Sports
Golden Knights wary of slow start vs. host Penguins
Feb 27, 2026; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) skates with the puck as Washington Capitals center Dylan Strome (17) chases during the second period at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy has just one simple request for his team heading into Sunday afternoon’s game at Pittsburgh.
Start on time.
The three-week Olympic break did little to help the Golden Knights recharge and snap a season-long habit of poor starts. Vegas has been outscored 5-1 in the first two periods in its first two games of a five-game road trip coming out of the break.
The good news is that the Pacific Division leaders have earned a split of those two contests, scoring five goals in the third period to pull out a 6-4 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday, followed by a 3-2 setback to the Washington Capitals on Friday night.
Vegas trailed 3-0 heading into the final 20 minutes against the Capitals, managing just 13 total shots on goal during the first two periods. This despite the fact that five of its top players — center Jack Eichel, captain Mark Stone, forward Mitch Marner and defensemen Shea Theodore and Noah Hanifin — had been given Wednesday’s game off to help recuperate after playing in the Olympics. Those five players combined for just one assist, by Marner.
“They had plenty of rest, to be honest,” Cassidy said after Friday’s game when asked if the five players may have been battling fatigue after the long trip back from Italy. “They’re going to need to be better Sunday. Those are our best players, our leaders, and we expect them to play like that.
“They weren’t on time,” the coach continued. “We tried to give them rest. Hopefully, it pays off on Sunday, and next week, and whatnot. Tonight, it didn’t.”
Eichel and Hanifin had spent Tuesday at the White House with the gold medal-winning U.S. team and then stayed in D.C. for a couple of days of rest while Stone, Theodore and Hanifin spent their free time in Las Vegas before flying east on Thursday to join the team.
Cassidy, who has taken some of the blame in the past for slow starts, didn’t this time.
“We weren’t ready to play,” he said. “Coach has to prepare your team to play, but this one the players weren’t ready to play. They’re professionals. They’ve got to be ready to go. And we weren’t nearly good enough.”
Vegas had several chances down the stretch to tie the game, but Washington goalie Logan Thompson stopped a Brayden McNabb short-handed breakaway and followed that up by making a grade-A stop on a close-in try by Marner.
“We’re always going to respond,” Cassidy said. “I’ve said that many times, and we did it again tonight. Good for us to play 20 minutes. That’s the thing, right? We play 20 minutes and almost win a hockey game. Imagine if we played 40 or 45?”
Pittsburgh will be playing the second game of a back-to-back that began with a 3-2 shootout loss to the host New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon. The Penguins, who got goals from Anthony Mantha and Ryan Shea, blew a 2-0 second-period lead and fell to 1-8 in shootouts, the worst mark in the NHL among teams who have played in four or more shootouts this season.
Vincent Trocheck scored the lone shootout goal for the Rangers, with all three Pittsburgh players failing to convert.
“We’ve continued to work on it. We’ll continue to look at it,” Pittsburgh coach Dan Muse said of his team’s shootout woes. “It just hasn’t been good. It’s on all of us. We’ve got to keep looking at ways we can get better at it. We’ve tried some different guys, we’ve tried some different things, but the results are what they are.”
The Penguins, who are 8-1-2 since Jan. 19, remained in a tie for second place with the New York Islanders in the Metropolitan Division at 73 points.
“It’s a tough game, but we look (to) tomorrow, play back-to-back against Vegas, a good team, great challenge,” forward Evgeni Malkin said. “Back home. We play hard. I’m not saying anything bad tonight. We played hard.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Thomas Muller's first-half brace leads Vancouver to rout of Toronto
Feb 28, 2026; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Vancouver Whitecaps FC forward Thomas Muller (13) celebrates scoring on a corner kick from midfielder Sebastian Berhalter (16) (not pictured) against Toronto FC goalkeeper Luka Gavran (1) during the first half at BC Place. Mandatory Credit: Simon Fearn-Imagn Images Thomas Muller scored a first-half brace, leading the Whitecaps to a 3-0 victory over visiting Toronto FC on Saturday night in Vancouver.
Brian White also scored a first-half goal, while keeper Yohei Takaoka made three saves for his second consecutive clean sheet to open the MLS season.
With the victory, Vancouver (2-0-0, 6 points) improved to 4-0-1 in its last five regular-season matches against Toronto.
The Reds (0-2-0, 0 points) are now 6-9-4 in 19 MLS meetings against their Western Canadian rivals.
Trailing 3-0, Toronto had an excellent chance to cut into the lead early in the second half. Djordje Mihailovic thought he’d put Toronto on the board in the 55th minute, but the midfielder was caught offside.
Then in the 74th minute, Takaoka made a diving save off Toronto midfielder Jose Cifuentes – the Reds’ first shot on target of the match.
Vancouver controlled possession in the first half with five shots on target.
Aziel Jackson was awarded a penalty kick after being taken down in the area by Walker Zimmerman in the 24th minute. On the ensuing penalty kick, Muller opened the scoring, putting his right-footed strike in the bottom-left corner past Luka Gavran.
Muller added his second of the half 12 minutes later as Sebastian Berhalter’s corner was headed across to Muller by Mathias Laborda, and the German midfielder ripped his left-footed shot into an open goal.
In first-half stoppage time, off another Berhalter corner, Gavran was caught out of position, allowing White to score on a right-footed strike.
Up next, Vancouver travels to Portland for its first away match of the season next Saturday. Toronto visits Cincinnati next Sunday to wrap up a three-game road trip to open the season.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Pelicans close 1st half strong to beat Jazz for 4th straight win
Feb 28, 2026; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; New Orleans Pelicans forward Herbert Jones (2) dunks the ball during the second quarter against the Utah Jazz at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Chris Nicoll-Imagn Images Saddiq Bey scored 24 points and the visiting New Orleans Pelicans defeated the Utah Jazz for the second time in three nights on Saturday, 115-105.
Bey, who scored a season-high 42 points in the Pelicans’ 129-118 victory Thursday night, was joined in double figures by rookie Jeremiah Fears (18), who added a season-high 11 rebounds, Bryce McGowens (18), Herb Jones (17), and Jordan Poole (11) as New Orleans won its fourth consecutive game.
Leading scorer Trey Murphy III missed his fifth consecutive game because of a right shoulder contusion, and second-leading scorer Zion Williamson had just four points in 11 minutes before leaving the game with a right ankle injury.
New Orleans still had plenty of firepower, leading by as many as 27 points just as it did two nights earlier.
Isaiah Collier scored 21, Keyonte George (ankle) returned from a six-game absence to score 17, Elijah Harkless added 14, Ace Bailey had 13, Kyle Filipowski had 12 and Brice Sensabaugh 10 to lead the Jazz, who lost their fifth straight game.
The Pelicans pushed their 25-point halftime to 27 with 3:57 left in the third quarter, but the Jazz climbed within 89-73 at the end of the period. Utah got as close as seven points early in the fourth quarter, but New Orleans scored the next eight points and maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way.
The Pelicans scored the first nine points of the game as the Jazz went nearly five minutes before making their first field goal. Utah pulled even at 17 and 19 before New Orleans held a 27-22 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Yves Missi, returning from a five-game absence due to a calf strain, made a dunk to start the second-quarter scoring and Poole followed with a 3-pointer to expand the lead to 10 points.
Jones made two 3-pointers and Bey had five points during a 15-0 run that completed a 20-2 surge, giving New Orleans a 65-40 halftime lead. The Jazz didn’t make a field goal in the final 4:55.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Cole Hocker fastest in 3K at national indoor track championship
Cole Hocker is shown after winning the 3,000 meters, Sunday, February 1, 2026, at The Armory, during the Millrose Games. Cole Hocker remained unblemished for his career at the USA Track and Field Indoor Championships with a split-second victory in the 3,000-meter race on Saturday in Staten Island, N.Y.
Hocker outkicked fellow Olympians Yared Nuguse and Nico Young to win the race in 7 minutes, 39.25 seconds at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex. Nuguse was second (7:39.28) and Young third (7:39.29).
Gold medalist in the 1,500 at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games and the 2025 world outdoor champion in the 5,000, Hocker has not lost at the USATF Indoor Championships. He won both the 1,500 and 3,000 in 2022 and the 1,500 in 2024.
“It was just staying attached to both Yared and Nico,” Hocker said, per NBC Sports. “I know both of them are such good finishers. It was just staying connected to them because only two go (to worlds), so I needed one of them.”
The meet is a qualifier for the World Indoor Championships on March 20-22 in Poland. A country can qualify up to two spots per individual event and possibly a third if the athlete earned a World Indoor Tour wild card.
Both Hocker and Nuguse are running in the 1,500 on Sunday, when the national meet concludes.
Chase Jackson broke the U.S. indoor record for women’s shot put with a throw of 20.44 meters to win on Saturday. A two-time world champion, Jackson shared the old mark of 20.21 and holds the outdoor record of 20.76 meters.
Zach Bradford became the eighth American to clear 6 meters, indoors or outdoors, in capturing the pole vault at 6.01 meters.
Emily Mackay set a championship record in winning the women’s 3,000 (8:30.01), just ahead of Elle St. Pierre (8:30.07). Dylan Beard captured the men’s 60-meter hurdles (7.37 seconds) and Alia Armstrong the women’s race (7.82).
Vashti Cunningham’s run of nine straight national indoor titles ended when Charity Hufnagel won the women’s high jump (1.96 meters). Cunningham was second at 1.93.
Jasmine Moore won the women’s long jump (6.86 meters), and Lauren Harris was fastest in the 5K racewalk (22:14.69).
Russell Robinson was best in the men’s triple jump (16.59 meters), Isaiah Rogers in the weight throw (23.41 meters) and Nick Christie in the 5K racewalk (19:13.37).
–Field Level Media
Thomas Muller's first-half brace leads Vancouver to rout of Toronto
Pelicans close 1st half strong to beat Jazz for 4th straight win
