Sports
Kings rally to take lead, only to collapse in third period of Game 3 loss to Oilers
EDMONTON, Canada — The Edmonton Oilers played like they couldn’t afford to lose Friday. And they didn’t, scoring two goals 10 seconds apart late in the third period to beat the Kings 7-4 in a wild first-round playoff game in which both teams overcame deficits.
The Kings still lead the best-of-seven series 2-1 heading into Game 4 on Sunday in Edmonton. But the Oilers’ win means the series will return to Los Angeles for Game 5 on Tuesday.
Evan Bouchard and Connor Brown both had two goals for Edmonton, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Connor McDavid and Evander Kane also scored.
McDavid’s goal and Brown’s second goal were empty-netters after Bouchard scored on a power play to put Edmonton ahead with 6:32 remaining. Edmonton scored four unanswered goals in the final seven minutes.
The Kings’ goals came from Adrian Kempe, Kevin Fiala, Drew Doughty and Trevor Moore, with two coming on the power play.
But the game turned on a decision by Kings coach Jim Hiller to challenge Kane’s tying goal in the third. The unsuccessful challenge gave the Oilers a power play, leading to Bouchard scoring what proved to be the winning goal.
“We understand the situation,” Hiller said. “But clearly we felt that that challenge was in our favor. The next step would have been for us to kill a penalty. That didn’t happen either.
“So it’s a tough stretch for us, no question. That’s hockey. That’s playoff hockey.”
The Oilers, desperate to get back in the series, benched goalie Stuart Skinner, who gave up 11 goals in the first two games, in favor of Calvin Pickard. But Pickard hardly fared better, giving up four goals on 28 shots.
Highlights from the Kings’ 7-4 loss to the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 on Friday.
Still, Edmonton played with urgency, taking its first lead of the series less than three minutes in when an unguarded Nugent-Hopkins took a Zach Hyman pass directly in front of the net and pushed the puck under Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper.
Bouchard doubled the lead six minutes later, firing a slap shot past Kuemper from the top of the circle three seconds after the Kings’ Andrei Kuzmenko went off for interference. It was Edmonton’s first power-play goal in six tries in the series.
The Kings responded with three unanswered goals.
Kempe started the rally late in the first period, deflecting a left-handed shot off Pickard from the center of the right circle with the teams skating four on four. It was his fourth goal of the playoffs, matching Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy for the NHL lead.
More importantly, it took momentum away from the Oilers, allowing Fiala to even things early in the second period with a power-play goal from nearly the same spot. Doughty’s power-play goal less than five minutes before the second intermission then put the Kings in front for the first time.
The Kings were 0 for 12 with the man advantage in last season’s series loss to Edmonton, their third consecutive to the Oilers. This year against the same team, the Kings have converted seven of 12 power-play opportunities.
After Brown pulled Edmonton even again, Moore scored nine seconds later when he drove to the net and poked the puck past Pickard.
Things got really wild in the third period, with the Oilers scoring four goals in less than seven minutes. Edmonton also scored four goals in the third period of Game 1.
Kane tied the score again, scoring off a mad scramble in front of the net, then waiting several long minutes for a replay review to confirm he pushed the puck in with his stick, not his skate.
Hiller challenged the goal, arguing there was goaltender interference.
“We got a good look at it. We had plenty of time,” he said. “Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. It cost us big-time.”
Bouchard needed just 10 seconds to make the Kings pay, scoring Edmonton’s second power-play goal on a tip-in from Kuemper’s left. Kuemper made 29 saves.
“It sucks,” Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson said. “But again, I look at it, we’re still in a good place. You get to come back in two nights and get another stab at it, which is the best part.”
Sports
Pirates star pitcher makes unfortunate history after being taken out in middle of perfect game bid
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Jared Jones was flirting with Major League Baseball history on Wednesday night — he got it, but it was not what he originally envisioned.
The Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher retired the first 18 batters he faced, but he was taken out in the middle of his perfect game bid after six innings.
Now, the Pirates certainly have their reasons — the 24-year-old Jones hasn’t thrown more than 81 pitches in eight starts since returning May 20 after missing all of last season while undergoing ulnar collateral ligament internal brace surgery on May 21, 2025. He was yanked with 77 pitches and likely would have needed more than 100 pitches to record the 25th perfect game in MLB history.
Jared Jones of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches during the first inning against the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park on July 8, 2026, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)
However, Jones left the game after getting zero run support, so when the Atlanta Braves tacked on three runs late for a 3-0 victory, Jones instead found himself in the wrong chapter of the history books.
According to Opta Stats, Jones became the first pitcher in the modern era (since 1920) to pitch at least six perfect innings and not record a win.
“It does suck. Something’s cool coming on, but I’m on what? My eighth start off of surgery? I completely understand it, and it is what it is,” Jones told reporters after the game.
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Jared Jones (17) makes his way to the field to warm up before pitching against the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park. (Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images)
JUSTIN VERLANDER ANNOUNCES HE WILL RETIRE AFTER THIS SEASON: ‘I’VE REALIZED THAT TIME HAS COME’
Jones said he didn’t entertain attempting to complete the perfect game.
“Not with the pitch count,” he said. “Not really ever expecting to go nine right now, so that was never in my head.”
Joey Bart, traded to the Braves from the Pirates on June 18, followed a double by Mike Yastrzemski with a 422-foot, two-run homer to left-center field off a slider from Dennis Santana. Drake Baldwin added an RBI single to center in the ninth for good measure.
It was the second time in less than a week that a pitcher was taken out of the game with a perfect bid through six innings — the Miami Marlins took Eury Perez out after seven innings in which he had 92 pitches. Perez, too, is in the midst of returning from injury and has surprisingly found himself right in the postseason mix.
He was pulled for Lake Bachar to start the eighth, and the Marlins allowed eight runs to the Athletics in the final two innings, but held on to win 9-8.
Jared Jones (17) of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers a pitch during a MLB game against the Cincinnati Reds on June 27, 2026, at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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The Pirates are 4.0 games out of the final wild card spot, which is held by the Marlins.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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WASHINGTON — The Dodgers are scheduled to visit the White House on July 23 to celebrate their latest World Series title.
“President Trump is excited to welcome the Los Angeles Dodgers BACK to the White House to celebrate their World Series championship!,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said in a statement to The Times.
The date falls on a scheduled off day in the middle of a nine-game East Coast road trip for the Dodgers. The team will play three games in Philadelphia against the Phillies July 20-22 before ending the trip with a three-game series against the New York Mets July 24 to 26.
The visit continues a tradition from the Dodgers’ two previous World Series championships. They were hosted by President Biden in 2021 and President Trump in April 2025.
After the Dodgers claimed their second consecutive World Series title with a dramatic Game 7 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays, a visit to the White House was planned, but it wasn’t until Thursday that a date was officially booked and confirmed.
Questions swirled around whether players would decline the visit this year after it did not happen during a scheduled visit to Washington in April.
Kiké Hernández said in 2018 he was unsure he would have gone had the Dodgers won the World Series the previous year. Mookie Betts said he was undecided and needed to talk it over with his family when last year’s visit was announced. After winning his first World Series with the Boston Red Sox in 2018, Betts skipped their trip to the White House the following year during Trump’s first term.
Both players, along with every returning member of the 2024 team who was with the team during its road trip, participated in the visit. The only notable absence was first baseman Freddie Freeman, who remained in Los Angeles to nurse an ankle injury.
Manager Dave Roberts, who indicated in comments to The Times in 2019 he might not go to the White House if Trump was president, also participated in last year’s ceremony.
Asked at the Dodgers’ fan festival in January about the possibility of returning to the White House, Roberts told The Times’ Bill Shaikin: “For me, I stand by: I’m a baseball manager. That’s my job.”
“I was raised — by a man who served our country for 30 years — to respect the highest office in our country,” Roberts said. “For me, it doesn’t matter who is in the office, I’m going to go to the White House. I’ve never tried to be political. … For me, I am going to continue to try to do what tradition says and not try to make political statements, because I am not a politician.”
Clayton Kershaw, who retired after last season but was on Team USA for this year’s World Baseball Classic, told The Times in the spring that he was aware Dodgers fans are split over whether the team should visit the White House again this year, but he said he is looking forward to it.
“I went when President Biden was in office. I’m going to go when President Trump is in office,” Kershaw said. “To me, it’s just about getting to go to the White House. You don’t get that opportunity every day, so I’m excited to go.”
Times deputy sports editor Ed Guzman contributed to this report.
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All eyes were on Caitlin Clark on Wednesday night as she made her anticipated return from injury in a road matchup in Los Angeles.
But instead of a triumphant comeback, the Fever spent the entire night chasing the Sparks as Clark’s rough return fueled a 106-92 rout.
The superstar never found a groove, looking completely out of sync in her return from a back injury.
STEPHANIE WHITE GIVES CAITLIN CLARK STATUS UPDATE AHEAD OF FEVER-SPARKS, BUT HER NEXT MOVE RAISES QUESTIONS
Caitlin Clark huddles with teammates as the Indiana Fever battle the Sparks. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) ((Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images))
Much of that disjointed performance falls squarely on head coach Stephanie White, who kept Clark on a ridiculously tight leash by limiting her to just 16 minutes. The stop-and-go approach could have sabotaged any chance for the phenom to establish a rhythm.
Clark finished with just 9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. Her minus-16 plus-minus told the story.
The Los Angeles Sparks were severely shorthanded, taking the floor without stars Kelsey Plum and Cameron Brink.
MERCURY’S NOW-DELETED SOCIAL MEDIA POST MOCKING CAITLIN CLARK DRAWS SCRUTINY AFTER STAR’S INJURY
Yet while a depleted Sparks roster played to win, Indiana spent the night over-managing its biggest asset.
With Clark on a minutes restriction and Aliyah Boston out of the lineup, Kelsey Mitchell was forced to shoulder the entire offensive burden.
Mitchell did her part, pouring in 29 points while shooting 5-of-9 from beyond the arc.
Caitlin Clark orchestrates the Fever offense as Indiana battles the Los Angeles Sparks in primetime action. (Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images) ((Photo by Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images))
But one hot hand couldn’t stop an efficient LA squad.
The Sparks shot 45% from three-point range, going 9-of-20 from deep to cruise to the 106-92 victory.
White’s next move is to sit Clark against the Mercury on Thursday while Boston returns.
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After Wednesday’s loss to a shorthanded Sparks team, it’s fair to question whether Indiana’s cautious approach is working. The Fever dropped to 12-9.
Caitlin Clark and Dearica Hamby face off as Fever and Sparks battle at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. (Photo by Tyler Ross/NBAE via Getty Images) ((Photo by Tyler Ross/NBAE via Getty Images))
Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela
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