attacker, Kempe halved the deficit on a tip-in with 4:02 to play. But then Nelson forced a turnover and scored into the empty net with 2:18 left.

The six goals combined matched the total number from the first two games in Colorado.

“We’ve got to keep doing a lot of the things that we are doing,” Doughty said. “Obviously, we got to clean up giving up some of these chances that we’re giving up.”

Kings goalie Anton Forsberg covers the puck as Colorado left wing Gabriel Landeskog battles for it in the second period.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

The Kings’ penalty kill, which ranked 30th in the 32-team league during the regular season, has been brilliant against the Avalanche, turning back all nine Colorado power plays. That, plus stellar play for Forsberg in goal, has frustrated the NHL’s top-scoring team.

But against Wedgewood, the Kings have mustered little offense, scoring just four goals in the series — three times on the power play and once off Moore’s leg.

“We’d like to get more than two goals. Against this team, I don’t think it’s enough,” Doughty said. “I don’t think we’re creating enough grade-A chances on Wedgewood. He has played well, so for us to beat them, we’ve got to wear them down in the D-zone, make them tired and score goals that way. And we haven’t done that enough.”

They’re guaranteed just one more chance to turn that around.

“There’s no quit in there,” Smith said of the Kings’ locker room. “And I think you’ll see our best game. To a man, we want to give them a real good outing and push this series back to Colorado.”

EDMONTON, Canada — Cutter Gauthier broke a tie off a rebound with 4:52 left and the Ducks beat Edmonton 6-4 on Wednesday night in Game 2 to even the first-round series, with Oilers star Connor McDavid slowed by an apparent leg injury.

McDavid appeared to catch an edge early in the second period after getting tangled up with teammate Mattias Ekholm and the Ducks’ Ian Moore. McDavid briefly left the game before returning, playing just over 24 minutes.

Game 3 is Friday night at Honda Center. Edmonton opened the series Monday night with a 4-3 victory.

Gauthier put the Ducks back in front after Josh Samanski — making his playoff debut — tied it at 4 with 6:09 to go. Ryan Poehling put it away with an empty-netter with 1:10 left, his second goal of the game. He scored shorthanded in the second.

Pavel Mintyukov, right, of the Ducks battles against Kasperi Kapanen of the Oilers in the second period.

(Codie McLachlan / Associated Press)

Gauthier also scored on a first-period power play and set up Alex Killorn’s second-period goal on a man advantage. Killorn added two assists.

Jacob Trouba added a goal, fellow defenseman Jackson LaCombe had three assists and Lukas Dostal stopped 33 shots.

Leon Draisaitl had a goal and an assist for Edmonton. He returned for Game 1 from a lower-body injury against Nashville on March 15.

Connor Murphy and Zach Hyman also scored for the Oilers, and Connor Ingram made 22 saves.