標籤: Eliminated

The Anaheim Ducks’ season ended with a 5-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 of the Western Conference Second Round on Thursday night at Honda Center. Vegas won the series 4–2 and advanced to the Western Conference Finals.

Vegas has now reached the conference finals for the fifth time in nine seasons, a reminder of how quickly that organization has racked up playoff weight. For Anaheim, it was the end of its first postseason run since 2018.

There were just 62 seconds left in the game when Mitch Marner scored on a breakaway to give Vegas a 1–0 lead. William Karlsson sent him through with a long pass and Marner beat Lucas Dostal with a superb finish. Fast start. Bad sign.

CBS Sports reported that Marner played a role in all three of Vegas’ goals in the first period, and that the first period push largely shaped the night. Anaheim wasn’t saddled with a single bad rebound. It took three hits before Duck could regain his footing.

Brett Howden scored short-handed at 8:30 of the first period after taking a feed from Marner. This made the score 2-0 and made it doubly sad for Ducks fans because the team was on the power play.

NHL.com said Howden’s goal was his third short-handed goal of the playoffs, breaking the NHL record for most scored in a playoff game.

Shea Theodore made it 3-0 with 2:41 left in the opening period. Tomas Hertl won the offensive zone draw against Theodore and he beat Dostal with a wrist shot from the blue line.

Granlund gives a little life to Anaheim

Mikael Granlund cut the lead to 3-1 with 7:14 left in the second period. This gave some hope to the team and fans.

Carter Hart stopped 31 of 32 shots, showing that the Ducks put enough pucks on net to make the game interesting, but not enough of them turned into real damage.

Any hopes ended in the third period as Pavel Dorofeyev scored twice. His first shot came just under three minutes into the frame after Ivan Barbashev forced a turnover and set him up in the right circle. His second came with 6:28 remaining, making the score 5–1.

A tough ending, but not an empty one

Vegas now travels to Colorado for Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals on Wednesday, May 20. Anaheim is entering the offseason after a playoff run that ended hard, but he still showed growth.

From a Ducks fan’s perspective, it stings because the series had potential. Anaheim won Game 2. This was answered in Game 4. It forced overtime in Game 5. Then came Game 6, and Vegas looked like the older, faster team.

The ducks are here now. They’re closer than ever and being years away from the postseason, it still means something.

The Miami Heat are out of the playoff race. On Tuesday night, the Heat lost to the Charlotte Hornets in overtime, ending their season in the play-in tournament. It was a shocking development, as Miami was ahead in the final 24 seconds of regulation and overtime.

Now, the Heat will look to miss the NBA playoffs for the first time since the 2018-19 season. Since trading Jimmy Butler to the Golden State Warriors, this has not been the same Miami team. It’s clear that Heat president Pat Riley and company need to find a way to return to the NBA Playoffs.

This is why big changes are coming within the organization.

What is the Miami Heat’s top goal for the 2026 NBA offseason?

The Heat enter the 2026 NBA offseason with hopes of finding a superstar player. Miami was the only team in the Eastern Conference that did not make a move during the 2026 NBA trade deadline after pursuing Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo. Expect more of the same this offseason.

After a disappointing end to the season, the Heat will be looking for a superstar this offseason, including Antetokounmpo, as reported by ESPN’s Shams Charania. NBA organizations have hit and miss on superstar players over the past five years, but it’s time to make a move.

“The Heat, Pat Riley, when I talk to rival executives it’s clear about the NBA: Pat Riley wants his whale, his shark, his tiger,” Charania said on NBA Today. “He went out last summer and made an offer for Kevin Durant. They didn’t choose Kevin Durant.”

“At the deadline, they offered for Giannis Antetokounmpo. They offered Tyler Herro, Kal’l Ware and a bunch of draft capital. The Bucks didn’t move Giannis, but they’ll be back in pursuit of Giannis, and then whatever star they can find will be available to look at, can we find that number one guy? [Bam Adebayo] The cornerstone, but just the understanding of finding that number one option, that offensive juggernaut that they depend on all night long.”

Riley and the front office are set to make a big acquisition this summer. It seems like everyone will be at the table except Bam Adebayo.

Why can’t the Miami Heat attack any superstars now?

Miami can’t afford to land an NBA superstar this offseason. The Heat have tried to acquire Antetokounmpo, Durant, Donovan Mitchell, Damian Lillard and many others over the past six years. No one reached out to Miami even after Lillard listed the organization as his preferred destination.

The Heat have been in the play-in tournament for four consecutive seasons. The organization lacks the ability to get a high pick in the NBA Draft in exchange for a first-round exit and a magical run as a No. 8 seed in 2023. Miami failed to reach the 2023 NBA Finals over the hill, leaving it looking for more.

Now, it’s time to choose a direction. Riley and the Heat will either have to acquire a superstar or dismantle the roster and start around Adebayo. Miami can no longer afford to get caught in a basketball trap. The team has amassed a number of superstars over the past few seasons by mismanaging assets.

The Heat haven’t been very active in changing the team in 2020 other than acquiring Kyle Lowry and trading Butler to Golden State. It’s been a long time since Miami has had a true No. 1 pick to lead a team to the NBA Finals. Quite frankly, Antetokounmpo is the answer.

Giannis Antetokounmpo is the answer to the Miami Heat’s problems

Milwaukee almost pulled the trigger on a package to Miami at the NBA trade deadline, but chose to wait until the offseason. It seems like a divorce is going to happen and the Heat will have to be there to attack. Everyone and everything needs to be on the table to acquire Antetokounmpo this offseason.

The 31-year-old superstar has had to battle injuries, but a change in scenario could put him in a better position. The Heat should offer Tyler Herro, Kal’l Ware, Jaime Jacquez Jr. and all possible trade options to the Bucks. Miami should try to navigate multi-team trades to give Milwaukee even more.

This is for relay. After years of struggling to acquire a pure NBA superstar, Antetokounmpo is likely to be on the table. If the Heat can’t find a way to acquire Antetokounmpo or another difference maker, it’s fair to question the future of the organization. Antetokounmpo will lead the team on offense, defense and in the locker room.

Adebayo has performed well in this role, but it’s clear he can’t do it all alone. Antetokounmpo changes everything and he brings the heat of play-in tournament mediocrity to the contenders in the Eastern Conference. It can’t stop there either. Riley needs to build the best team around his two star players.

There’s time before the Heat go “all-in” on trading for Antetokounmpo or another superstar. For the first time this decade, Miami will watch the NBA Playoffs and wait for transactions to begin this summer. This is why the Heat will have to make big changes.

This “heat culture” is not standard.

READ MORE: Winners and losers from the first night of the 2026 NBA Play-In Tournament, including the Miami Heat

Austin Konensky is a writer at SportsNut, covering the NHL, MLB, NFL, NBA and more. His work can also…more about Austin Konensky

An unlucky day in Newark got even worse when the New Jersey Devils were officially eliminated from the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs by the Philadelphia Flyers following the firing of general manager Tom Fitzgerald.

Philly had a ton on the line coming into the Prudential Center on Tuesday as a win would raise their hopes for the Stanley Cup Playoffs to 70.3%, while a loss would cut their hopes in half to 36.6%.

Well, the Devils have officially been eliminated from the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

New Jersey got off to a bad start Tuesday night, allowing the Flyers to take control of the pace of the game early.

As a result, the Devils’ defensive zone coverage was caught sleeping, and Travis Sanheim found Trevor Zegras on an open backdoor pass to Jacob Markstrom to give Philly an early 1–0 lead.

About 30 seconds later, Jack Hughes was whistled for tripping Owen Power, giving the Flyers their first power play of the game.

One minute into the Flyers man advantage, Porter Martone fed a streaking Zegras at the top of Markstrom’s crease while handling the puck along the far wall, redirecting the puck to Markstrom to give the Flyers an instant 2–0 lead.

The Devils began to swing the ice back their way in the latter half of the opening frame. Hughes and company finally pressured Flyers goaltender Dan Vlader with several chances.

Cody Glass eventually cut the Flyers’ lead in half to 2–1 when Jonas Seigenthaler found open ice, fired a shot on net that went past the Devils and past Vladar.

The Devils scored on a power play early in the second period after the Flyers were caught with too many men on the ice.

As the penalty ended, Tyson Foerster gained control of the puck at the Philly blueline, headed a 2-on-1 opportunity toward the Devils’ zone, and opted to shoot past Markstrom to extend the Flyers’ lead to 3–1.

Jesper Bratt had a chance to make a comeback against the Flyers when he found himself alone on a breakaway against Vladar. Still, his backhand chance went over the net, starting the Flyers odd-man rush to the other side.

In a tic-tac-toe game, Foerster scored his second goal of the night on a feed from Zegras, increasing the Flyers’ lead to 4–1.

An uneventful third period made no difference for the Devils.

Nick Seiler scored an empty net goal, a dagger on the game and the 2025–26 season, sealing a 5–1 defeat, the Devils’ 35th defeat of the season.

Markstrom made 13 saves on 17 shots, leading to his 19th loss of the season.

James is the fully certified New Jersey Devils beat reporter for New Jersey Hockey Now on SportsNote and … More about James Nicholls

The NBA Slam Dunk Contest has ended, and Miami Heat forward Keshad Johnson is this year’s winner. However, Orlando Magic guard Jace Richardson had a scary moment as he was completely knocked unconscious during one of his attempts.

Richardson, who is 20, ran along the baseline to attempt his dunk. However, the ball got stuck on the backboard, causing Richardson to fall and land directly on his back. Fortunately, he did not appear to suffer any related injuries, and he was able to get back on his feet after about three seconds.

Jace Richardson’s scary fall during the slam dunk contest 😱😱😳
pic.twitter.com/3aqWDBqAyS

– HoopVillain🔥 (@HoopVillain_) 15 February 2026

Richardson was one of the first contestants to be eliminated from the dunk contest. Jackson Hayes of the Los Angeles Lakers was the other contestant eliminated early. The Magic rookie at least got a chance to show off his athletic talents on Saturday, even if he didn’t win the dunk contest.

After being selected 25th overall by Orlando, Jace Richardson has had a great first year so far in the NBA. He plays an average of 12.1 minutes per game in a reserve role for the club. During 39 appearances off the bench, Richardson averaged 5.1 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. He’s also shooting 47.1% from the field and 37.3% from beyond the three-point line.

The Dunk Contest was the only competition Richardson competed in during NBA All-Star Weekend. He will now enjoy the remainder of the break before the Magic are back in action on Thursday, February 19, giving him approximately five days of rest. Orlando will face the Sacramento Kings in that contest.