Artturi Lehkonen helped the Colorado Avalanche secure a series sweep over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday, scoring in overtime for a 6-5 win.

Lehkonen ultimately secured the 4-0 Western Conference finals win for the Avalanche in fortunate circumstances, left with a simple finish after his elevated stick helped the puck elude Oilers goaltender Mike Smith.

With a tightly contested game heading to OT, Cale Makar's shot from the face-off was picked up by Lehkonen with what was argued to be a high stick. The puck deflected off Smith and left the 26-year-old with a simple finish to win the game and series and following a review, the goal was allowed.

Despite the fortune that came with the eventual winning goal, the Finnish winger cited his team's ability to fight back a 3-1 deficit in the third period as equally important.

"Cale took the shot and I've got to say, it landed straight on my blade and I basically had an empty net in front of me," Lehkonen told TNT post-game.

"It was a great comeback win, for sure. We were talking during the second intermission that we just had to find our game and we could pull through this."

Mikko Rantanen stunningly put the Avalanche ahead with 5:14 remaining in regulation, in what was a four-goal period for the Western Conference's first seed.

After the Oilers let a 3-1 lead slip with their season on the line, Leon Draisatl and Connor McDavid combined to equalise, capitalising on Danell Nurse's defensive play to spring them into transition.

Advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 2001, the Avalanche will now face the winner of the series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers.

Luka Modric was relieved his 150th cap was not marked with a loss against a familiar foe, following Croatia's 1-1 draw with France in Split on Monday.

The home side equalised in the 83rd minute via Andrej Kramaric, who sent Mike Maignan the wrong way from the penalty spot, following Adrien Rabiot's goal in transition in the 52nd.

Following a disappointing second-half in their opening Nations League defeat to Austria, Croatia finished the stronger of the two teams following the introductions of Nikola Vlasic and Luka Sucic.

With the Vatreni having never beaten France at senior international level, including World Cup final and semi-final defeats, Modric was thankful his side could salvage a draw.

"Irrespective of the result, thank God we didn't lose," Modric said after the game. "But we can be content with the performance we displayed. We played well, compactly, bravely and that's what we were after.

"I think the players who came in gave us a new energy. They gave us a freshness and aggression, and in the end we scored, we can be pleased as a result. And if we scored with [Ante] Budimir's chance in the first half, the match might have gone in a different direction.

"Then again, we showed we can hold our own against France, for whoever you put in that team, they're always going to be competent, with enough players for three teams."

Playing in his native Dalmatia, Modric became the first player to ever receive 150 caps for Croatia on Monday, following their readmission as a nation by FIFA in 1992.

Also receiving a gift from the France team pre-match to mark the occasion, the 36-year-old was dignified in response.

"This is a phenomenal feeling," he said post-match. "I'm happy and proud that I was able to reach this achievement with Croatia. I really didn't expect this, but there you go, I'm very proud and happy to have done so.

"Thanks to the crowd for their reception. It's enough to make your hairs stand up. Thanks to them for that, and to the French and Deschamps for their gift. I didn't expect that either but it was a beautiful gesture from them."

Fielding an inexperienced side, Didier Deschamps insisted he will continue his search for optimal balance following France's 1-1 draw away to Croatia on Monday.

Following their opening Nations League defeat at home to Denmark, Les Bleus could only manage a point at the Poljud, with Andrej Kramaric equalising from the penalty spot following Adrien Rabiot's opening goal.

Deschamps went back to 4-4-2 after the opting for a 3-5-2 against Denmark, with several starting players under 10 caps including Moussa Diaby, Matteo Guendouzi, Christopher Nkunku and William Saliba.

With that relative lack of experience in mind, Deschamps was buoyant following his side's performance against the other 2018 World Cup finalist.

"We had overall control with two chances for 2-0 but we conceded a few too many situations to this Croatian team at the end," he said post-game. "The lines were stretched, but it was consistent overall. We could also have avoided the loss of possession at times. I can't be completely satisfied even though there are a lot more positives.

"We must also take into account the merit of the opponent. We also gave them the opportunity to equalise with this penalty. There are also all the changes at the end of the match. There were less than 200 caps in the team selected against Croatia. This is no excuse, but there are fewer automatisms."

The Vatreni finished the stronger of the two sides in Split, with chances falling to Luka Sucic and Nikola Vlasic upon their introductions.

France ended the game with a cumulative xG of 0.69 from seven shots in comparison to Croatia's 1.55 from eight, speaking to their growing inability to turn possession into something substantial in front of goal.

With one point out of a possible six, Deschamps insisted that while Les Bleus are not out of Nations League calculations, November's World Cup in Qatar requires experimentation in preparation for their title defence.

"We are in contention," he said after the match. "But with one point out of six, we are not in the best of moods. They are also preparation matches in anticipation of what awaits us at the end of the year. You have to see different things, different players and different systems.

"There were a lot of forced changes with worries and injuries. Compared to my starting lineup, I still have the same concern to put each player in the best conditions.

"We can always improve in defensive animation, but we can have problems with three, four or five [in defence]. I'm not frozen for the next game. But that doesn't mean I'm going to give up. I want to have more answers."

Darvin Ham insisted Russell Westbrook is one of the best players the NBA has ever seen upon his announcement as Los Angeles Lakers head coach on Monday.

The nine-time All-Star and former MVP had a patchy first season in the purple and gold despite averages of 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists.

The 33-year-old was widely regarded as the cause behind the Lakers finishing with a 33-49 record which saw them finish 11th in the Western Conference, even missing the Play-In Tournament.

Asked about fitting Westbrook with LeBron James and Anthony Davis during his introduction as the Lakers coach, Ham took the opportunity to defend the embattled point guard.

"Don't get it messed up," he said. "Russ is one of the best players our league has ever seen, and there's still a ton left in that tank. I don't know why people tend to try to write him off.

"I'm going to approach him like I do every player I've ever encountered. We're going to talk about our running habits, with the ball, without the ball. And again, the team, the rhythm of the team and trying to establish a rhythm with LeBron, Russ, AD.

"And again, share the load defensively and offensively. Defensively is where you're going to see us make our biggest leaps and bounds. We have to commit to the defensive side of the ball or we don't have a chance to do anything. Our offence won't even matter if we don't get stops."

After an eight-year playing career in the NBA, Ham got his first coaching job in the league working as an assistant at the Lakers, as a part of Mike Brown's staff in 2012-13.

After that season, the 48-year-old spent the following years on Mike Budenholzer's staff with the Atlanta Hawks and Milwaukee Bucks, winning the NBA title in 2021.

"The fact that I got my start as a coach here, this place will always be special for me," Ham said. "It's like a homecoming for me, in all seriousness."

"As sad as it is for me to be leaving coach Bud, sometimes you got to walk that walk on your own. We went from colleagues, to friends, to brothers while all the while making history."

Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald is not going anywhere and he is getting a $40million raise to continue haunting the nightmares of opposing quarterbacks. 

After some reports had surfaced that the three-time Defensive Player of the Year was considering retirement, NFL.com reported Monday that the Rams have restructured Donald's contract to guarantee him $95m over the next three seasons. 

While no years were added to Donald's deal, the added guaranteed money will make the seven-time All-Pro the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history, according to NFL.com's Ian Rapoport. 

One of the most disruptive defenders ever, Donald now turns his focus towards helping the Rams repeat as Super Bowl champions. 

Donald, 31, had 3.5 sacks last postseason, including two in Super Bowl LVI against the Cincinnati Bengals, helping to lead the Rams to their first title since the 1999 season. 

Drafted by the Rams 13th overall in 2014, Donald is the centerpiece of a "win-now" roster filled with high-priced veterans, such as quarterback Matthew Stafford, cornerback Jalen Ramsey and receiver Cooper Kupp. 

Donald's 98 career sacks rank sixth among active players and are tied for the fourth most all-time in the first eight seasons of a player's career. 

Tereza Martincova got off to a winning start at the Nottingham Open, where there were three British winners on home soil on Monday.

World number 60 Martincova recorded a 7-6 (7-1) 7-5 triumph over France's Oceane Dodin to ease into the second round in Nottingham.

Heather Watson, ranked 102nd in the world, had no problems as she eased past Katie Volynets 6-4 6-2, and fellow Briton Hannah Dart followed suit by defeating Donna Vekic 6-4 6-3.

Jodie Burrage completed the first-round sweep for British women, downing Lin Zhu 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.

At the Rosmalen Grass Court Championship, top seed Aryna Sabalenka was due to face Kateryna Baindl but bad weather curtailed the day's play early.

Earlier on, Anna Kalinskaya edged out Suzan Lamens 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 in the first round, while Catherine McNally, Storm Sanders, Olivia Gadecki and Jamie Loeb were all triumphant in qualifying.

Andrej Kramaric's VAR-assisted penalty snatched a late 1-1 draw for Croatia against France to deny Les Bleus a first win of the new Nations League campaign.

Adrien Rabiot's strike shortly after the break looked to have fired the visitors to victory in Group A1, in what was a rematch of the Russia 2018 World Cup final won by France.

But the hosts were able to take a share of the spoils in Split with the aid of VAR. Referee Marco Guida's decision to award a penalty for Jonathan Clauss' clumsy challenge on Kramaric was initially kiboshed by the linesman's flag but a review showed Luka Sucic had been onside when receiving Mislav Orsic's pass in the build-up.

Kramaric duly converted with seven minutes remaining at Stadion Poljud to inject a degree of late drama into a game otherwise marked by cagey performances, particularly across a first half that had struggled to burst into life.

Having slipped to an opening loss in their title defence against Demark on Friday, Didier Deschamps rung the changes for this clash, with all but one face swapped out.

With fearsome talents like Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema benched, though, it took until after the interval for the deadlock to be broken.

Seizing onto a terrific ball from Wissam Ben Yedder, midfielder Rabiot steered a superb finish above Dominik Livakovic and into the top-left corner.

That had looked to possibly be enough for the visitors, even as Luka Modric - on his 150th appearance for his country - had helped push for an equaliser.

Kramaric's late intervention, however, proved a return blow, and the two sides ultimately were forced to settle for a point.

Lorenzo Sonego eased into the second round of the Stuttgart Open on Monday, while Hugo Gaston enjoyed first-round success at the Rosmalen Grass Court Championships.

Sixth seed Sonego was the headline act on Monday in Stuttgart and made light work of Benoit Paire to win 7-5 6-2.

The Italian will next face Jan-Lennard Struff after the German edged out world number 53 Marcos Giron 7-5 5-7 7-6 (10-8).

"It's my first time here, it's my first tournament on grass and I'm really happy [with] this match," Sonego said after defeating Paire.

"It's never easy to pass from clay to grass, but I enjoy it because if I serve good it is easier for me."

Struff's compatriot Oscar Otte was another first-round winner with straight-sets victory over Daniel Altmaier, while Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi breezed past Feliciano Lopez.

In Rosmalen, poor weather wreaked havoc with the schedule but France's Gaston had little trouble against South Korean Kwon Soon-woo, winning 6-2 6-1 to reach the last 16, and Andreas Seppi battled past Gijs Brouwer in the second round of qualifying.

Seppi will be hoping to make it to the main draw, where world number two Daniil Medvedev is the top seed, with Felix Auger-Aliassime and Taylor Fritz also competing.

Phil Mickelson has confirmed he will play in the first event of the controversial LIV Golf Invitational Series, but he still intends to feature at the upcoming majors this year.

Dustin Johnson headlined the entrant list for the opening event at Centurion Club near London, which starts on Thursday, but Mickelson was an initial surprise omission from the entry list for the Saudi Arabia-funded competition.

Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen and Lee Westwood are also among the high-profile names set to feature at the three-day event that will have 12 teams and 48 players.

Mickelson was met with widespread condemnation after criticising the PGA Tour earlier this year, for which he apologised and vowed to take a step back from the game – even missing the defence of his US PGA Championship last month.

His comments on LIV Golf were also met with significant backlash after he said Saudi Arabia has "a horrible record on human rights", but added he was willing to commit to the league as it was "a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reshape how the PGA Tour operates".

But Mickelson, who once again reiterated his apologies for his earlier comments, announced on Monday that he will indeed play at the inaugural LIV Golf event.

"I am ready to come back to play the game I love but after 32 years this new path is a fresh start, one that is exciting for me at this stage of my career and is clearly transformative, not just for myself, but ideally for the game and my peers," the American said in a statement. 

"I also love the progressive format and think it will be exciting for fans. Just as importantly, it will provide balance, allowing me to focus on a healthier approach to life on and off the course.

"I am incredibly grateful for what this game and the PGA Tour has given me. I would like to think that I have given back as well but now I am excited about this new opportunity."

Mickelson opted to not defend his PGA Championship this year amid the furore, but the 51-year-old plans to return to compete at the majors alongside his LIV Golf involvement.

"I am thrilled to begin with LIV Golf and I appreciate everyone involved. I also intend to play the majors," he added.

"I fully realise and respect some may disagree with this decision and have strong opinions and I emphasise with that. I have a renewed spirit and excitement for the game.

"I am incredibly grateful for the support of my fans, partners, and peers and I hope in time, those sentiments, relationships and support continue."

Greg Norman, chief executive and commissioner of LIV Golf, added in a statement reported by Sky Sports: "Phil Mickelson is unequivocally one of the greatest golfers of this generation.

"His contributions to the sport and connection to fans around the globe cannot be overstated and we are grateful to have him.

"He strengthens an exciting field for London where we're proud to launch a new era for golf."

New Zealand all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme has been ruled out for the remainder of the Test series against England due to injury.

De Grandhomme pulled up on the third day of the first Test at Lord's, which England won by five wickets thanks to Joe Root's majestic unbeaten 115 in the fourth innings.

The Black Caps man, who top-scored in New Zealand's first innings with 42 not out and picked up match figures 1-27 from his 11.5 overs, left the field for treatment on Saturday and did not return.

De Grandhomme could have added another crucial wicket to his tally but overstepped when bowling England captain Stokes, on 1, with the hosts languishing at 79-4 chasing 277 to win.

But De Grandhomme will play no further part in the series after scans revealed a tear in his right heel. All-rounder Michael Bracewell, who was with the squad for the first Test as cover for Henry Nicholls, has been added to the squad as a replacement, with the second Test to start at Trent Bridge on Friday.

"It's a real shame for Colin to suffer this injury so early in the series," Black Caps coach Gary Stead said.

"He's a massive part of our Test side and we'll certainly miss him.

"It's great to be able to call on someone like Michael who's been with the squad for the past month and is match ready."

Stead confirmed De Grandhomme is likely to miss the next 10 to 12 weeks, which would rule him out white-ball tours to Ireland, Scotland and Netherlands alongside the Test series with England.

Rafael Nadal says it is "crazy" for people to even consider him completing the calendar Grand Slam after triumphing at the Australian Open and French Open.

The Spaniard returned from his long battle with a foot injury to claim the first major of the year in Melbourne, moving clear of Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic for the most grand slam titles in men's history.

Nadal added a record-extending 22nd major to his collection as he lifted a 14th French Open title on Sunday with a straight-sets victory over Casper Ruud.

The 36-year-old was given a couple of injections before every match and will undergo radio frequency injections in a bid to ensure he can go in search of a third major title of the year at the All England Club.

Nadal remains unsure whether he would undergo a major operation to prolong his career, but hopes to be able to be in London when Wimbledon starts on June 27.

Success on the grass courts of Wimbledon would be a third major of the year before the US Open starts at the end of August, but Nadal insists he cannot look that far ahead on his quest for all four grand slams.

"It's crazy to think about completing the Grand Slam after Australia and Roland Garros," he told

"I don't even consider it. More than winning the Grand Slam, I would sign up just to be able to play all four tournaments.

"It's crazy. To win all four, it seems crazy to me because it is something that nobody has done since Rod Laver. 

"The one who came closest was Novak last year. It's crazy to think about it."

While Nadal remains in contention for the calendar Slam, he continues to battle through a foot injury that has plagued him throughout his career.

But the prospect of retirement does not concern Nadal, who is prepared for life after tennis given the amount of times he has thought injury would curtail his playing days.

"I imagine just as I have experienced it many times in my career that I have had to be out of competition for months due to injuries," he added. 

"I have always been happy outside of tennis. It is not something that makes me lose sleep or have any fear of my life after tennis. 

"I have and have always had many things that make me happy beyond tennis."

Belgium star Romelu Lukaku will miss the Nations League clash with Poland due to injury as Roberto Martinez implored his side to respond from defeat to Netherlands.

Martinez's side are ranked second in the world but were thoroughly outplayed on Friday as Netherlands cruised to a 4-1 victory.

Lukaku limped off in the first half with the scores level, before goals from Steven Bergwijn, Denzel Dumfries and Memphis Depay secured Netherlands' first win on Belgian turf since 1997.

Martinez assured the issue with Lukaku was simply "a knock" after the game, but Belgium confirmed on Monday that the Chelsea striker will be absent for the clash with Poland on Wednesday.

The Red Devils added Lukaku has started treatment, leaving it unclear whether he will be fit to feature for the remaining clashes in June against Wales and the reverse fixture with Poland.

While Martinez may be without his talisman as Belgium ramp up their World Cup preparations for Qatar, the Red Devils coach urged his team to respond against Poland.

"[The Netherlands defeat] reminded us of the level we have to reach for the World Cup," he told reporters.

"This type of tough game will help us improve. We don't like to lose but we'll learn. It's an ongoing process, and the next test will come quickly against Poland."

The defeat to Netherland was also the first time Belgium had lost on home soil against any side since September 2017, while it was the first time the Red Devils had conceded four goals at home since October 2010.

Poland visit Brussels in the next League A Group 4 fixture and coach Czeslaw Michniewicz expects Belgium to come out fighting for a response.

"The Netherlands [won 4-1 in] Belgium, but both teams could have scored more; the Belgians had a lot of chances, plenty of set-pieces," Michniewicz said.

"We will have an interesting meeting with a team that has many classy individuals. Belgium will be motivated after such a heavy defeat."