Sports
Phillip Danault's late goal saves Kings from disaster in wild Game 1 win over Oilers
The Kings ran out to a four-goal lead then had to hold off a frantic Edmonton comeback to beat the Oilers 6-5 in a wild opener of a best-of-seven first-round playoff series at Crypto.com Arena on Monday night.
Phillip Danault scored the winner, his second goal of the game, with 41 seconds to play after the Kings led 4-0 late in the second period.
Andrei Kuzmenko, Quinton Byfield, Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala also scored for the Kings. The goals from Kuzmenko in the first period and from Fiala in the third came on power plays. The Oilers did not allow a power-play goal in 12 chances in last year’s playoff win over the Kings.
Leon Draisaitl, Mattias Janmark, Corey Perry, Zach Hyman and Connor McDavid scored for Edmonton, with Hyman and McDavid scoring 36 seconds apart late in the third period after the Oilers pulled their goalie. McDavid’s goal, which tied it 5-5, came with 88 seconds to play.
But Danault erased that less than a minute later on a weak shot that knuckled past Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner.
“I got all of it,” Danault joked afterward.
The Kings were able to laugh because after giving away a big lead, they managed to salvage the win.
“It’s obviously not ideal, how it happened,” Byfield said. “But it’s just a sign of good teams. We let our guard down for a little bit and it’s a great team over there. They’ve got world-class players. They’re never going to stop.”
Kings forward Adrian Kempe puts the puck past Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner in the second period of Game 1 on Monday night.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
The Kings, who are trying to end a three-year playoff losing streak to Edmonton, won the opening game in two of those meetings but went on to lose each series. All of those series started in Edmonton; this time the Kings drew first blood at home, where they won a franchise-record 31 times during the regular season.
Goals from Kuzmenko and Byfield in the first period and Kempe and Danault in the second gave the Kings a 4-0 lead late in the second period, setting up what looked to be a rout.
Especially since the Oilers, who took the Florida Panthers to a seventh game before falling in last year’s Stanley Cup final, limped into the playoffs wounded but mounted a comeback just the same. Draisaitl, who led the NHL with 52 goals despite missing the final seven games of the regular season with a lower-body injury, got Edmonton on the board with less than six seconds to play in the second period. Janmark then scored 2:19 into the third to half the Kings’ lead.
Fiala appeared to restore order, scoring just seconds into a five-on-three power play, but goals from Perry, Hyman and McDavid tied the game.
But then Danault scored to save the Kings, even if Edmonton left the building with some momentum.
“We’ve got to do a better job of closing that game out,” Byfield said. “No lead safe in playoffs. They’re coming all the time. We’ll learn from that.”
“Obviously, we should win it, you know, close it out,” Fiala added. “But it’s playoff hockey. And they don’t give up either. So I’m very proud of our group, that we responded again and we didn’t back down.
“It’s 1-0 right now and we enjoy it, but move on. That’s a heck of a way to win it.”
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The Kentucky Wildcats basketball team may still make the NCAA Tournament, but Dick Vitale thinks this iconic program should be much better than their 19-12 record this season considering their whopping $22 million roster.
The legendary ESPN college basketball analyst didn’t hold back his feelings about the Wildcats as they played Florida during Saturday’s prime SEC matchup. After the Gators hit some free throws to extend their first-half lead to 26-19, Vitale started to lay into the Wildcats.
Head coach Mark Pope of the Kentucky Wildcats in a game between the Florida Gators and the Kentucky Wildcats on March 7, 2026, at Rupp Arena in Lexington, KY. (Jeff Moreland/Icon Sportswire)
“I’m going to say this right here, I’ve done several Kentucky games, win or lose, $22 million this team [which has been reported] in terms of the NIL for their players,” he said, per Awful Announcing. “I think in $22 million, they could have put together a better roster than they did. I really do.”
The Wildcats ended up losing by a score of 84-77, and Vitale continued about Kentucky near the end of their 12th loss of the season.
“I’ll tell you one thing, you don’t want to walk out of here thinking you got a moral victory,” Vitale said, referencing a hard-fought game against the No. 5-ranked Florida team. “Moral victories don’t count at this level of basketball. And you hear some of the people, ‘We played them close. We played them tough.’
“The bottom line is you’re Kentucky. You’re Kentucky. And you’ve got to leave here with a win, especially at home. There are no moral victories. Come on. I don’t want to hear that.”
Collin Chandler and Jasper Johnson of the Kentucky Wildcats celebrate in the first half against the Ole Miss Rebels at Rupp Arena on Jan. 24, 2026 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
The Wildcats were once the top program in the country under former Coach John Calipari, who left for Arkansas after being unable to make a long March Madness run in recent seasons, including a shocking first round upset to the Oakland Golden Grizzlies in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
The Wildcats have been coached by Mark Pope since, and they made the Sweet 16 in last year’s tournament before losing to Tennessee.
Kentucky Jasper Johnson in action vs Michigan State at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY on Nov. 18, 2025. (Erick W. Rasco/Sports Illustrated )
But this year, Kentucky is 10-8 in SEC play, and now face the No. 9 seed in the upcoming tournament this week. The winner of each conference earns a tournament berth, but the Wildcats know good seeding in the NCAA Tournament requires a strong run heading into Selection Sunday this upcoming weekend.
The Wildcats will start their SEC Tournament play on Wednesday against No. 16 LSU.
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The Chargers bolstered their efforts to protect quarterback Justin Herbert all while diversifying their offense by agreeing to a multiyear deal with veteran fullback Alec Ingold on Sunday, the team announced.
Ingold’s deal with the Chargers reportedly is for two years and $7.5 million.
Ingold will be no stranger to the Chargers’ plans on offense. He played the past four seasons in Miami under coach Mike McDaniel, the Chargers’ new offensive coordinator. Last year he caught eight passes for 52 yards and ran the ball twice in 17 games.
Ingold caught 47 passes for 372 yards and rushed for 34 yards in 20 carries in four seasons with the Dolphins. He also had two rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown.
Before his time in Miami, Ingold played three seasons with the Raiders.
The deal comes two days after the Chargers signed veteran center Tyler Biadasz to take over for the retiring Bradley Bozeman. They agreed to terms on a one-year deal with edge rusher Khalil Mack on Saturday.
With the free agency negotiation period set to begin Monday at 9 a.m. PDT, the Chargers remain in strong position to be significant players in the free-agent market. They rank among the top-five teams in salary cap space, per Overthecap.com.
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Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and his fiancée, Sarah Jane Ramos, reportedly broke up with their wedding around the corner.
Prescott and Ramos’ relationship had been “rocky” in the weeks leading up to the breakup and things exploded between the two at their joint bachelor and bachelorette parties, TMZ Sports reported on Saturday.
Dak Prescott and Sarah Jane Ramos attend the Farrah Fawcett Foundation Tex-Mex Fiesta on Oct. 30, 2025 in Dallas, Texas. (Omar Vega/Getty Images for Farrah Fawcett Foundation)
Ramos shared pictures of her trip with her friends on Instagram on Friday.
“I truly believe you can get through anything in life as long as you have really great friends. I love these girls so much,” Ramos captioned the collage of snaps.
Prescott was not pictured in any of the 16 photos and videos posted to her social media account.
Sarah Jane Ramos and Dak Prescott pose for a photo before Dak Prescott’s Faith Fight Finish Foundation Gala on May 17, 2024 in Dallas, Texas. (Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images for Faith Fight Finish Foundation)
Ramos also posted photos of her bridal shower back on Feb. 23. There were no photos of Prescott in the carousel either.
“The most intimate and beautiful bridal shower of my dreams,” she added on Instagram. “So grateful for my aunts who hosted it and my girlfriends and family that came to celebrate. I love you all so much and can’t wait to marry the love of my life with all of you by my side.”
Fox News Digital reached out to Prescott’s representative for comment.
Prescott posted a series of photos on his Instagram of Ramos and his family on July 20, 2025. There’s only a September advertisement posted on his account since.
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and Sarah Jane Ramos pose on the NFL Honors Red Carpet before Super Bowl LX at Palace of Fine Arts on Feb. 5, 2026. (Kirby Lee/Imagn Images)
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The NFL star and Ramos announced they were engaged on Oct. 18, 2024. The couple have two children together.
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