The shortest player on the Edmonton Oilers roster had their biggest goal on Saturday night.
Kailer Yamamoto scored with 3 minutes, 2 seconds remaining for his first point of the series as the Oilers beat the Los Angeles Kings 5-4 in Game 6 to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
In a series dominated by superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, it was the Oilers’ fourth line that played a pivotal role. Besides Yamamoto, Klim Kostin had two goals and an assist.
Photo: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY
“It didn’t go in the net early in the series, but he stuck with it. He stuck with it and eventually ended up scoring the series winner,” Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said.
Yamamoto — who lived in Los Angeles for three years and played youth hockey for the Jr. Kings — got possession of the puck deep in the offensive zone, skated around and then sent a wrist shot through traffic and past the right shoulder and stick of Kings goaltender Joonas Korpisalo.
“Being in this position it’s pretty crazy. Playing against them last year you get your hopes up,” Yamamoto said about scoring a pivotal goal against the Kings. “To be able to beat them is an amazing feeling.”
Next up for Edmonton is the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round. The NHL has not announced a date for Game 1.
In Tampa Bay, Florida, the Toronto Maple Leafs finally advanced, and coach Sheldon Keefe struggled to find the right words to capture the moment.
“It’s been a long road for a lot of our guys... They’ve been through a lot, been questioned a lot,” he said after John Tavares scored 4:35 into overtime, and the Maple Leafs beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 for their first post-season win in nearly two decades.
“Today is a significant step, but we’re not going to celebrate anything beyond,” Keefe added. “There’s a lot of work ahead... I feel like the best is yet to come.”
Ending a frustrating drought that included first-round exits each of the past six years, the Maple Leafs won the best-of-seven matchup in six games and advanced to the Eastern Conference semi-finals against the Boston Bruins or Florida Panthers.
“You’re relieved, and you’re happy,” Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly said. “At the same time, it’s the first round. We want to keep going.”
In New York, Chris Kreider had another power-play goal and two assists as the New York Rangers beat the New Jersey Devils 5-2 to force a deciding Game 7.
Mika Zibanejad and Vladimir Tarasenko each had a goal and an assist for New York, which totaled just two goals while losing the previous three games. Barclay Goodrow and Braden Schneider also scored, and Adam Fox added two assists. Igor Shesterkin stopped 34 shots.
“We came here to win one game. I think you heard everyone talk about that,” Zibanejad said. “Wins are all that matter, and we got the win we needed and wanted tonight. Now we just keep going.”
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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