Sports
Nathan MacKinnon, playoff-bound Avalanche set sights on Caps
Mar 16, 2026; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) celebrates his goal in the first period against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche will look to continue their stellar season on Sunday afternoon when they take on Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals in Washington, D.C.
MacKinnon leads the NHL in goals (45) and rating (plus-57) entering play on Saturday. He collected two goals and an assist to lead Colorado to a 5-2 victory over the Capitals on Jan. 19 in Denver.
The Avalanche (45-13-10, 100 points) became the first team to secure a playoff spot, thanks to a 4-1 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday. Colorado previously had lost four of five games (1-3-1), including a brutal 7-2 home setback to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday.
“Obviously, there are ebbs and flows to the season, but to this point of the season we’ve put ourselves in a good spot here,” Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said. “We feel good about the way we’re playing. Making the playoffs is the first step to where you want to go, and we’re pretty happy about that, (getting) 100 points and still a lot of season left to play.”
On Friday night, Martin Necas opened up scoring in the first period and added two assists later in the game. MacKinnon set up three goals and Mackenzie Blackwood made 19 saves.
Necas’ three-point game boosted his point total to a career-high 84 (32 goals, 52 assists), eclipsing the 83-point campaign he had in 2024-25 split between Colorado and the Carolina Hurricanes.
“Yeah, it feels good,” Necas said. “Let’s keep it rolling. I think if you just play like that, there aren’t many games we’re going to lose. Just a strong overall game. Both goalies (Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood) played the last couple of games great, and just keep it rolling.”
Colorado has made the playoffs in nine consecutive seasons, hitting 100 points in each of the last five campaigns.
“Obviously, you work all year for this,” star defenseman Cale Makar said. “Now it’s a positioning game, and we want to feel good going into the playoffs, so we have to just keep winning down the stretch here.”
Meanwhile, the Capitals (35-27-8, 78 points) are mired in an uphill battle as they chase a wild-card berth. They are making progress, though, by going 4-1-1 in their past six games.
“I think we know the importance of every game coming in,” defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk said. “It’s going to take a lot, so every game means a lot.”
That includes Friday’s game, as the Capitals held on for a 2-1 win against the New Jersey Devils.
Ryan Leonard and Aliaksei Protas each scored a goal for the Capitals, and Logan Thompson made 30 saves, including 17 saves in the third period.
“I thought that first period was one of our better periods that we’ve played probably in the last 20 games,” Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery said. “I thought we did a lot of really, really good things.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Fire earn road win as Union stay in Eastern basement
Mar 21, 2026; Chester, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Union forward Bruno Damiani (9) is tripped up by Chicago Fire defender Mbekezeli Mbokazi (4) while going for the ball during the first half at Subaru Park. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Jonathan Bamba scored his second goal early in the second half and the visiting Chicago Fire earned a 2-1 victory on Saturday against struggling Philadelphia Union.
Hugo Cuypers added his fourth goal late in the first half for the Fire (2-2-1, 7 points) who earned their first away victory of the season after leading the Eastern Conference with nine in 2025.
Chris Brady made three saves as Chicago avenged its elimination by Philadelphia in last year’s first-round playoff series and snapped a four-match winless run against the Union in all competitions.
Milan Iloski scored his first goal for Philadelphia just before halftime. But the Union (0-5-0, 0 points) extended the worst start for a reigning Supporters’ Shield holder, less than 72 hours after their elimination from the CONCACAF Champions Cup with a 1-1 draw at Mexico City’s Club America and a 2-1 aggregate defeat.
Bamba put Chicago in front in the 58th minute.
From near midfield, Cuypers spotted Robin Lod down the right. Lod eventually dribbled into the right edge of the penalty area on his right foot, before cutting back onto his left to cross.
With Cuyper in the center of the box, the cross sailed beyond just him, where Bamba connected with an excellent side-footed volley to beat Andre Blake inside the left post.
Philadelphia pressured for an equalizer, but Chicago came closest to scoring the game’s fourth goal. Maren Haile-Selassie missed narrowly wide on the break in the 63rd minute, then Lod rattled the crossbar from a similar attack in the 82nd.
Both teams scored during the more than seven minutes of first-half stoppage time.
First, it was Chicago through Cuypers.
Lod’s initial pass was deflected out wide, where Andrew Gutman reached it on the left flank.
Gutman drove forward and curled in an outswinging, left-footed cross. Cuypers ran between Philadelphia’s center backs to meet it with a powerful header past Blake from six yards out.
Philadelphia leveled from a long throw-in four minutes later. Alejandro Bedoya flicked on Frankie Westfield’s throw from the right, then Iloski won the second ball as he somehow generated enough power to loop his header over Brady and under the crossbar from near the penalty spot.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Houston routs Texas A&M to reach 7th straight Sweet 16
Houston’s Emanuel Sharp (21) and Kingston Flemings celebrate during a second-round game in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament between Houston Cougars and Texas A&M Aggies at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City, Saturday March 21, 2026. Emanuel Sharp scored 18 points and second-seeded Houston delivered an 18-0 knockout punch in the first half to sail to an 88-57 victory over 10th-seeded Texas A&M on Saturday in a South Region second-round contest at Oklahoma City.
Chris Cenac Jr. registered 17 points and nine rebounds and Milos Uzan added 15 points for the Cougars (30-6), who will face either third-seeded Illinois or 11th-seeded VCU in next week’s Sweet 16 in Houston.
Mercy Miller added 12 points as the Cougars notched their fifth consecutive 30-win campaign and reached the Sweet 16 for the seventh straight season. The only program with a longer streak this century was Gonzaga, which made nine straight Sweet 16 appearances from 2015-24.
Josh Holloway was the only scorer in double figures for the Aggies (22-12) with 12 points. Leading scorer Rashaun Agee was limited to seven points.
The Cougars connected on 44.1% of their field-goal attempts, including 8 of 31 from 3-point range (25.8%). Houston held a commanding 46-29 rebounding edge and grabbed 19 on the offensive glass.
Texas A&M shot just 34.6% from the field, including 6 of 24 from behind the arc (25%). This was the second time in the past three NCAA Tournaments that the Aggies were eliminated in the second round by Houston.
The Aggies were within 25-24 after a 3-pointer by Zach Clemence with 7:43 left in the first half.
But Texas A&M missed 12 straight field-goal attempts and went 6:34 without scoring as Houston turned a one-point lead into a 43-24 advantage.
Cenac scored six of the final eight points during the run, including two free throws to cap it.
Pop Isaacs made two free throws with 1:09 remaining to end the scoring drought for the Aggies. Rylan Griffen’s runner with 28 seconds left halted the field-goal famine.
The Cougars led 46-28 at halftime and then came out charging in the second half. Kingston Flemings and Sharp each converted three-point plays and Cenac added a jumper to make it a 26-point lead just 42 seconds into the half.
The contest remained one-sided the rest of the way and the lead reached 30 on Miller’s turnaround with 1:17 to play.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Late charge nets Justin Allgaier fourth victory at Darlington
Mar 7, 2026; Avondale, Arizona, USA; JR Motorsports driver Justin Allgaier (7) celebrates his victory of the GOVX 200 at Phoenix Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images DARLINGTON, S.C. — Justin Allgaier’s formula for winning Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway was simple enough: take advantage of excellent pit stops and muscle his way into the lead on the final two restarts.
The result was Allgaier’s fourth NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victory at the 1.366-mile track, his second of the season and the 30th of his career, tying him with Joey Logano for seventh on the series’ career win list.
After a slow pit stop under the third and final caution on Lap 127 buried the dominant car of Kyle Larson in fifth place, Allgaier seized the lead from Brandon Jones on the last restart with 15 laps left and beat Jones to finish line by 0.578 seconds.
Allgaier is the first repeat winner of the 2026 season – he also won at Phoenix on March 7 — and his victory is the fourth straight for JR Motorsports Chevrolets.
“These guys have never quit all year — they won the race,” Allgaier said of his pit crew. “They’ve never given up. They were on top of it all day on pit road.
“We definitely weren’t the best all day. Kyle (Larson), obviously, was amazing. He had us covered. … I didn’t do a very good job with it all day, if I’m being honest with you. Probably one of the worst days personally I’ve had here at Darlington.
“At the end there, I was worried about Brandon (Jones) — he had a fast car — and I was worried that the 19 (third-place finisher Christopher Bell) and the 88 (Larson) were going to get through the traffic there.”
But it was the 39-year-old Allgaier who took the checkered flag, and the driver of the No. 7 JRM Camaro savored the victory.
“Nobody will ever know, the later you get into your career, how much these victories mean,” Allgaier said. “And to come at Darlington, a place I’ve loved for so long, is really special.”
Larson was able to catch and pass Allgaier after a restart on Lap 99, after losing a spot to Jones on pit road and watching Allgaier flash past into the lead on the restart lap.
But the final restart, which followed a five-car wreck involving Dean Thompson, Austin Hill, Kyle Sieg, Alex Labbe and Lavar Scott, was another matter. Larson could gain only one position and finished fourth ahead of Carson Kvapil.
“It became tougher to pass,” explained Larson, who led the first 94 laps from the pole and won the first two stages. “At the end, the pace picked up, and you’re stuck.
“Unfortunate, but that’s the way racing is sometimes. That sucks, but I had a lot of fun today.”
First off pit road under each of the final two cautions, Jones chose the bottom lane for the final restart, but Allgaier powered into the lead from the top lane.
“The 7 (Allgaier) just kept getting just barely better launches than I could on that second lane, and he had just a little more juice in the tank on the short run today,” Jones said. “We were matching, if not slightly better on the long run, but just ran out of laps there at the end.”
Corey Day finished sixth, posting his fifth-straight top 10 in his rookie season. Sheldon Creed, Parker Retzlaff, Sammy Smith and Sam Mayer completed the top 10.
Allgaier heads for next Saturday’s race at Martinsville Speedway (3:30 p.m. on CW, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with a 52-point lead over second-place Jesse Love in the series standings. After spinning on pit road during the first stage break, Love recovered to finish 11th, his first result outside the top 10 this season.
NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series Race — Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200
Darlington Raceway, Darlington, S.C.
Saturday, March 21, 2026
1. (4) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 147.
2. (8) Brandon Jones, Toyota, 147.
3. (2) Christopher Bell(i), Toyota, 147.
4. (1) Kyle Larson(i), Chevrolet, 147.
5. (3) Carson Kvapil, Chevrolet, 147.
6. (12) Corey Day, Chevrolet, 147.
7. (13) Sheldon Creed, Chevrolet, 147.
8. (5) Parker Retzlaff, Chevrolet, 147.
9. (18) Sammy Smith, Chevrolet, 147.
10. (6) Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, 147.
11. (10) Jesse Love, Chevrolet, 147.
12. (21) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 147.
13. (22) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 147.
14. (9) Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, 147.
15. (15) Taylor Gray, Toyota, 147.
16. (27) Nick Sanchez, Ford, 147.
17. (7) William Sawalich, Toyota, 147.
18. (23) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 147.
19. (30) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 147.
20. (32) Josh Bilicki, Chevrolet, 147.
21. (33) Dean Thompson, Toyota, 147.
22. (14) Harrison Burton, Toyota, 147.
23. (19) Rajah Caruth, Chevrolet, 147.
24. (17) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 147.
25. (20) JJ Yeley, Ford, 147.
26. (25) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 147.
27. (24) Garrett Smithley, Chevrolet, 147.
28. (31) Austin Green, Chevrolet, 146.
29. (28) Patrick Staropoli #, Chevrolet, 146.
30. (26) Blaine Perkins, Chevrolet, 146.
31. (37) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 145.
32. (36) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 145.
33. (35) Myatt Snider, Chevrolet, 145.
34. (38) Nathan Byrd, Chevrolet, 145.
35. (11) Austin Hill, Chevrolet, 142.
36. (29) Lavar Scott #, Chevrolet, Accident, 123.
37. (16) Kyle Sieg, Chevrolet, DVP, 121.
38. (34) Alex Labbe, Chevrolet, Accident, 120.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 112.442 mph.
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 47 Mins, 9 Secs. Margin of Victory: .578 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 3 for 25 laps.
Lead Changes: 6 among 4 drivers.
Lap Leaders: K. Larson(i) 1-94;B. Jones 95-98;J. Allgaier 99-114;K. Larson(i) 115-127;J. Williams 128;B. Jones 129-132;J. Allgaier 133-147.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): Kyle Larson(i) 2 times for 107 laps; Justin Allgaier 2 times for 31 laps; Brandon Jones 2 times for 8 laps; Josh Williams 1 time for 1 lap.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 88,19,1,20,7,99,2,18,96,9
Stage #2 Top Ten: 88,1,20,7,99,9,96,17,19,18
–By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service. Special to Field Level Media.
Fire earn road win as Union stay in Eastern basement
Houston routs Texas A&M to reach 7th straight Sweet 16
