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The Vegas Golden Knights struck first by following the script that has been so successful for them in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, coming from behind to win with discipline, offense and a dash of the unexpected from Adin Hill.

Zach Whitecloud and Mark Stone scored less than seven minutes apart in the third period, Hill made 33 saves that included a highlight-reel stick save with the game tied early in the second period, and the Golden Knights defeated the Florida Panthers 5-2 in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday.

The Golden Knights improved to 8-3 when allowing the first goal in the playoffs. They have nine come-from-behind wins.

“We don’t change anything,” said Stone, the Vegas captain. “We stick to the program. We stick to what makes us successful. We don’t get rattled.”

A couple of weeks ago, Mets manager Buck Showalter asked a few veterans to step into a meeting. The team had just called up Mark Vientos, a big-swinging righty without a true position, and there surely would be fewer at-bats to go around.

The group did not include any complainers. Mark Canha told his manager he just wanted to win.

A couple of weeks later, Canha — whose playing time has dipped, if not dived, amid a slow start and a crowded clubhouse — ensured a Mets victory.

The previously struggling outfielder blasted his first home run since May 3 and drove in all of the Mets’ runs in a 4-1 win over the Phillies at Citi Field.

The Mets (29-27) assured themselves of winning the series over their division rival before the finale Thursday and have bounced back after a  2-4 road trip.

They only needed two hits Tuesday — a home run from Francisco Lindor and an RBI single from Eduardo Escobar — to win the series opener, and they only needed one lively bat a night later.

Anthony Volpe, Greg Allen and Isiah Kiner-Falefa took care of the heavy lifting early. Aaron Judge provided the final punch. 

Judge homered for the third time in two games, Volpe and Allen also went deep and the New York Yankees stretched their winning streak to four with a 10-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners.

The Yankees moved a season-high 11 games over .500, and have posted 20 runs and 30 hits in the first two games of the series against one of the American League’s top pitching staffs. 

“Everybody’s chipping in right now and everybody’s passing the baton, and good things are happening when you’re not afraid to pass it to the next guy,” Kiner-Falefa said. 

Judge hit a towering fly ball on the first pitch of the seventh inning from reliever Darren McCaughan that carried just enough to clear the fence in left-center field, even if it would not have been a homer at Yankee Stadium.

Emmitt Smith announced plans for his newest business venture.

Smith is opening a massive restaurant and entertainment venue on the Las Vegas Strip. The former Dallas Cowboys star shared a rendering of the 30,000-square-foot establishment on Wednesday and said it is scheduled to open at some point in 2023.

While the exact location has not yet been revealed, there has been speculation that the restaurant will be at Fashion Show Mall.

Smith said the venue will host live concerts, watch parties, and other upscale events.

Smith, 52, seems like he has been quite busy over the past several months. In addition to working on his new Las Vegas business, he also recently listed his Dallas mansion for sale.

The Miami Heat are marching on to the NBA Finals, where they will face the Denver Nuggets, after a 103-84 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game  7 of the Eastern Conference finals. 

With the win, Miami avoids the dubious distinction of being the first team in NBA history to blow a 3-0 lead in a playoff series. Teams that go up 3-0 are now 151-0 all-time. It wasn’t easy. It didn’t look good after the way Game 6 was ripped from their hands with a miraculous Derrick White buzzer-beating tip-in. But Miami got it done. 

“I think a lot of people can relate to this team,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. “Sometimes you have to suffer for the things you really want.”

Credit the Celtics for fighting back to force a Game 7. They are just the fourth of those 151 teams to even do that much after going down 3-0, but they couldn’t get over the hump as Jayson Tatum rolled his ankle early and clearly wasn’t right the whole night, Jaylen Brown (eight turnovers, 8-of-23 shooting) was awful, and Boston’s 3-point shooting (21%), yet again, was atrocious. 

The Florida Panthers had the opportunity to make history Wednesday night against the Carolina Hurricanes. They did not squander it.

The Panthers, a team which made the playoffs by a single point, are headed to the Stanley Cup Final for only the second time in franchise history after beating the Hurricanes 4-3 at FLA Live Arena in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Matthew Tkachuk — the hero of this postseason not named ‘Bobrovsky’ — scored with 4.9 seconds left for the game-winner.

It was his second goal of the night and third game-winning goal of this four-game sweep.

Florida, which has not been to the Cup Final since the 1996 campaign, will play either the Vegas Golden Knights or Dallas Stars.

Powered by a history-making Nikola Jokić triple-double, the Denver Nuggets rallied for a 113-111 win to complete a 4-0 sweep of the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference finals. The victory continued a remarkable postseason run by the Nuggets while securing their first-ever trip to the NBA Finals. They did so while overcoming the best effort of the postseason by one of the game’s all-time greats.

Lebron James started the game on fire, scoring 21 points in the first quarter as the Lakers took a 34-26 lead. He shot 7-of-9 from the field, including a 4-of-4 effort from 3-point distance. A lob attempt from beyond the 3-point arc instead dropped through the net for a basket in a sign of things to come.

The bucket sparked a personal 8-0 run by James that gave the Lakers a 23-15 lead. He remained hot throughout the half, and didn’t leave the game until taking an early break to the locker with with 4.3 seconds remaining in the half. The Lakers led 73-58 at the break powered by James’ 31 first-half points.

But the Nuggets weren’t fazed. From there, the game remained a back-and-forth battle through the final minute. But as they’ve done all postseason, the Nuggets made the big plays when it mattered most down the stretch. A Jokić layup in traffic with 51.1 seconds remaining gave Denver the lead for good at 113-11.

Young Reds starter Hunter Greene had some nasty stuff early on Sunday morning in Cincinnati, but the Yankees made their four hits against him count. Homers from Harrison Bader and Gleyber Torres put New York ahead, and the Bombers won Luis Severino’s much-anticipated season debut, 4-1.

Luis Severino’s return was worth the wait. It took longer than initially expected when he strained his lat in the final week of spring training, and he is still not all the way built up after an abbreviated rehab assignment. 

But working on a pitch count of 75, Severino got stronger as his season debut went on. The right-hander struck out five over 4 innings of one-run ball, retiring nine of the final 10 batters he faced in an encouraging outing overall. 

“I feel pretty good,” Severino said. “Feel like I was attacking the  zone after the first walk. But everything else was really good.” 

Severino also built up his velocity as the game went on, averaging 96.7 mph with his fastball but topping out at 98.6 mph on a strikeout of Kevin Newman in the fifth inning. 

After making a brief appearance earlier this year, Taco Bell is bringing back its Mexican Pizza permanently. 

The Mexican Pizza features two crispy flour shells, layered with beans, pizza sauce, seasoned beef, tomatoes and a melted three cheese blend all for a suggested price. You can also get it vegetarian without the seasoned beef.

When the Mexican Pizza made its highly anticipated return back in May, Taco Bell was forced to pull the fan-favorite from national menus because demand outpaced supply. In fact, demand was so high that one location in California reportedly sold 1,000 Mexican Pizzas in a single day.