It's officially summer, and the best two teams in hockey during the winter months of the 2023-24 NHL season are still playing.

Before the puck drops and before 18,000 fans sing O Canada in unison at Edmonton Oilers home games, the audience hears from Chief Willie Littlechild.

A couple of questions are making the rounds as the Edmonton Oilers prepare to play another elimination game on Tuesday night in the Stanley Cup final.

When asked if he was comfortable with a 3-1 series lead over the Edmonton Oilers in this title series, Panthers coach Paul Maurice said, "there's no comfort in the playoffs."

Luka Doncic scored 25 of his 29 points in the first half, Kyrie Irving added 21 points and the Dallas Mavericks emphatically extended their season on Friday night, fending off elimination by beating the Boston Celtics 122-84 in Game 4 of the NBA Finals.

Boston frittered away almost all of what was a 21-point lead before winning 106-99 to take a 3-0 lead in the NBA Finals, moving one win away from what would be their record-setting 18th championship.

Jerry West, who was selected to the Basketball Hall of Fame three times in a storied career as a player and executive and whose silhouette is considered to be the basis of the NBA logo, died Wednesday morning, the Los Angeles Clippers announced. He was 86.