Vegas' Mitch Marner thrives while Buffalo's Tage Thompson struggles in the 2nd round

Watching Mitch Marner from afar coaching other teams, John Tortorella saw a difference-making hockey player and heard all the criticism about a lack of playoff success and production. Now together with the Vegas Golden Knights, Tortorella does not see that weighing Marner down.

“I don’t think it bothers him a lick,” Tortorella said. “He just plays.”

After earning a reputation for shrinking this time of year over a nearly decade-long stint with Toronto that never included a run past the second round, Marner leads all scorers in the playoffs with 13 points and is tied for the most goals with six after his hat trick Friday night gave Vegas a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series against Anaheim. Over in the Eastern Conference, Buffalo's Tage Thompson struggling contributed to the Sabres losing to the Canadiens and evening up that matchup at one game apiece with play shifting to Montreal on Sunday.

Making his NHL postseason debut, Thompson said it's not anyone's business if he's injured and took responsibility for a bafflingly rough performance.

“Trying to chase the game, try and force plays that aren’t there and just wasn’t executing,” Thompson said. “Everything I touched turned into disaster tonight, so tough one. Got to be better.”

Thompson was a point-a-game performer through the first seven games of the playoffs, and coach Lindy Ruff chalked up Game 2 to frustration. Ruff expects a lot of his players to be better, including Thompson.

It's hard to be better than Marner was with four points in 23 minutes of ice time against the Ducks in Game 3. Linemate William Karlsson is getting a front-row seat to it — and hearing plenty of yelling when Marner wants the puck.

“He’s very vocal out there, so he makes it easy for you,” Karlsson said. “I always know where he is. That’s a great part of his game. But also, he sees passes kind of that aren’t there — but for him they are, and he makes it work.”

When/Where to Watch: Game 3, Sunday, 7 p.m. EDT (ESPN).

Series: Tied 1-1

The Canadiens got a pair of goals from winger Alex Newhook and one apiece from defensemen Mike Matheson and Alexandre Carrier on Friday night. To keep the momentum going back home at Bell Centre, they'll likely need more offense from two of their best players, Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky, who have gone ice cold.

Caufield — who had a career-high 51 goals and 88 points during the regular season — has been held off the scoresheet the past five games dating to the first round against Tampa Bay. Slafkovsky has one point in the past eight games.

“All season but especially in playoffs, it doesn’t really matter who’s going to put the puck in as long as you win the game,” Slafkovsky said.

Sam Carrick could be back for Buffalo after missing the past 15 games going back to getting injured March 31. Carrick's return should help the Sabres in the faceoff circle, where they're winning just 43% of draws, the lowest rate of any team in the playoffs.

When/Where to Watch: Game 4, Sunday, 9:30 p.m. EDT (ESPN)

Series: Vegas leads 2-1.

The Golden Knights are 3-1 on the road this postseason after beating the Ducks 6-2, and Tortorella — who coached the Lightning to the Stanley Cup 22 years ago — likes the away-from-home-ice advantage.

“It’s probably easier to play on the road,” Tortorella said. “You do simplify when you’re on the road. You just simply worry about playing hockey. There’s no other distractions, and you’re with your teammates more. I think that helps.”

Vegas is 6-2 on the road since Tortorella took over in late March.

“We like playing on the road,” defenseman Shea Theodore said. “It’s always fun to come into a loud building and shutting them up.”

AP Hockey Writer John Wawrow in Buffalo, New York, and AP Sports Writer Greg Beacham in Anaheim, California, contributed to this report.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart, left, and right wing Mitch Marner congratulate each other after the Golden Knights defeated the Anaheim Ducks in Game 3 of a second-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Friday, May 8, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Montréal Canadiens right wing Zachary Bolduc (76) and Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson (72) battle for the puck during the first period in Game 2 of a second-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Friday, May 8, 2026, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)

Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mitch Marner celebrates his goal during the second period in Game 3 of a second-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Anaheim Ducks, Friday, May 8, 2026, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

DENVER (AP) — A Frontier Airlines plane hit and killed a pedestrian on the runway of the Denver International Airport during takeoff, airport authorities said, sparking an engine fire and forcing passengers to evacuate.

The plane, on route from Denver to Los Angeles International Airport, “reported striking a pedestrian during takeoff at DEN at approximately 11:19 p.m. on Friday,” according to a post on the airport's official X account.

A spokesperson for the airport said the pedestrian, who jumped a perimeter fence, has died. They said the unidentified person was hit two minutes after entering the airport. The person is not believed to be an airport employee.

“We're stopping on the runway,” the pilot tells the control tower according to the site ATC.com. “We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”

The pilot tells the air traffic controller they have “231 souls” on board and that an “individual was walking across the runway.”

The air traffic controller responds that they are “rolling the trucks now” before the pilot tells the tower they “have smoke in the aircraft. We are going to evacuate on the runway.”

Frontier Airlines said in a statement that flight 4345 was the one involved in the collision and that “smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff.” It was not clear whether the smoke was linked to the crash with the pedestrian.

The airline said the plane was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members.

Passengers were evacuated via slides and the emergency crew bused them to the terminal. The airport spokesperson said 12 passengers suffered minor injuries and five were taken to local hospitals.

“We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities,” the airline said.

Denver Airport said the National Transportation Safety Board had been notified and that runway 17L, where the incident took place, was closed amid an investigation. It reopened Saturday around 11 a.m.

The pedestrian death came a day after a Delta Air Lines employee was killed while on the job at the Orlando International Airport. In a statement, the airline said the employee was killed Thursday night without providing details of the incident or the name of the employee.

“We are focused on extending our full support to family and taking care of our Orlando team during this difficult time,” the airline said. “We are working with local authorities as a full investigation gets underway to determine what occurred.”

FILE - A Frontier Airlines jetliner taxis down a runway for take off from Denver International airport on Nov. 25, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)