SEATTLE (AP) — Logan Cooley scored twice for the first of Utah's six straight goals, Karel Vejmelka made 25 saves and Mammoth beat the Seattle Kraken 6-2 on Thursday night for their second straight victory.
Utah has a five-point lead for the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
After Cooley erased Seattle's two-goal lead with his 21st and 22nd goals, Nick Schmaltz put Utah ahead on a power play with 5:04 left in the second period. He has 28 goals.
JJ Peterka, Dylan Guenther with his team-leading 37th, and Michael Carcone scored in the third.
Jordan Eberle scored his 24th goal, and Bobby McMann had his 27th for Kraken. Seattle goalie Joey Daccord stopped 25 shots.
The Kraken lost for the seventh time — five in regulation — in eight games and trail three teams for the final wild-card spot in the West.
Kraken forward Ryan Winterton, who took a temporary leave of absence last month, rejoined the team for its morning skate Thursday. It is unclear yet when Winterton will return to action.
Mammoth: At Vancouver on Saturday.
Kraken: Host Chicago on Saturday night.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL
Utah Mammoth center Logan Cooley (92) skates during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings Saturday, March 28, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic injured his left hamstring on Thursday night and coach JJ Redick said the league's scoring leader will have an MRI on Friday.
Redick said Doncic had an issue with the hamstring in the first half of the 139-97 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder and was tended to at the break.
“We checked him out, he got work done, he was cleared," Redick said.
Doncic returned to action briefly. On his final play of the game, he spun before trying to go up for a shot against Oklahoma City's Jalen Williams. There was no contact before he stopped, then lay down on the floor. He left the game with 7:39 remaining in the third quarter.
“Those things happen,” Redick said.
Doncic had scored at least 40 points in five of his previous seven games. He was held to 12 on 3-for-10 shooting against Oklahoma City's relentless defense.
The injury made a bad night worse. The Lakers trailed 90-58 when Doncic left the game for good.
“I mean, it’s something you never want to see as a teammate,” Lakers forward Jake LaRavia said. “So especially in a game like this, it was tough to see him go down. All the prayers for him hopefully, but yeah, you never want to see that.”
Lakers guard Austin Reaves also left briefly with a back injury.
“He was in a weird position, stretching for a basketball, loose ball," Redick said. "And he just felt something intercostal, somewhere in his back, in between the ribs. He was able to play through it ... we’ll see how he feels tomorrow.”
The Lakers will host a rematch with the Thunder on April 7.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA
Los Angeles Lakers forward/guard Luka Dončić (77) drives against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April. 2, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Gerald Leong)
