Sports
Rangers adjusting without injured Adam Fox, take on Maple Leafs
Feb 23, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox (23) handles the puck against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the first period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images While the New York Rangers routed the New York Islanders on Tuesday, they ended the night facing a potential long-term issue of replacing Adam Fox, one of the NHL’s more productive defensemen.
Fox is on injured reserve due to an upper-body injury and the Rangers will be without him for at least week and likely more starting Friday night when they host the surging Toronto Maple Leafs.
Fox was injured when he fell to the ice in Elmont, N.Y., during the third period of New York’s 5-1 rout of the Islanders. Fox was holding his left shoulder when he exited after getting tangled with Islanders forward Kyle MacLean and is expected to return at some point during New York’s final 24 games.
Fox has five goals and 48 points, good for a tie for fourth among defensemen. He is the third of New York’s top six defensemen to be injured this season.
Ryan Lindgren, who is paired with Fox, missed the first five games due to a preseason face injury. K’Andre Miller was on injured reserve in December and missed a week with an upper-body injury and was a non-contact participant at Thursday’s practice after sustaining a lower-body injury Tuesday.
The Rangers are attempting to get their third straight win after returning from the 4 Nations Face-off break with an 8-2 road loss to the Buffalo Sabres. The Rangers were outshot by a combined 77-34 in their wins over the Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins but scored a combined 10 goals. They were fueled by their fourth-liners against the Islanders as Jonny Brodzinski scored twice and set up a goal by Matt Rempe.
“Everything’s about just winning games right now and points going in the column,” Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said. “It really doubles down when you’re playing a team that’s somewhere near you in the standings right now, so for that reason, it was a big game.”
Chris Kreider missed the past two games with an upper-body injury that may be related to an earlier back injury but practiced on Thursday, an indication he could be able to return Friday. J.T. Miller, who scored his fifth goal since being acquired from the Vancouver Canucks, was held out of practice due to an illness.
Whoever is in the Rangers’ lineup will face a team who returned from the break and scored 16 goals in wins over the Carolina Hurricanes, Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins. The Maple Leafs are also 6-1-0 in their past seven since being held to three goals in a three-game losing streak Jan. 22-29.
Toronto is coming off a 5-4 win at Boston on Tuesday when it rallied after allowing the first three goals. Mitch Marner scored twice and netted the game-winner with 52 seconds left in overtime to cap a night when the Maple Leafs lost defenseman Chris Tanev and forward William Nylander.
“We didn’t quit, and that’s something you like to see out of our team,” Marner said.
Tanev exited after absorbing a hit in the first period and is day-to-day with an apparent shoulder injury that likely will keep him sidelined Friday. Nylander appeared to be favoring his arm, was not on the ice during overtime and could play Friday.
Tanev is among the NHL leaders in blocked shots (151) and has a plus-26 rating. The Maple Leafs will compensate by giving slightly more ice time to Morgan Rielly and Oliver Ekman-Larsson and inserting Philippe Myers into their lineup.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Dramatic goalkeeper goal earns Toronto FC draw with Philadelphia
Apr 18, 2026; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto FC goalkeeper Luka Gavran (1) looks on against Austin FC during the second half at BMO Field. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images A header from goalkeeper Luka Gavran six minutes into second-half stoppage time gave Toronto FC a dramatic 3-3 draw with the visiting Philadelphia Union on Wednesday.
Gavran was downfield with the rest of his teammates during Daniel Salloi’s late free kick, bidding for an equalizer. Salloi’s initial shot was deflected back out to Alonso Coello, whose pass into the box found Gavran’s head for his first career goal.
The draw extended unbeaten streaks for both clubs. Philadelphia is 1-0-2 in its last three matches while Toronto FC are 3-0-4 in their last seven. Toronto is also 4-0-9 in its last 13 home matches dating back to last June.
Josh Sargent and Kobe Franklin scored for Toronto (3-2-4, 13 points) earlier in the second half as it recovered from a 2-0 deficit.
Milan Iloski, Danley Jean Jacques and Nathan Harriel scored for the Union (1-6-2, five points). Harriel was almost the late-game hero for Philadelphia after the defender converted a header off a corner kick in the 89th minute.
Frankie Westfield’s eighth-minute free kick off the goalpost highlighted a dominant opening 25 minutes for Philadelphia. Toronto then controlled the rest of the first half, but Union defenders Westfield, Harriel, and Japhet Sery all made impressive individual plays to disrupt scoring chances.
With the back line helping stifle Toronto FC’s attack, Iloski put Philadelphia ahead four minutes into first-half stoppage time. Jovan Lukic’s through-ball found Iloski moving between two Toronto FC defenders and Iloski buried the shot after entering the box.
It was Iloski’s second goal of the season, then Jean Jacques followed with his second goal in the 52nd minute. On something of a broken play for Toronto, Jean Jacques beat Zane Monlouis to a loose ball in the box and his one-touch strike sailed into the net.
Sargent and Franklin then recorded their second goals of the season, as Toronto FC roared back to quickly level the score.
Four minutes after Jean Jacques’ tally, Sargent took the ball in the box and made a canny move to find space before burying his second goal. Franklin then banked a shot off the post and into Philadelphia’s net for the 64th-minute equalizer.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cincinnati tallies twice in closing minutes, earns draw vs. NYCFC
Apr 22, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York City FC forward Agustín Ojeda (26) runs with the ball during the first half against FC Cincinnati at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark Smith-Imagn Images Andrei Chirila scored in two minutes into second-half stoppage time and Evander converted a penalty kick three minutes later, helping FC Cincinnati rally to a 4-4 draw against host New York City FC on Wednesday.
Chirila, a 17-year-old homegrown defender, converted from outside the box for his first career MLS goal in his second match. NYCFC’s Kevin O’Toole subsequently was whistled for a foul in the penalty area, setting up Evander’s heroics.
FC Cincinnati’s Kevin Denkey scored two goals in his return from a suspension due to yellow-card accumulation.
Roman Celentano made five saves for FC Cincinnati (2-4-3, 9 points), who are 0-3-2 on the road this season.
NYCFC’s Nicolas Fernandez scored two goals in the first half to boost his team-leading goal total to eight in nine matches. Fernandez, who scored three goals in 11 matches last season, became the fourth player in franchise history to score at least 10 goals within his first 20 regular-season appearances.
Agustin Ojeda and Talles Magno tallied in the second half and Matthew Freese turned aside two shots for NYCFC (3-3-3, 12 points), who are winless in their past five matches in MLS play (0-3-2).
Fernandez gave NYCFC a 2-1 lead in the 35th minute after running into a through ball from Maxi Moralez and sending a shot past the extended right leg of Celentano.
Ojeda extended NYCFC’s advantage in the 53rd minute after chasing down a through ball from Aiden O’Neill before scoring from a sharp angle.
Denkey converted a loose ball following a free kick by Evander to trim NYCFC’s lead to 3-2 in the 65th minute, but Magno deftly curled a shot into the far corner of the net in the 79th minute.
In the 20th minute, Celentano was unable to cleanly field a twisting service, and Fernandez alertly deposited the loose ball into the net to open the scoring.
Denkey forged a 1-1 tie 12 minutes later, a converting a cross from Ender Echenique with a leaping left-footed finish at the doorstep.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Behind Mark Vientos' clutch hit, Mets edge Twins, snap 12-game skid
Apr 22, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez (4) watches his RBI double against the Minnesota Twins during the fourth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images Mark Vientos redeemed himself for an earlier baserunning miscue by delivering the tiebreaking single in the eighth inning, and the host New York Mets snapped a 12-game losing streak with a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday.
The losing streak was the longest for the Mets since a 12-game skid from Aug. 10-23, 2002.
However, the much-needed victory may have been costly for New York, which lost shortstop Francisco Lindor due to left calf tightness after he scored from first on Francisco Alvarez’s double in the fourth inning.
Lindor, who was 2-for-2 with an RBI infield single in the first, was injured the same night Juan Soto returned from a 15-game absence caused by a strained right calf. The Mets won their first three games after Soto was injured on April 3 before beginning their losing streak.
Soto went 1-for-3 with a walk but was picked off for the second out of the eighth following his single. Brett Baty and Alvarez kept the inning afloat by drawing walks against Taylor Rogers (0-1) and Justin Topa, respectively, before Vientos’ bloop single to right scored Baty.
Vientos was thrown out at home by several feet for the final out of the sixth after running through third base coach Tim Leiper’s stop sign on Marcus Semien’s double.
Luke Weaver (2-0) threw the final 1 1/3 innings for the Mets. The right-hander, who also was the winning pitcher in New York’s previous victory on April 7, got Luke Keaschall to pop up with the bases loaded to end the top of the eighth. He allowed Brooks Lee’s two-out single in the ninth before striking out Byron Buxton to end the game.
Victor Caratini lofted a game-tying sacrifice fly in the fourth for the Twins, who have lost five of their past six. Buxton knotted the game again with a solo homer in the sixth.
Mets starter Clay Holmes gave up two runs on five hits and one walk while striking out three over seven innings. Twins starter Connor Prielipp allowed two runs on four hits and no walks while fanning six in his major league debut.
–Field Level Media
