The 2025/26 Nigeria Women Football League Premiership regular season ended on Matchday 18 with exciting results recorded across different venues, as clubs fought hard to finish the campaign on a strong note.
In Lagos, FC Robo Queens defeated Nasarawa Amazons 2-1. Opeyemi Ajakaye and Oluwakemi Adegbuyi scored for the home side before Ayatsea Hembafan pulled one back late in the match.
At Ikenne, Remo Stars Ladies suffered a thrilling 3-2 home loss to Dannaz Ladies. Both teams exchanged early goals before the visitors took control, while a late own goal confirmed the win for Dannaz Ladies.
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In Benin City, Edo Queens claimed a 2-1 victory over Rivers Angels. Atume Doosuur and Esther Inyang scored for Edo Queens, while Rivers Angels managed a late consolation goal.
Delta Queens produced one of the biggest wins of the round with a convincing 3-0 triumph against Osun Babes in Asaba. Titilayo Aweda netted twice early in the game before Anastasia Terfa added the third goal.
Elsewhere, Ahudiyannem Queens secured a slim 1-0 away win against Abia Angels thanks to Loveth Edeh’s second-half effort.
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In Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti Queens shocked Bayelsa Queens 1-0 after Joke Adeyemo scored the only goal of the encounter early in the match.
Sunshine Queens defeated Confluence Queens 2-0 in Akure. Lolade Akintunde opened the scoring from the penalty spot before Bunmi Adenuga wrapped up the victory late on.
In Owerri, Heartland Queens left it late to beat Adamawa Queens 1-0, with Chimebere Opara scoring the winning goal in the 88th minute.
Meanwhile, Pacesetter Queens and Naija Ratels played out a 1-1 draw in Ibadan. Janet Achukwu gave Naija Ratels the lead before Samantha Victor equalised for the hosts.
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The regular season has now ended, with attention turning to the next stage of the competition.
Dagestani dynamo Shamil Gasanov was originally scheduled to challenge Tang Kai in April. The Russian, however, made sure he would arrive at the biggest fight of his life as the very best version of himself.
The 30-year-old fighter takes on ONE featherweight MMA world champion Tang Kai in the main event of ONE Fight Night 43 on Prime Video, broadcasting live in U.S. primetime from Bangkok’s legendary Lumpinee Stadium on Friday, May 15.
The matchup was originally penciled in for ONE Fight Night 42 in April. But the contest was pushed back to give ‘The Cobra’ the chance to fully observe Ramadan and enter the most important night of his career at full capacity.
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Shamil Gasanov made the request himself. ONE Championship granted it. The result has been a fully sharpened, fully prepared challenger arriving at fight week without any compromise to his preparation or his faith.
Get the latest updates on One Championship Rankings at Sportskeeda and more
In an exclusive pre-fight interview with ONE Championship, the Peresvet Fight Team and Tiger Muay Thai product explained the rationale behind the rescheduled date.
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“This fight was originally planned for April, but I asked the promotion to give me more time to prepare since I was in Ramadan and couldn’t fully prepare for this fight. And they gave me more time, and I was able to prepare better for the fight,” Shamil Gasanov told the promotion.
Shamil Gasanov’s elite grappling could be the perfect kryptonite for Tang Kai’s striking
The stylistic divide between the two fighters could not be wider. Tang Kai has built his 19-3 resume with 15 knockouts on the back of devastating striking, and he is, without question, the most feared puncher in the featherweight MMA division.
Shamil Gasanov, though, is precisely the kind of opponent any pure striker dreads to share the Circle with.
The Russian’s wrestling base, sharpened over years in Dagestan and refined under the lights of ONE Championship, has dismantled elite striking specialists time and again — including Kim Jae Woong, Aaron Canarte, and former kingpin Martin Nguyen.
If ‘The Cobra’ can drag the ONE featherweight MMA world champion to the canvas, control top position, and chain his suffocating attacks together, Tang’s path to defending his crown becomes drastically more complicated.
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North American fans with an active Amazon Prime Video subscription can catch the entire ONE Fight Night 43 card, live in U.S. primetime, for free on Friday, May 15.
Perks in Attack on Titan Revolution are an essential part of the build-crafting elements in place. These apply passive bonuses that range from simple stat increases to more involved passive abilities. Having access to the best Perks in this title can be the difference between struggling against a Titan and completely wiping it off the map.
Here’s a complete guide to Perks, going over what they do, their different types, and how to get them.
An overview of Perks in Attack on Titan Revolution
Perks apply stat bonuses and passive effects (Image via Roblox)
Perks are passive stat improvements and effects that can be slotted into your active Perk slots to reap their benefits. Their bonuses work in the background, meaning for a vast majority of the available Perks, you are unlikely to change your gameplay approach. They serve to enhance your build rather than define it.
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In total, there are four types of Perks: Core, Offense, Defense, and Support. Each of these Perk types covers a certain kind of bonus; Core Perks are more specialized options that target specific builds; Offense Perks affect your damage; Defense Perks impact your damage sustainability and Health regeneration; Support Perks apply party-wide buff effects.
Additionally, Perks are segregated into five rarities: Common, Rare, Epic, Legendary, and Mythical. The higher the Perk rarity, the more elaborate and potent its effects, meaning you should always be aiming for the rarest options in the game.
Passive bonuses applied through Perks affect the following stats and effects:
Perks can be bought from the in-game shop (Image via Roblox)
Perks can be obtained as Mission rewards, drops from high-difficulty battles, shop purchases, and through crafting. You will naturally acquire a variety of Perks through regular gameplay as you continue to clear the content available in the game. Mission and battle clears are not efficient for getting the best Perks, as the drop rates for good options are quite low.
You can view a random selection of Perks in the in-game Market, available through Shards, Gold, and other limited-time currencies. The shop resets once every few hours, incentivizing frequently checking the Perks section of the Market.
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As for Perk crafting, you can sacrifice low-tier options at the Crafting menu. The rarity of the Perks sacrificed contribute to that of the crafted Perk, meaning low-rarity Perks are unlikely to create a high-rarity Perk. In addition to Perks being the required component for crafting a Perk, you need Gold as well, the cost of which is proportional to the crafted Perk’s rarity.
Once you craft a Perk, it will be at level 0, and it can be enhanced up to level 10 using Gold, EXP, and other Perks. Leveling a Perk directly impacts its potency, improving its overall effects and making it more suitable for practical usage.
The AFCA recently met and urged support for proposals ranging from calendar fixes to the 24-team Playoff model.
Some good could come from a bad idea at its core.
On today’s episode of Locked On College Football, I’m joined by ‘Locked On UCLA’ host Zach Anderson-Yoxsimer to discuss the Bruins’ recent recruiting surge on the trail.
Bob Chesney is making a statement early on.
Texas Tech is likely to not have Brendan Sorsby in 2026, but still has a great roster bolstered by a top 10 portal class.
Who could reasonably have the roster to challenge them in the Big 12?
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00:00 Debating playoff team expansion 03:31 Discussing college football playoffs expansion 06:48 Discussing expanded playoff concerns 15:01 Chip Kelly’s recruiting challenges 17:14 Comparing coaching trajectories 20:33 USC fans prank UCLA game 29:01 Big 12 football prospects 31:43 Assessing Texas Tech’s opponents’ offensive lines 34:20 Betting on BYU’s football performance
The NCAA could formalize expansion of the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments to a 76-team format as soon as Thursday, ESPN reported on Wednesday night.
The tournament fields will expand from 68 teams beginning in 2027, with NCAA calls scheduled for Thursday as the final steps in the process, ESPN reported.
The NCAA denied any final decision had been made following multiple reports in late April that plans for expansion are expected to be approved by NCAA committees and formalized as soon as this month.
“Expanding the basketball tournaments would require approval from multiple NCAA committees, including the men’s and women’s basketball committees, and no final recommendations or decisions have been made at this time,” the NCAA’s April 28 statement read.
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The format change requires approval from the men’s basketball committees, the men’s and women’s basketball oversight committees, the Division I cabinet and the Division I Board of Governors.
ESPN reported on Wednesday that after expansion talks for more than a year, and contracts with the men’s tournament media partners near completion in late April, the final steps are expected to be smooth.
Multiple outlets reported last month that the NCAA plans for 52 teams to slot into the main bracket and the other 24 teams will face off in 12 games on the Tuesday and Wednesday after Selection Sunday, filling out the Round of 64 with the winners. It will no longer be called the “First Four,” with the terminology expected to be “opening round” for the play-ins and “first round” for the Round of 64.
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The 12 games are expected to be in Dayton, Ohio, current site of the First Four, and a second site to be determined.
It would mark the first expansion of the tournament since the field moved from 65 to 68 teams with the addition of the First Four games in 2011. The field had previously been 64 or 65 teams since 1985.
The Big 12 and Atlantic Coast Conference were the leading voices behind tournament expansion, Yahoo Sports reported in April. NCAA president Charlie Baker has also voiced his support.
“I said all along that I think there are some very good reasons to expand the tournament,” Baker told ESPN in February. “So, I would like to see it expand.”
Despite Bayern Munich managing to draw at home, PSG, who travelled to Munich with a one-goal lead, knocked out the German champions and secured their place in the Champions League final for the second year running. “We’ve shown what sort of team we are,” said Luis Enrique.
The European football cup competitions continue today with the Europa League and the Europa Conference League. Strasbourg could become the second French club to reach a European Cup final this season if they beat Rayo Vallecano, despite having lost the first leg.
In tennis, with just a few weeks to go before Roland Garros begins, several players have criticised the tournament’s prize money, which they consider to be too low.
After a ten year wait, Manchester City Women are finally back on top of English football after winning the Women’s Super League. Arsenal’s 1-1 draw at Brighton and Hove Albion on Wednesday night secured the title after the Blues were pushed all the way by the north London club.
For weeks, City have had a seemingly unassailable lead at the top of the WSL. However, the Gunners’ involvement in the Champions League and FA Cup left them with several games in hand. Last Sunday’s late Rebecca Knaak winner against Liverpool put City on the cusp of glory and they end the season as worthy winners.
Key to their success has been the goals of Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw. The Jamaica international has scored 19 goals in 21 league matches this season. “I have been able to score consistently in most of the games,” Shaw told MEN Sport, in partnership with Betway.
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“I work a lot on different aspects of my finishing in the box. So I would definitely say those two.” Shaw’s quality was highlighted during a 5-2 victory over Tottenham Hotspur in March when she scored a 13-minute hat-trick to put Spurs to the sword.
And it is that game Shaw believes is evidence of the improvements City have made this season compared to last year when the Blues finished 17 points behind champions Chelsea. “I would just say it has been a game at a time and doing better than we did the last one,” she said.
“If you look at the game against Tottenham, we had [Aston] Villa [before that] after the international break. We were a bit slow and we did not get the result we wanted.
“We tried to be better than that game and yes, we scored a lot of goals but there were areas that we looked to improve to face [Manchester] United. So I think that’s just how we have approached the games.”
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She added: “I would definitely say [there has been a shift in mentality]. There has been a focus on results and then looking at how we perform later.
“I think that would definitely be it. We want to win and we are going to do everything possible to get the win.
“I am not saying that was not the case before. But, the emphasis now is mostly on that, on our attacking play and enjoying it. You become a problem when you are in our way and that is how we have approached every game this season.”
It’s a similar story for Lionesses star Lauren Hemp. The 25-year-old has won countless trophies with both City and England but the WSL has, until now, eluded her.
Hemp credits City head coach Andree Jeglertz, who arrived in the summer, for bringing that spirit to the squad. “For me, I have played a different kind of role where I tend to come in a lot more than maybe what I have done in previous seasons,” she explained.
“Picking up different pockets of space where I can be free and I have felt the freedom from Andree to be able to do that, go and find the ball, get on it and create things. It is not as structured and I personally feel it is a lot easier to play in a team where it allows you to do that because I don’t like structure as much, being a wide player.
“I feel like I am very creative and if you are only allowed to do certain things, it is hard to help the team how you want to. So I’d probably say that is the biggest thing.”
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“It’s massive for me,” Hemp added. “I think this club really deserves it. I joined seven years ago wanting to win the league, wanted to win as many trophies as I can and it is the one thing missing.
“I’ve been trying so hard to get over the last few years. The group is so special. I couldn’t hope for a better team to win it with.
“The basics have always been there. We have always done the right things, always tried to play good football and create lots of chances and we have done that over the last few seasons.
“I think it has been a matter of time and it has always been coming that things finally started to switch. We’re winning games and winning some games convincingly and at times last year where we’d maybe struggle, we have managed to win them.
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“I think this group has just been so good this year. So many people are contributing goals, everyone’s been doing their job and I think we are all on a journey and we [all] knew what we wanted to achieve this season.”
While Hemp has achieved a seven-year dream, for Kerolin, this is the culmination of a major journey that took her from Brazil to Spain, the United States and finally City. Her nine goals and five assists in the WSL have been a stark improvement on her debut year.
For the 26-year-old, the difference between 2024/25 and this season has been huge. “Since I first came here, I can tell the difference in the team,” she explained.
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“It is the same players but with a completely different mentality which is amazing because he [Jeglertz] actually brought us the confidence, the positive vibes to win. I think the way he wants us to play free, giving the best for the team, using your talent for specific roles in the team just gives us that confidence and that winning mentality.”
Kerolin added: “It is easy to say when we started to win because of course it is and then you are like: ‘Now the confidence is back.’ And then you are also like: ‘If something happens, how are we going to approach this?’
“Sometimes it is easy to get there but it is hard to go [further]. I think the challenge [has been] every single game, keep winning and also thinking one game at a time, focus on ourselves and then do the best I can do.”
Before City get their hands on the WSL, there is the small matter of the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea before the final day clash at West Ham on Saturday, May 16.
On Saturday, Fabio Wardley and Daniel Dubois go toe-to-toe for the WBO heavyweight title, and Johnny Fisher – who has sparred both – has laid out his prediction for the bout, anticipating a dramatic finish.
Wardley has never been dropped and has won via stoppage in all but one of his 20 career triumphs, with that solitary decision victory coming in a four-round affair on his professional debut – although that knockout streak is interrupted by a 2024 draw against Frazer Clarke.
Similarly, Dubois has only won once on the judges’ scorecards, coming against the durable Kevin Johnson, whom he outpointed after 10 rounds in the ninth contest of his professional career back in 2018.
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Speaking to The Sun Sport, fan-favourite British title hopeful Fisher, who has shared the ring with both men in sparring, predicted that Wardley will add another impressive stoppage to his résumé, but that he will do so after hitting the deck for the first time in his career.
“Wardley, round 10 stoppage. I reckon that he comes off the canvas in round three and then he comes back in round 10 and stops Daniel. It is going to be a close-fought match. I think that the fight gets stopped by the referee.”
WWE President Nick Khan’s contract has been revised amid mass releases by TKO, the Stamford-based promotion’s parent company. Khan’s new salary structure and bonuses have been revealed.
It is a heartbreaking time for the WWE Universe as several talents have been released from the company. The list includes major names like Kairi Sane, The Wyatt Sicks, The Motor City Machine Guns, Zelina Vega, and Aleister Black. Even legendary names like The New Day’s Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods have parted ways with the Stamford-based promotion, reportedly because TKO asked them to take a pay cut.
Thanks for the submission!
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Amid all of this, WWE President Nick Khan has received a new contract. According to TKO’s SEC filings, Khan’s new contract will keep him in the company til 2030. It was also mentioned that he would operate out of Los Angeles, where he currently stays. The contract also highlighted that Nick will receive $2 million per annum til the end of 2026, and his base salary will be bumped to $3 million per annum in 2027.
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It was also mentioned that either side can terminate the contract at any time, but Nick Khan is required to give at least 60 days’ written notice if he wishes to leave the company.
Furthermore, the WWE President will be eligible for annual bonuses based on certain performance metrics: 150% of his base annual salary in 2026, increasing to 200% of his base annual salary from 2027 through 2030.
“During the Term, Khan shall also be eligible to receive an annual bonus award (‘Annual Bonus’), subject to the attainment of certain performance metrics, which may include the attainment of EBITDA-based targets and/or such other metrics as determined by the Governing Body, in its sole discretion. Effective as of the Effective Date, the target amount of Khan’s Annual Bonus shall be 150% of the Base Salary (i.e., target $3,000,000) for calendar year 2026 and shall be 200% of the Base Salary (i.e., target $6,000,000) for each calendar year remaining in the Term (i.e., 2027, 2028, 2029 and 2030) (as applicable, the ‘Target Annual Bonus’).” [H/T PWInsider]
Kevin Nash talked about Nick Khan’s WWE pay amid stars’ releases
During a recent edition of his Kliq This podcast, Kevin Nash was asked about the mass WWE releases.
“Not after two weeks prior, when I see what the CEOs — what Nick’s getting paid. I mean, Nick (Khan) took half of the f*cking WrestleMania net… But I’m busting his ba*ls because we sat here and went over the numbers, and the year before was $1.4 billion. The next year, you’re $1.7 billion. So that’s $300 million. So, I’m busting Nick’s ba*ls, but we sat here and went over the numbers…” said Kevin Nash.
It remains to be seen what TKO has planned for World Wrestling Entertainment’s future.
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Sep 20, 2020; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; A general view of a Miami Dolphins helmet on the field prior to the game against the Buffalo Bills at Hard Rock Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
The Minnesota Vikings wrapped up the busy portion of free agency in mid-March, and among the transactions, the club did not re-sign veteran cornerback Fabian Moreau. Fast forward to May, and Moreau may be an ideal fit for the Miami Dolphins, according to Pro Football Network.
Minnesota could still revisit Moreau, but Miami’s cornerback depth is scary.
Moreau will likely sign somewhere before too long, and with training camp less than three months away, PFSN asked, “Why not Miami?”
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Miami’s Secondary Need Creates Logical Fit for Moreau
The Dolphins have struggled at the CB spot for a couple of years.
Minnesota Vikings cornerback Fabian Moreau lines up during an NFC wild-card matchup against the Los Angeles Rams at State Farm Stadium. Moreau contributed veteran depth to Minnesota’s secondary during the 2024 season and remained involved during postseason action on Jan. 13, 2025, in Glendale, Arizona, as the Vikings battled Los Angeles in the playoff opener. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images.
PFSN’s Take on Moreau to MIA
After the draft, NFL-themed media usually revisit the “who could still go where” of free agency, and 2026 is no different.
PFSN’s Jacob Infante wrote about Moreau to the Dolphins this week: “Fabian Moreau has bounced around to five different teams in his last six seasons, though he’s coming off two consecutive seasons as a backup cornerback for the Vikings.”
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“He fared pretty well in 2025, ranking No. 33 in the NFL with a 79.5 PFSN CB Impact Score, indicating he could push for a starting spot in some situations. 2026 Predicted Team: Miami Dolphins.”
To date, Moreau has had no known free-agency nibbles.
Moreau’s Quietly Good 2025 Campaign
Moreau emerged as one of the Vikings’ unexpectedly crucial players in 2025.
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Heading into the 2025 season, the cornerback room appeared precarious beyond Byron Murphy Jr. Isaiah Rodgers offered potential, Jeff Okudah was a reclamation project, and both Dwight McGlothern and rookie Zemaiah Vaughn remained largely unproven. This thin depth threatened to become a significant problem if injuries struck.
And one injury did strike. When Okudah suffered a concussion early in the season, Minnesota turned to Moreau over McGlothern. The decision worked. Moreau played consistently whenever called upon, earning a 70.9 Pro Football Focus grade and allowing a mere 47.4 passer rating on 19 targets.
The Vikings didn’t need a star; they simply required a reliable, experienced, and steady presence in a position prone to volatility. Moreau delivered precisely that.
Washington Redskins cornerback Fabian Moreau tackles Green Bay Packers wide receiver Geronimo Allison after a fourth-quarter reception at Lambeau Field. Moreau helped limit additional yardage on the play during a road matchup on Dec. 8, 2019, in Green Bay, Wisconsin, while Washington’s defense battled the Packers late in the regular season. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports.
This performance holds significant implications for 2026. Though Moreau is 32, veteran corners who can competently cover on the outside and avoid major coverage errors still offer considerable value. Any team seeking a CB3 or CB4 could do far worse than a player who quietly excelled in his role last season.
Ultimately, Moreau’s steady play made a solid contribution, helping stabilize Minnesota’s skimpy cornerback situation in 2025.
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The Dolphins’ CBs
As of May 6th, these are the Dolphins’ current cornerbacks:
Chris Johnson
JuJu Brents
Jason Marshall Jr.
Darrell Baker Jr.
Storm Duck
Ethan Robinson
Marco Wilson
Alex Austin
Ethan Bonner
A.J. Green III
Unless Johnson, a 1st-Rounder a couple of weeks ago, turns into an immediate All-Pro, Miami will showcase one of the worst CB rooms in the NFL. In that vein, it’s no wonder that the Dolphins are connected to free-agent CBs in May. Moreau would likely profile as the CB3 or CB4 with this setup.
Phin Phanatic‘sBrian Miller noted on the Dolphins’ secondary this week, “The Dolphins must find a way to add more defenders to their secondary before the season. Jon-Eric Sullivan managed to draft 13 players over the last weekend of April, but those 13 picks couldn’t fix the Miami Dolphins’ secondary entirely. First-round pick Chris Johnson will help usher in a new era on the boundary.”
“His physical style of play will be what the Dolphins want to become at every position in the secondary. The Dolphins still have a problem on the other side of the field. It’s not just cornerback that remains an issue. Safety doesn’t look all that good either. At cornerback, the problems are on the boundary with a rookie and two guys that have yet to prove they can handle the work consistently, but the depth behind them is not deep; that too is a problem.”
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A Vikings Reunion?
Of course, if Moreau receives no free-agent attention in the next few months, he could re-sign with the Vikings and have a firm spot on the practice squad at the very least.
Washington Redskins cornerback Fabian Moreau runs onto the field before a game against the Atlanta Falcons at FedEx Field. The defensive back entered pregame introductions ahead of the matchup on Nov. 4, 2018, in Landover, Maryland, during his early years with Washington after joining the franchise as a third-round draft pick. Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports.
The Vikings have Byron Murphy Jr., Isaiah Rodgers, James Pierre, rookie Charles Demmings, and Dwight McGlothern ready to patrol the back end of Brian Flores’s defense this season, but Moreau as an insurance policy would not hurt.
To be fair, Moreau deserves a CB4 job, at minimum, right now, so a team like the Dolphins — that really needs CB oomph — probably makes the most sense.
Moreau will turn 33 next offseason.
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Dustin Baker is a novelist and political scientist. His second novel, The Invaders , is out now. So is … More about Dustin Baker
The garbage-time power-play goal didn’t keep the Anaheim Ducks from claiming a series-tying victory on the road, their 3-1 win evening the second-round bout 1-1, but it did keep the club from breaking a streak that dates back to Day 1 of the 2024-25 campaign:
But wins are what matter, and Dostal certainly earned this one. A goalie battle from the start, he and Vegas netminder Carter Hart took turns stumping opposing forwards in what was a strong showing from both sides. Hart shone early, stopping all 13 of Anaheim’s first-period shots, and was the busier goalie Wednesday night — he faced 27 shots, and stopped 25. The Golden Knights’ offence was slow to warm up, which meant Dostal was, too — he faced just three shots in the first frame. His night got busier as the game went on, stopping all 11 pucks fired his way in the second and seven of eight in the third. He was perfect at even-strength.
Dostal’s Game 2 performance feels like a win within the win for Anaheim. The 25-year-old had a shaky start to his first career post-season stint — he allowed four goals in each of his first three games of Round 1 against Edmonton, his series save percentage coming in at .874. He bounced back from a dismal Game 5 showing to put away the Oilers with a 25-save performance in Game 6, and has been excellent since. He registered a .905 save percentage on 21 shots in Game 1 against Vegas, and on Wednesday night raised the bar to .955 to win the showdown against Hart. He’s allowed just three goals through two games, and while he didn’t quite achieve perfection, Wednesday’s showing seems like a sign of more great showdowns to come.
Ducks’ power play falls short again versus Vegas’s stifling PK
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Through two games of this second-round series so far, Vegas has made Anaheim’s elite power play look lifeless. That’s a huge storyline early in this series, considering just how heavily the Ducks relied on their PP production against Edmonton — and just how steep a drop the unit has experienced since.
After going zero-for-four in Game 1 Monday night, Anaheim had ample opportunity to turn things around in the first period of Wednesday’s contest, which saw Vegas collect eight penalty minutes (including a four-minute, high-sticking double-minor charged to Eichel) in the first five minutes of the opening frame.
Even with more than 90 seconds of five-on-three play, the Ducks couldn’t capitalize. Much like we saw from Utah in Round 1, the Ducks spent nearly every second with the man advantage patrolling the perimeter in search of the perfect shot. They couldn’t find it.
Anaheim closed out Wednesday’s win without a PP goal, going zero-for-five on the night to bring their total to none-for-nine on the series so far. But their fifth opportunity did show some signs of life — Anaheim clearly got the memo to get pucks on net, and looked a lot more like the squad we saw last series. Something to build on, perhaps.
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Youth and depth step up for Ducks
Two nights after falling to Vegas in Game 1, the Ducks got off to a blazing start in Game 2, with Troy Terry launching the club into a scoring chance just six seconds into the matchup in an attempt to catch Hart on his heels. Hart’s early heroics kept Vegas in the game despite the Ducks’ barrage of shots, but Anaheim was clearly intent on setting the tone in this one.
It worked. Anaheim managed to harness its own speed-forward game while also matching Vegas’s hard-hitting, physical approach. Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville rolled out his big lines early and often, resulting in a pretty sizeable gap between his most- and least-used forwards, but that didn’t stop Beckett Sennecke (11:03 minutes of ice time) and Jansen Harkins (9:44) from making big impacts. Sennecke was the first to light the lamp Wednesday night, when he took advantage of Vegas’s defensive misplay that saw him in all alone after Jeffrey Viel served him up the puck from behind the net. Harkins scored an empty-net insurance goal late in the third in his 2026 playoff debut.
Those goals sandwiched Leo Carlsson’s third-period marker that gave Anaheim some breathing room early in the third.
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Are Vegas’s stars going quiet again?
It was a storyline in Round 1 against Utah, and while this second-round series is still very young, it’s hard not to wonder if it’s happening again… Because through two games, we have yet to see much of an offensive impact from some of Vegas’s biggest names. Pavel Dorofeyev has just two shots to his name through two games so far. He and Eichel have two assists between them. Mitch Marner sealed Monday’s series-opening win with an empty-netter, but was held without a point Wednesday on just two shots. If not for Eichel and Stone collaborating on Vegas’ power-play marker at the end of regulation, the Golden Knights would’ve been shut out entirely in this one.
Depth has been a major asset for the experienced club, but they need their stars to step up if they’re to match the firepower of Anaheim. Might that garbage-time goal have woken them up?
Texas Tech is likely to not have Brendan Sorsby in 2026, but still has a great roster bolstered by a top 10 portal class. 
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