Sports
Ascending Flyers take aim at reeling Bruins
Oct 31, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Samuel Ersson (33) during a break against the St. Louis Blues during the second period at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images The Boston Bruins don’t have to wait long for their shot at revenge against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Four days after getting shut out by the Flyers on their home ice, the Bruins hope to return the favor when they visit Philadelphia for a Saturday matinee.
On Tuesday evening, the Flyers rode a 23-save performance from Samuel Ersson to a 2-0 victory over Boston. Tyson Foerster scored in the second period and Joel Farabee added an empty-net goal for Philadelphia.
The Flyers carried that momentum into Thursday’s home game against the St. Louis Blues, as they skated away with a 2-1 victory in that contest with Ersson playing a starring role once again. The Swedish netminder made 20 saves against St. Louis as Philadelphia improved to 2-1-0 since the team’s six-game losing streak (0-5-1).
“We cannot be satisfied,” Ersson said. “We know we’re getting some wins now, but we’ve got to keep playing like this too. We see the effort level, what it’s got to be for us to get results.”
Bobby Brink scored the game-winning goal for the Flyers in the win over the Blues, redirecting a pass from Farabee into the net with just over three minutes remaining.
“I’m happy for Bobby Brink,” Flyers coach John Tortorella said, adding that the forward’s work on the decisive goal was “a really good offensive play.”
While Brink was able to celebrate his second goal of the young season, several of his teammates still are searching for their offensive touch. Owen Tippett has only one goal, while Scott Laughton has two (both of which came in the same game) and Morgan Frost has yet to find the back of the net.
“We’ll get out of it,” Tortorella said. “Some of these better offensive guys will get out of it, and we’ll be a better team for it, if we just stay within our structure.”
Meanwhile, the Bruins have dropped five of their last six games (1-4-1), including a couple of particularly ugly defeats. They were hammered by the Carolina Hurricanes 8-2 on Thursday as they allowed four first-period goals, including three in a span of 52 seconds.
“Their puck pressure gave us a lot of problems,” Boston coach Jim Montgomery said. “The bottom line is, it doesn’t matter what facet of our game it was, it wasn’t good enough. Right now, nobody is happy with what’s going on. It starts by sticking together and working. There’s no substitute for second and third effort.”
Montgomery mixed up the lines to try to find an offensive spark for his team, which has registered a total of nine goals over the last six contests.
“Monty’s just trying to get us going,” star winger David Pastrnak said. “… Personally, I have no problem with it. I can read off anybody. Right now, it’s not about the combinations. We are not good enough as a team and that’s where it starts.”
Pastrnak has scored a team-high six goals this season but hasn’t tallied in the last two games. Nobody else on Boston has more than three goals on the season.
“The compete level needs to be way higher,” Pastrnak said. “Details, that’s what’s going to get us out of there.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Minnesota United, FC Dallas put unbeaten streaks on line
Apr 18, 2026; Frisco, Texas, USA; FC Dallas forward Petar Musa (9) scores a goal against the LA Galaxy during the first half at Toyota Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Chris Jones-Imagn Images Two teams riding extended unbeaten strings meet Wednesday night when Minnesota United visit FC Dallas in Frisco, Texas.
Coming off a 2-0 win Saturday night over the Portland Timbers, Minnesota (4-2-2, 14 points) is 3-0-1 over its last four matches. Its three straight wins constitute its longest winning streak in nearly two calendar years.
Meanwhile, Dallas (3-1-4, 13 points) is 2-0-3 in its last five fixtures, including a 2-2 draw Saturday night with the Los Angeles Galaxy. It could have been a three-point result but Kaick’s goal in the 75th minute was flagged for an offsides violation.
Minnesota has hit its stride in part because of the recent form of midfielder Tomas Chancalay. The Argentinian has hit the scoresheet in three straight matches, scoring a goal and assisting on the other goal against Portland.
Chancalay has looked a lot like the guy who the New England Revolution spent $3.1 million for three years ago instead of the player they traded to Minnesota after last season for $100,000.
“I am really happy here,” Chancalay said of his new organization. “The team put their confidence in me here in Minnesota. I’m happy to stay here and I want to help the team.”
While Chancalay is playing well, no one in MLS these days is scoring like Dallas’ Petar Musa. His brace in the first half gave Dallas a 2-0 lead but its defense gassed it by conceding twice before halftime.
Musa leads the league with nine goals, two more than Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi and Nashville SC’s Sam Surridge. But Dallas’ inability to see a two-goal advantage through over the final 52 minutes was concerning to coach Eric Quill.
“Your mentality has to be disciplined, together and committed on every play,” Quill said. “It was little details that changed the game and we know those moments can’t happen. We need to improve our discipline because I think we’re going to have leads often.”
It marked the second time in this recent unbeaten stretch that Dallas has coughed up a two-goal advantage.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Frustrated San Diego FC vying for better result at Dynamo
Mar 22, 2026; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego FC defender Luca Bombino (27) moves the ball during the first half against Real Salt Lake at Snapdragon Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Chadd Cady-Imagn Images San Diego FC hope to snap out of an extended funk when they travel east to square off against the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday in a Western Conference match.
San Diego (3-3-2, 11 points) hasn’t tasted victory since a 1-0 win at Sporting Kansas City on March 7 and heads to the Bayou City with a five-game winless swoon. The team has dropped its past three matches and has been outscored 9-3 in those games.
The most recent of those setbacks was a 4-2 loss at Real Salt Lake on Saturday in which San Diego conceded two goals in the first six minutes and never recovered. Marcus Ingvartsen and Anders Dreyer found the net for San Diego FC, with the latter a window dressing tally on a penalty kick in the 66th minute after the side trailed by three.
“It’s definitely frustrating because we expect a lot from ourselves,” San Diego defender Luca Bombino said. “Things haven’t necessarily gone our way, but we know that we have all the talent and the hard work within the squad to achieve the things we want to do.”
It’s been feast or famine for Houston (3-4-0, 9 points) this season. A 1-0 win at Orlando City on Saturday showed that things may be turning for the Dynamo after three straight losses in MLS play, which included a 6-2 shellacking on the road against Colorado on April 11.
Hector Herrera’s goal in the 75th minute, his first of the season, was the difference in the win over Orlando as the Dynamo captured both their first road win of the year and their first clean sheet of the season.
“I still think we can be clearer on how to build the game and have longer possessions and make better decisions and not have to defend as much as we’ve had to,” Houston coach Ben Olsen said. “Until we’re well-oiled and we know exactly who we are, we have to have character and personality and resiliency.”
San Diego has just four points from four road games this season, including one win. The Dynamo are 2-2-0 on their home pitch.
The sides played twice in 2025, with each winning on the road.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Victor Wembanyama (concussion) to miss rest of Spurs-Blazers Game 2
Apr 21, 2026; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija (8) drives to the basket past San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) during the first half of game two of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Frost Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Scott Wachter-Imagn Images San Antonio star center Victor Wembanyama was forced from Game 2 of the Spurs’ first-round playoff series with the Portland Trail Blazers on Tuesday with an apparent concussion after hitting his face on the floor early in the second quarter.
The Spurs later announced that Wembanyama had entered concussion protocol and would not return to the game.
Wembanyama hit his face on in the floor at near-full speed after being knocked off his feet during a drive to the basket at the 8:57 mark of the second period, with the contact leaving him dazed enough to struggle standing up before jogging off the floor to the locker room.
San Antonio trailed 34-32 at the time of Wembanyama’s exit and he had amassed five points, four rebounds, an assist and a blocked shot in 11:41 of court time when he was injured. The game was tied 57-57 by halftime.
The Spurs have had plenty of success without their star this season. Wembanyama missed 18 games this season with various injuries, with San Antonio going 12-6 in those games.
–Field Level Media
Minnesota United, FC Dallas put unbeaten streaks on line
Frustrated San Diego FC vying for better result at Dynamo
