Sports
NHL roundup: Predators end Jets' 11-game win streak
Feb 27, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators center Ryan O’Reilly (90) steals the puck from Winnipeg Jets center Vladislav Namestnikov (7) during the second period at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images First-period goals by Filip Forsberg and Tommy Novak held up as the host Nashville Predators snapped the Winnipeg Jets’ 11-game winning streak with a 2-1 victory on Thursday.
Goaltender Juuse Saros made 23 saves as Nashville ended a two-game losing skid, arguably the most important coming in the final minute as Saros turned away a wrist shot by Nikolaj Ehlers on a golden chance to tie the affair.
Neal Pionk scored the lone goal for the Jets, whose franchise-record winning spree began on Dec. 22. Eric Comrie finished with 28 saves for Winnipeg.
The Jets failed to convert a 1:54 five-on-three power play late in the second period and after that looked like a team that had played the night before and traveled. Winnipeg struggled to mount anything of a third-period comeback, managing only four shots on goal in the final frame.
Canadiens 4, Sharks 3 (OT)
Cole Caufield scored 3:21 into overtime to lift host Montreal to a victory over reeling San Jose.
Caufield’s 28th goal of the season tied his career high. Suzuki collected two goals and an assist to boost his point total to eight in the past three games. Alex Newhook scored a goal and Sam Montembeault turned aside 23 shots for the Canadiens, who have won three in a row.
San Jose’s Will Smith recorded a goal and an assist, while Fabian Zetterlund and Nico Sturm each scored a goal. Alex Wennberg notched two assists and Georgiev made 29 saves for the sinking Sharks, who have lost seven in a row (0-4-3).
Penguins 5, Flyers 4 (OT)
Evgeni Malkin scored the tying goal early in the third period and then the game-winner 1:03 into overtime to cap a four-point night as Pittsburgh overcame a three-goal deficit to beat visiting Philadelphia and end a four-game skid.
Erik Karlsson also had two goals and Philip Tomasino scored in his second straight game for the Penguins, who trailed 3-0 near the halfway mark of the second but rallied for the win after losing 6-1 at Philadelphia on Tuesday. Pittsburgh’s Joel Blomqvist stopped 21 shots in relief of Alex Nedeljkovic, who was pulled for allowing three goals on 15 shots.
Rookie Matvei Michkov had two goals and an assist for Philadelphia, which had won three straight. Owen Tippett had a goal and an assist, Noah Cates also scored and Samuel Ersson turned away 20 shots.
Golden Knights 7, Blackhawks 5
Ivan Barbashev scored two goals and had two assists and Keegan Kolesar also scored twice as Vegas tied a team record with five goals in the first period and then held on for a wild victory over Chicago in Las Vegas.
Tomas Hertl had a goal and an assist, Brett Howden had three assists, Noah Hanifin collected two assists and Nicolas Hague and Pavel Dorofeyev also scored for Vegas. Ilya Samsonov made 17 saves.
Nick Foligno, Colton Dach, Ethan Del Mastro, Ilya Mikheyev and Philipp Kurashev scored goals, Connor Murphy had three assists and Frank Nazar added two assists for Chicago, which lost its fifth straight game (0-4-1).
Lightning 3, Flames 0
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 27 saves to record his fourth shutout of the season, Brandon Hagel notched a goal and an assist, and Tampa Bay topped visiting Calgary to extend its season-best winning streak to seven games.
Hagel moved his point streak to seven games (seven goals, six helpers) as the Lightning improved to 8-0-1 over the past nine games. Erik Cernak and Nikita Kucherov had markers for Tampa Bay, while Victor Hedman had two assists.
Dustin Wolf stopped 20 shots, but the Flames were shut out for the third time this season and the first time by a team other than the Vegas Golden Knights.
Blue Jackets 5, Red Wings 2
James van Riemsdyk scored two goals to lift Columbus to a road win over Detroit.
Kent Johnson had a goal and an assist, Boone Jenner had three assists and Daniil Tarasov stopped 29 shots for the Blue Jackets, who had won three straight. With the victory, Columbus pulled level on points with Detroit, and the teams occupy the two Eastern Conference wild-card positions.
J.T. Compher had a goal and an assist and Alex DeBrincat added a goal for the Red Wings, who lost for just the third time in their past 12 games. Cam Talbot made 25 saves.
Islanders 2, Bruins 1
Goals by Alexander Romanov and Kyle Palmieri were enough to lift New York to the road win and hand the Bruins their fifth straight loss.
Ilya Sorokin had 38 saves, including 15 in the opening period, to help the Islanders snap a four-game skid.
David Pastrnak notched the lone score for Boston after the Bruins fell behind 2-0, extending his point streak to 16 games for the longest such streak in the NHL this season. It also tied the longest all-time run by a Czech-born player.
Blues 5, Capitals 2
St. Louis picked up its season-best third straight win as Philip Broberg netted two goals for the visitors.
Jake Neighbours recorded a goal and an assist for the Blues, while both Dylan Holloway and Colton Parayko also scored and Pavel Buchnevich notched two assists. Joel Hofer made 16 saves for the win.
Connor McMichael and Pierre-Luc Dubois scored for Washington. Alex Ovechkin was held without a goal on four shots to remain at 883 for his career, 11 behind Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record. Charlie Lindgren finished with 14 saves.
Ducks 5, Canucks 2
Ryan Strome and Troy Terry each had a goal and two assists as host Anaheim recorded its first win over Vancouver in three years.
Frank Vatrano, Jackson LaCombe and Cutter Gauthier also scored as Anaheim snapped an eight-game skid to the Canucks. Mason McTavish and Isac Lundestrom had two assists each while Lukas Dostal stopped 22 shots for the Ducks, who rallied from a two-goal deficit to score five unanswered goals in the final two periods.
Defenseman Tyler Myers had a goal and an assist and Pius Suter scored a goal for the road-weary Canucks, who were playing the fourth game of a five-game road trip and the second of a Southern California back-to-back. Arturs Silovs made 20 saves.
Hurricanes 5, Sabres 2
Carolina picked up just its second victory in seven games as Mikko Rantanen had a goal and an assist against Buffalo in Raleigh, N.C.
Jordan Staal, Sebastian Aho, Taylor Hall and Seth Jarvis also scored for the Hurricanes. Pyotr Kochetkov had 14 saves for Carolina, which dealt the Sabres their just their second loss in eight games.
Alex Tuch and JJ Peterka scored for Buffalo, which fell behind 2-0 eight minutes into the game, leading to the Sabres pulling starting goaltender Ukko-Pikka Luukkonen.
Panthers 4, Oilers 3
Two goals midway through the third period allowed Florida to escape with the win over Edmonton in Sunrise, Fla., the Panthers’ fourth victory in five games.
Anton Lundell had a goal and two assists for Florida, and Uvis Balinskis, Nate Schmidt and Carter Verhaeghe added a goal apiece. Sergei Bobrovsky made 24 saves.
Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl scored for the seventh consecutive game, giving him a league-best 44 goals this season. Zach Hyman and Brett Kulak also scored for the Oilers, who took their fifth straight loss.
Utah 6, Wild 1
Clayton Keller had a goal and four assists as part of a career-high five-point night as the Utah Hockey Club beat Minnesota in Salt Lake City for their third straight win.
Utah’s Nick Schmaltz scored once and dished out two assists, while both Logan Cooley and Barret Hayton each recorded a goal and a helper. Dylan Guenther and Sean Durzi both scored, and Mikhail Sergachev finished with a pair of assists. Karel Vejmelka finished with 16 saves.
The Wild’s lone goal came from Frederick Gaudreau. Marc-Andre Fleury yielded six goals on 31 shots.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Kylian Mbappe wins second World Cup Golden Boot, Spain claim other awards
July 18, 2026; Miami Gardens, Florida, U.S.; France’s Kylian Mbappe reacts after the match. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images French superstar Kylian Mbappe became the first player to win multiple FIFA World Cup Golden Boot awards after Spain shut out Argentina 1-0 in the final on Sunday in East Rutherford, N.J.
Mbappe finished with 10 goals for the tournament after scoring twice in France’s 6-4 loss to England on Saturday in the third-place match.
His only competition still active was Lionel Messi, who was searching for his first Golden Boot along with trying to guide Argentina to a second consecutive World Cup. Messi and Argentina defeated Mbappe and France on penalty kicks in the 2022 final in Qatar.
But Argentina could not muster a shot on goal against Spain’s stalwart defense and had just two total shots, both coming late in the match. Messi went scoreless for the third match in a row. He had collected eight goals across the three group-stage matches, the round of 32 and the round of 16.
At 27, Mbappe already can call himself the greatest goal-scorer in World Cup history. His two second-half goals on Saturday pushed him past Messi for the all-time tournament record with 22 in just 22 matches. Messi — the first to break German Miroslav Klose’s career record early in the tournament before Mbappe caught up — stayed at 21 and may have played his final World Cup match Sunday at 39 years old.
Eight of Mbappe’s 10 goals this summer came in braces. He scored twice against Iraq, Senegal, Sweden and finally England. He was the first with 10 goals in a single World Cup since Gerd Muller of Germany in 1970.
Aside from Mbappe, it didn’t come as a surprise that the rest of the awards went to Spanish players after their remarkable run to the country’s second World Cup title.
Spain midfielder Rodri collected the Golden Ball award, given to the best overall player in the tournament. While he didn’t record a single goal or assist in Spain’s eight matches, he completed more passes, ran more distance and had more player involvements than any other player in this year’s tournament.
He also played a key role in heavily limiting Messi’s touches during Spain’s stifling 1-0 win.
Spanish goalkeeper Unai Simon and defender Pau Cubarsi were named winners of the Golden Gloves award and FIFA Best Young Player award, respectively. The pair each played critical roles in La Roja allowing just one goal — a record for a champion team — and 10 shots on goal in eight matches during this World Cup.
Simon finished with seven clean sheets, two more than the previous record for a single World Cup. The 29-year-old’s nine career World Cup clean sheets are one off the record of 10 shared by former France keeper Fabien Barthez and former England keeper Peter Shilton.
Those three awards are decided by FIFA’s Technical Study Group, made up of former professional players, coaches and analysts.
–Field Level Media
Sports
D-Backs rally from down 7 to beat Cardinals in 10 innings
Arizona Diamondbacks baserunner Max Kepler (22) celebrates scoring a run against the St. Louis Cardinals at Chase Field in Phoenix, on July 18, 2026. Max Kepler delivered the game-winning RBI in the 10th inning as the Arizona Diamondbacks scored eight unanswered runs in an 8-7 win against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday in Phoenix.
Kepler drove in automatic runner Jorge Barrosa with a one-out double to right field off Luis Gastelum (1-1).
Juan Morrillo (3-4) allowed one hit over 1 1/3 scoreless innings across the ninth and 10th innings to register the win.
Arizona’s rally began in the sixth. Adrian Del Castillo knocked a lead-off double, Ryan Waldschmidt singled and Ketel Marte’s single up the middle drove in Del Castillo to cut the deficit to 7-1.
Andre Pallante walked Geraldo Perdomo to load the bases, and Waldschmidt scored one out later when Pallante walked Gabriel Moreno, ending his outing.
Ryne Stanek came in and retired the first batter before issuing a walk to Tyler Locklear which brought Marte across the plate, narrowing it to 7-3.
Perdomo pulled Arizona within two in the seventh when he followed up Del Castillo’s leadoff walk with a two-out inside-the-park home run to left field on a liner that skipped past St. Louis left fielder Jose Fermin and rolled to the wall.
Nolan Arenado’s two-run home run just over the left field wall in the eighth tied the game at 7.
St. Louis opened a 5-0 lead in the third inning. Lars Nootbaar walked and scored on Blaze Jordan’s triple. JJ Wetherholt singled to bring in Jordan and double the advantage.
Wetherholt went to third on Ivan Herrera’s base hit, and Jordan Walker brought him around with a double to push the lead to 3-0. Alec Burleson’s single to center field allowed Herrera and Walker to come in, extending it to 5-0.
Fermin chased Diamondbacks ace Eduardo Rodriguez, who threw 40 pitches in the frame, with a single. Right-hander Drey Jameson came in and walked Nootbaar before getting Jordan to line out to retire the side, stranding the bases loaded.
The Cardinals made it 7-0 in the fifth. Burleson singled, and Fermin and Nootbaar each walked to load the bases. That ended Jameson’s appearance, replaced by Philip Abner. Jordan (3-for-5, three RBIs) greeted Abner with a single to right that brought in two runners.
Herrera and Burleson each added three hits for St. Louis. Del Castillo and Kepler led Arizona with two hits apiece.
Rodriguez surrendered five runs on seven hits in 2 2/3 innings. Pallante gave up three runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Valkyries seek 10th straight win in rematch with Mystics
Jul 18, 2026; San Francisco, California, USA; Golden State Valkyries guard Veronica Burton (left) passes against Washington Mystics guard Sonia Citron (right) during the fourth quarter at Chase Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images The interior-powered Washington Mystics and perimeter-oriented Golden State Valkyries will seek to do a better job defusing the other’s strength when the clubs meet in a rematch Monday night in San Francisco.
The Valkyries (19-7) finished strongly both offensively and defensively to erase a late six-point deficit and earn a 74-69 win in the front half of the WNBA-style doubleheader Saturday night, which was played on Golden State’s home court.
The hosts saved five of their 12 successful 3-pointers for the final 5:55 to account for all their scoring in a 15-4 finish. It allowed them to secure a ninth straight win in a game in which the Mystics (12-12), led by Shakira Austin, had dominated the Valkyries to the tune of 40-16 in points in the paint.
Golden State coach Natalie Nakase noted after the hard-fought win that it’s not like her players will grow a few inches before the rematch with Austin and fellow interior powers Kiki Iriafen and Lauren Betts.
“We understand they’re very tall, big and physical in size. So it’s got to be a team effort,” she said at her postgame press conference. “I just thought attention to detail with KT (Kayla Thornton) and Kiah (Stokes) down the stretch, just defending without fouling, it was beautiful that last five minutes. For us to rely on our defense down the stretch was huge.”
After Betts’ layup gave the Mystics a 65-59 lead with 6:13 remaining, the Valkyries forced the visitors into 2-for-8 shooting the rest of the way, with three turnovers mixed in. Three of the misses were 3-point attempts, where Washington went just 6-for-23 for the game, as the visitors got away from what had been successful earlier.
Mystics coach Sydney Johnson believed his team played well enough to win the opener but needs to improve in close games. Five of Washington’s 12 losses this season have been by five points or fewer.
“Really challenging us to just physically, emotionally, mentally be locked in,” he expressed to the media afterward about his team’s shortcomings. “It’s a demanding league. There’s absolutely no nights off, no easy games. Those are our consistent themes, most importantly, bringing our toughness and togetherness every time we come to the floor.”
One of the challenges will be managing odd scheduling, with the Mystics flying across the country to face the Valkyries twice in three days. They begin a six-game homestand Wednesday night against Las Vegas.
–Field Level Media
