The Edmonton Oilers are one win away from a return trip to the Stanley Cup Final.

The Oilers defeated the Dallas Stars, 4-1, on Tuesday night to take a 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference finals.

Dallas had a strong first period, outshooting the Oilers 16-10, but the Stars couldn’t get a shot past Edmonton goaltender Stuart Skinner and found themselves down 1-0 thanks to a Leon Draisaitl power-play goal.

From there, the Oilers started to put the clamps on.

The second period was much more even, with the Oilers putting up 10 shots to the Stars’ nine. Dallas tied the game at 6:57 of the second on a Jason Robertson power-play goal but the Oilers got another power-play goal a little over two minutes later to take the lead for good.

That 2-1 lead held up because Edmonton put on a defensive masterclass in the third period.

The Oilers held the Stars to just four shots while putting up 13 themselves in the final frame. Edmonton couldn’t beat Jake Oettinger (30 saves) again, but it finally sealed the game with two empty-net tallies.

Skinner stopped 28 of the 29 shots he faced.

Game 5 is Thursday night in Dallas (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).

“They’re going to be desperate, we know that, but we got to obviously match that,’ Draisaitl told ESPN, looking ahead to Game 5.

Stars vs. Oilers highlights

Final: Oilers 4, Stars 1

Another empty-net goal for the Oilers at 19:10, this one from long range from Adam Henrique.

Score update: Oilers 3, Stars 1

That should do it.

Kasperi Kapanen’s empty-net goal gives the Oilers a two-goal lead with just over two minutes to go.

Score update: Oilers 2, Stars 1

Some redemption for Corey Perry.

His penalty led to Dallas’ equalizing goal, but he gives the Oilers the lead again with yet another power-play strike at 9:20.

Score update: Stars 1, Oilers 1

Jason Robertson gets the Stars on the board with their 21st shot of the game.

His power-play goal at 6:57 levels things after the Oilers killed off the Stars’ first two power-play opportunities.

Zach Hyman injury update: Oilers forward out for rest of Game 4

Edmonton will be down a key forward for the final two periods of Game 4.

Zach Hyman went to the locker room in the first period and never returned following a check from Mason Marchment.

End of first period: Oilers 1, Stars 0

Dallas didn’t score in the first period and Stuart Skinner is mostly to thank for that. The Stars peppered the Oilers’ goalie with 17 shots but he stopped them all.

The Stars will have nearly a full power play to work with on fresh ice to start the second period after Vasily Podkolzin was called for roughing at 19:52.

Score update: Oilers 1, Stars 0

Edmonton is on the board first, courtesy of a Leon Draisaitl power-play goal.

The Rocket Richard winner potted his seventh goal of the playoffs in signature fashion: with a one-timer from the right faceoff circle. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Corey Perry got the assists on the goal at 11:23 of the first.

What time is Edmonton Oilers vs. Dallas Stars Game 4?

Game 4 of the Stars-Oilers series is Tuesday, May 27 at 8 p.m. ET in Edmonton, Alberta.

How to watch Stars vs. Oilers NHL playoff game: TV, stream

Time: 8 p.m. ET/6 p.m. local

Location: Rogers Place (Edmonton, Alberta)

TV: ESPN

Stream: ESPN+, Fubo

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The New York Knicks are in a 3-1 hole in the Eastern Conference finals, and they may have to attempt a series comeback without Karl-Anthony Towns.

New York’s big man was injured late in the Game 4 loss to the Indiana Pacers Tuesday. With just more than two minutes left, Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith was driving toward the basket when Towns attempted a close out. The two players collided and Towns’ left knee bumped into Nesmith’s right knee. Towns immediately grabbed at his knee and went down to the floor in visible pain.

Towns was able to get up and had a noticeable limp as he walked to the bench. Despite being slowed down by the injury, Towns remained in the contest. He finished with 24 points, 12 rebounds and three assists.

Karl-Anthony Towns to be evaluated

Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau didn’t know the extent of the injury following the defeat but he will be examined before Game 5.

‘He was able to go back in, so that’s a good sign. We’ll see where he is after he gets evaluated,’ Thibodeau said.

In 2024, Towns’ suffered a torn left meniscus that forced him to miss a month of action before he returned before the playoffs.

Towns has had a key role for a New York team playing in the Eastern Conference finals for the first time since 2000. He has averaged 21.3 points per game this postseason, second-most for the Knicks behind Jalen Brunson. He’s also averaging a team-high 11.4 rebounds per game in the playoffs.

If it weren’t for Towns, the season could already be over for New York. He played a key role in the Game 3 comeback by scoring 20 points in the fourth quarter as the Knicks came back from 20 points down to win their first game of the series.

New York will be playing to keep its season alive with Game 5 at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.

Former NBA player and six-time All-Star Shawn Kemp pleaded guilty to an assault charge after he shot two men inside a Washington state mall parking lot in 2023.

Kemp pleaded guilty to second-degree assault in Pierce County Superior Court on Tuesday, according to court documents obtained by USA TODAY Sports. Kemp was initially charged with one count of first-degree assault with a firearm enhancement, but prosecutors amended the charges last week to add a second first-degree assault charge with a firearm enhancement, as well as drive-by shooting. Kemp could have served a lengthy prison sentence had he been convicted on the original charges.

With the guilty plea, prosecutors recommended Kemp be sentenced to nine months in jail, one year of community service and to pay restitution. He will be sentenced on Aug. 22, when both sides of the case will be able to argue for their preferred sentence, according to the Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office. Officials said the standard range for the offense with someone with no criminal history is three to nine months.

This was an “open” plea agreement, so both sides will be free to argue for their preferred sentence on Aug. 22. What Mr. Kemp pleaded guilty to is a felony and a strike offense.

‘Shawn is committed to moving forward in a positive direction,’ Kemp’s attorney Tim Leary told The Seattle Times. ‘He was presented with an offer from the state that allows him to take responsibility, but I think also recognizes the self-defense nature of how this transpired.’

The incident occurred on March 8, 2023 when Kemp said his car was broken into, and several items such as his phone and memorabilia from his basketball career were stolen, according to court documents. Kemp was able to track his phone to a Toyota 4Runner and tried to talk to the driver about his missing phone. Later, he tracked his phone to the Tacoma Mall, where he saw the same 4Runner as before, the defense stated.

Court documents said a man in the back seat of the 4Runner fired a gun at Kemp, who then fired back at the vehicle. The two occupants of the 4Runner were not injured but the vehicle was as it fled.

Kemp was arrested in connection to the incident and was released a day later. The two men, ages 39 and 35, in the 4Runner are currently serving prison sentences due to other cases.

A first-round selection in the 1989 NBA Draft, Kemp became a star for the Seattle SuperSonics, playing eight seasons with the team while forming an on-court combo with Gary Payton. He also had stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Portland Trail Blazers and Orlando Magic during the course of his 14 seasons in the league.

Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper was removed early from Tuesday’s matchup against the Atlanta Braves after he was hit in the elbow by a pitch.

The injury occurred in the bottom of the first inning when a 95 mph fastball from Braves pitcher Spencer Strider drilled Harper, who was immediately in pain. After trying to walk it off, he went down to the ground and didn’t move his right arm. Team medical personnel attended to Harper before escorting him back to the dugout.

Harper was hit on the same arm he had Tommy John surgery on in November 2022 after leading Philadelphia to the 2022 World Series. He missed the first month-plus of the 2023 season before he came back in May, marking the fastest return on record by a MLB who underwent Tommy John surgery (160 days). 

He was replaced Tuesday by Edmundo Sosa, who moved to third base the following inning with Alec Bohm moving from third to first base for Harper.

The Phillies said Harper suffered a right elbow contusion and that X-rays for Harper were negative, according to several reports.

‘We’ll have to re-evaluate in the morning, but the X-rays were negative. He was certainly in a lot of pain,’ Phillies manager Rob Thomson said.

It’s currently unknown if Harper will miss any time, but it was a scary sight for a Philadelphia team that is rolling. The Phillies recently were on a nine-game win streak and entering Tuesday, their 34-19 record was the best in baseball. Harper has played a major role in that with a .267 batting average with eight home runs and 33 RBIs on the season.

This story has been updated with new information

MIRAMAR BEACH, Fla. — Light the cigars, folks, and score a noteworthy step toward the preservation of SEC rivalry games.

A longstanding discussion point around SEC circles has been that, unless the conference moves to a nine-game conference schedule, prominent secondary rivalry games like Alabama-Tennessee and Auburn-Georgia could fall off the annual schedule.

But, there’s a conference schedule model on the table that would preserve multiple annual rivalry games for at least some SEC schools, even within an eight-game conference schedule format.

The rivalry games for those teams would come in addition to other rivalries like the Iron Bowl, Florida-Georgia and Oklahoma-Texas.

“We’re attentive to real, key rivalries, and we have (eight-game) models that can accommodate those,” SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey said Tuesday.

The conference eliminated divisions after expanding to 16 teams with the additions of Oklahoma and Texas. That prompted a renewed look at schedule format and rivalry preservation. Debate on the SEC’s schedule continues among stakeholders this week at the conference’s spring meetings.

Two years ago, the conference considered two primary schedule models: An eight-game model that would preserve only one rival per team; or, a nine-game model that would earmark three annual rivals per team.

The nine-game model would have assured Alabama would keep playing the Iron Bowl and the “Third Saturday in October” game against Tennessee, after which the victorious team lights cigars.

For Georgia, the nine-game model would mean continuing to play Florida every year, but also keeping alive the “Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry” against Auburn.

The SEC voted in 2023 to retain an eight-game conference schedule for two years. But, the conference devised the eight-game lineup so that it kept key secondary rivalries like Auburn-Georgia and Alabama-Tennessee on the schedule.

Now, the SEC’s schedule is up for review again. The SEC has not voted on a schedule format for 2026 and beyond.

So, will it be eight or nine games? No verdict yet.

But, even if it stays at eight, that doesn’t mean Alabama-Tennessee, Auburn-Georgia or Texas-Texas A&M must go on the chopping block. Sankey made that clear Tuesday.

Sankey wouldn’t commit to every SEC team being assigned two rivals within an eight-game schedule model, but keeping multiple rivalry games alive is an option for certain teams.

“We have ideas,” Sankey said.

Sankey would not commit to a timeline on when the SEC will vote on its schedule format for 2026.

One item affecting that decision: The College Football Playoff format for 2026 has not been approved. Multiple athletics directors and coaches expressed reluctance to determine a conference schedule model before the future CFP format is decided.

And, in fact, Sankey said the future playoff format might not be finalized until several months from now. The uncertain nature of the CFP “is a bit of an inconvenient reality, but that’s reality,” Sankey said.

Sankey, at least, sounded open to the SEC deciding the conference’s 2026 schedule format before the playoff format is hammered out.

“You can make decisions about what you can control,” like the conference’s schedule, Sankey said, “and then you can have influence over” the playoff format.

One element within the SEC’s control: Whether to retain primary rivalry games, plus at least some secondary rivalry games. And Sankey made clear that multiple avenues remain to retain some prominent secondary rivalries.

“The conversation about annual games that need to be played has been a focus” for several years, Sankey said.

That’s encouraging news for those wanting to smell the cigar smoke every year after the “Third Saturday in October,” or those who want to see Auburn and Georgia continue a rivalry that dates to 1892.

The rivalries continued throughout the conference’s division era, even though those rivals were in opposite divisions.

Even as the conference swelled to 12 teams, then to 14, and now at 16, Auburn-Georgia and Alabama-Tennessee have remained a fixture of the SEC’s schedule in every season since World War II.

“We’ve presented (a model) to protect those in an eight-game schedule, going forward,’ Sankey said.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network’s national college football columnist. Email him at BToppmeyer@gannett.com and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.

Former Olympic champion gymnast Mary Lou Retton was arrested earlier this month in West Virginia for DUI.

She was later released after posting $1,500 bond.

Retton was in the news last year when her daughter revealed on social media that the 1984 Olympic all-around champion was ‘fighting for her life’ with ‘a very rare form of pneumonia’ and was not insured.

That led to a flood of donations totaling over $450,000 – but also to questions about basic details of Retton’s illness, whether or not she had health insurance and exactly how the money collected was being spent.

Retton did agree to an interview with NBC’s ‘Today Show’ in January 2024, appearing with an oxygen tube in her nose and describing a harrowing, month-long hospital stay, including a moment when ‘they were about to put me on life support,’ she said.

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Retton’s daughter, McKenna Kelley, told USA TODAY Sports at that time Retton could not get affordable health care because of pre-existing conditions, which she said include ‘over 30 orthopedic surgeries, including four hip replacements.’

Retton later told NBC in the interview that she was able to get medical insurance.

Retton’s family said that any funds remaining after her medical expenses were paid would be donated to a charity of her choice. But no further information was ever revealed.