RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Andrei Svechnikov scored twice and Sebastian Aho added a second-period goal in a breakout game for Carolina’s top-line performers, helping the Hurricanes beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 on Thursday night to move within a victory of winning the Stanley Cup. Captain Jordan Staal added his fifth goal in the series. It all came together in Game 5, with Svechnikov’s short putaway at the post on the power play giving Carolina a 4-1 lead midway through the third period. Brandon Bussi finished with 22 saves in his second career postseason start. That gave the Hurricanes a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series. Game 6 is Sunday night in Las Vegas.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Vegas Golden Knights lost a very important part of their run to the Stanley Cup Final and are now on the verge of getting eliminated by Carolina. Center William Karlsson left their Game 5 loss to the Hurricanes after getting hit left arm and shoulder first into the boards by Sean Walker during the second period and did not return. In the second half of the night without him, Vegas took four penalties that turned into two Carolina power play goals. Carter Hart allowed four goals for a fifth consecutive game to start the series. They need to win Game 6 back home on Sunday to keep their season going.
MEXICO CITY (AP) — Julián Quiñones and Raúl Jiménez helped Mexico make an exuberant start to the World Cup by scoring a goal each in a 2-0 win over South Africa in the opening match of the tournament. With a capacity crowd of 80,824 watching at the iconic Azteca Stadium, co-host Mexico started the largest World Cup tournament in history by getting goals in each half while three red cards were shown — two for South Africa and one for Mexico. Quiñones gave Mexico the lead in the ninth minute. Jiménez added the second goal on a header in 66th.
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Los Angeles Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani was lifted for a pinch hitter in the seventh inning of Thursday night’s 8-6 win over Pittsburgh due to left knee inflammation. The reigning NL MVP hit his 13th homer of the season, a solo shot, in the third inning. He also had a single and walked twice, reaching base in all four of his at-bats. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts downplayed the significance of the injury and said the move to take Ohtani out of the game was precautionary.
CHICAGO (AP) — Several top pro athletes and their surgeons say a modern version of an old tool is shaving weeks off the recovery time after certain injuries. And some top doctors think this is only the beginning. Cy Young Award winners Tarik Skubal and Blake Snell let doctors use the instrument on their prized elbows. Connor Hellebuyck, the 2025 Hart Trophy winner as NHL MVP, trusted it to address issues in his knee. Several NFL players have turned to it, too. It’s called the NanoNeedle scope 2.0, a miniaturized, flexible version of the traditional arthroscope. It’s very early — there is little research into the instrument — but it is accumulating an impressive list of proponents.
The NBA Finals are about moments. And moments, by definition, are tiny slivers in time. A couple of seconds, maybe. An instant. Michael Jordan’s shrug. Michael Jordan’s pose. LeBron James’ chasedown block. Jerry West’s 60-footer to force overtime. Ray Allen’s 3-pointer to save Miami in 2013. Magic Johnson’s sky hook. Kobe Bryant jumping on a table, five fingers in the air to celebrate his fifth title. Willis Reed limping to the court for a Game 7. Those are the sort of ones that live forever, a singular event or sequence. The New York Knicks might have changed all that with a 21 1/2 minute moment in Game 4 of these NBA Finals.
The Texas Attorney General's office has notified the Big 12 of potential legal action from Texas Tech. This follows a court order allowing quarterback Brendan Sorsby to regain NCAA eligibility despite gambling on sports. The Big 12's executive board met Thursday to discuss options after a Texas court issued a temporary injunction Monday that prevents the NCAA from enforcing its ban on Sorsby. He had been ruled ineligible after betting on his own team while at Indiana. Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark says the board will meet Monday to decide on a course of action.
GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AP) — Hwang In-beom has led South Korea to a 2-1 comeback win over the Czech Republic in the World Cup. Hwang scored the Koreans' first goal and assisted on Oh Hyeon-gyu’s decisive strike in a game played in front of hundreds of empty seats at Mexico's Guadalajara Stadium. After a lackluster first half in which both teams were jeered as they left the field, the Czech Republic took the lead in the 59th minute on a header by captain Ladislav Krejci after a long throw-in into the penalty area. Hwang equalized with a nifty move in the 67th and Oh scored in the 80th.
NEW YORK (AP) — Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning has won the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP. It's the second such honor of his career after also winning the Hart in 2019. Kucherov led the league with 1.71 points a game and with 130 was second to only Edmonton's Connor McDavid, who had 138. McDavid was a close second by 10 points in voting by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association. Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon was third and San Jose's Macklin Celebrini fourth. Kucherov had 42 more points than his next-closest teammate.
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — The Sacramento region strives to be more than just a way station for the Athletics before they complete their move from Oakland to Las Vegas. Local officials have put together what they describe as the “Sacramento Pitch” in hopes of being an expansion city if Major League Baseball makes the decision to add more teams following the resolution of collective bargaining. Leaders have put together a package that includes a commitment of $1 billion in public funding and nearly $800 million more in private investment to the effort. But they are still seeking a lead investor for the project.
Finals
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Final Detroit 11 Minnesota 0
Final Texas 4 Kansas City 2
Final Baltimore 7 Seattle 5
NATIONAL LEAGUE
Final Miami 2 Arizona 0
Final N.Y. Mets 5 St. Louis 4
Final Chicago Cubs 9 Colorado 3
Final L.A. Dodgers 8 Pittsburgh 6
NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS
Final Carolina 4 Vegas 2