Sports
Rangers look for continued success vs. rival Islanders
Mar 2, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller (79) celebrates his goal against the Nashville Predators with left wing Will Cuylle (50) and center Mika Zibanejad (93) during the second period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images The New York Rangers and Islanders are coming off impressive showings against one of the league’s worst teams.
With the trade deadline rapidly approaching, the Islanders and Rangers get together for the second time in less than a week on Monday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.
The Rangers and Islanders are amongst six teams within five points of the Detroit Red Wings for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Rangers are tied with the Ottawa Senators and the Boston Bruins with 64 points. The Senators have a game in hand with the Rangers and two in hand with the Bruins.
The Islanders are in a tougher situation as their 61 points puts them behind five teams with 23 games remaining.
The Rangers won both meetings this season by a combined 10-3 margin and rolled to a 5-1 victory on Tuesday in Elmont, N.Y., when they scored three times in the opening period.
Last week’s rout of the Islanders is among three wins in four games for the Rangers since an 8-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Feb. 22. The Rangers bounced back from a frustrating 3-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs with a 4-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Sunday when they held a three-goal lead in the opening 40 minutes.
The Rangers improved to 14-7-3 in their past 24 games following a 4-15-0 skid, a day after trading Ryan Lindgren and Jimmy Vesey to the Colorado Avalanche. The Rangers may trade other pending unrestricted free agents such as Reilly Smith, who was held out Sunday.
So far, the Rangers have made four major trades and their biggest was adding J.T. Miller in a Jan. 31 deal with the Vancouver Canucks. Miller has six goals since the trade and scored on the power-play in the second period before Jonathan Quick made 19 of his 34 saves in the third.
“We’ll take the points right now,” said Miller, who was initially traded by the Rangers in their 2018 rebuild.
“We need them again tomorrow.”
The Islanders are coming off consecutive first-round exits with a core that includes Brock Nelson and Jean Gabriel-Pageau as unrestricted free agents.
Nelson heads into his 900th career regular-season game with three goals and five assists over his past five contests after scoring twice and adding an assist in Saturday’s 7-4 rout over the Predators that was capped by goalie Ilya Sorokin scoring an empty-net goal after the Islanders scored three times on 19 shots in the opening period.
“All these games are important for us to put as good of a run as we can together,” Nelson said.
The Islanders are 3-5-0 in their past eight games since a seven-game winning streak Jan. 18-Feb. 1 and are hoping to produce another big night after scoring seven goals for the first time since March 7. Pageau scored for only the second time in his past 20 games while Kyle Palmieri scored for the fifth time in six games.
“Those games are big at this time of the season,” Pageau said. “We want to win them.”
–Field Level Media
Sports
Kelvin Yeboah nets brace as Minnesota rallies past Crew
Columbus Crew midfielder Sean Zawadzki (25) attempts to block the shot of Minnesota United FC forward Tomás Chancalay (8) in the first half of the MLS match at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field on Saturday, May 2, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio. Kelvin Yeboah’s brace and a goal and an assist by Anthony Markanich keyed a 15-minute second-half comeback as Minnesota United defeated the host Columbus Crew 3-2 on Saturday.
Markanich broke a 2-2 tie in the 74th minute off a throw-in when he scored on a header off a cross by Nectarios Triantis.
After Taha Habroune in the 31st and Hugo Picard in the 56th staked the Crew to a 2-0 lead, Yeboah scored from corner-kick setups in the 59th and 66th minutes as Minnesota (6-3-2, 20 points) moved to 5-1-1 in their past seven matches.
The Crew (3-5-3, 12 points) had won two straight and looked to be cruising until their collapse, falling to 2-2-2 at home.
Habroune, the 20-year-old Homegrown player, worked a give-and-go in tight space with Max Arfsten at the top right corner of the box for his second career goal in 33 matches.
Arfsten heeled the ball to Habroune, who rocketed a shot to the upper right corner. Arfsten has three goals and four assists in the past seven matches.
Picard scored his first career goal in his 19th MLS match after having scored four goals in two U.S. Open Cup matches this season, including two vs. USL One club One Knoxville on Wednesday.
He scored on a rebound of his own shot that was blocked by Loons defender Jefferson Diaz.
The Minnesota rally started when Yeboah slid between two defenders and right-footed a flick by Markanich.
Yeboah made it 2-2 when he had an open header from a corner kick by Joaquin Pereyra. Of Yeboah’s seven goals, five have come on the road where the Loons are 4-2-1.
Minnesota’s Colombian international midfielder James Rodriguez did not play due to “a previously scheduled routine medical procedure — not related to any injury,” according to the club. He practiced Friday morning and will rejoin the team next week.
–Field Level Media
Sports
Nashville SC stays atop East with draw against Union
May 2, 2026; Chester, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Union defender Olwethu Makhanya (29) dives against Nashville SC midfielder Patrick Yazbek (8) in the first half at Subaru Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images Nashville SC and the Philadelphia Union played to a scoreless draw on Saturday night in Chester, Pa.
Nashville (7-1-2, 23 points) stayed atop the Eastern Conference table while extending its MLS unbeaten streak to four matches. Keeper Brian Schwake made five saves for the clean sheet as Nashville moved to 3-1-2 on the road.
Philadelphia (1-7-3, 6 points) remained last in the Eastern Conference while pushing its home record to 0-3-2. The Union only lost once at home last season (12-1-4) when they won the Supporters’ Shield. Philadelphia is winless in four straight (0-1-3). Keeper Andre Blake stopped two shots to preserve the clean sheet.
Both teams hit the post early in the second half.
In the 52nd minute, Nashville defender Josh Bauer redirected Warren Madrigal’s free kick off the post.
A minute later, Union midfielder Indiana Vassilev hit the right post with his strike from outside the box.
Philadelphia hit the post a second time in the 72nd minute as Agustin Anello curled his right-footed strike off the far post.
Blake made a glorious save in the 74th minute to keep the match scoreless, diving to get his hand on Ahmed Qasem’s left-footed strike.
Nashville controlled first-half possession, but it was Philadelphia with the lone two shots on target.
The Union’s first quality chance came in the 11th minute as Jovan Lukic put his strike from the middle of the box over the woodwork.
In the 29th minute, Cavan Sullivan forced Schwake to make a save on his left-footed shot from the left side of the area.
Philadelphia defender Japhet Sery Larsen left the match in the 15th minute with an apparent injury and was replaced by Geiner Martinez.
Sam Surridge, who leads Nashville with nine goals through seven MLS appearances this season, missed the match with a back injury.
Saturday was the first of two meetings this season between the two clubs. Nashville hosts Philadelphia on Oct. 28 to conclude the season series.
Up next, Nashville hosts D.C. United next Saturday, while Philadelphia travels to New England.
–Field Level Media
Sports
FC Dallas finally win against host Red Bulls after 20-year drought
May 2, 2026; Harrison, New Jersey, USA; Red Bull New York forward Cade Cowell (7) and FC Dallas midfielder Ran Binyamin (6) battle for the ball during the first half at Sports Illustrated Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images Peter Musa scored in the 54th minute and FC Dallas snapped an 11-game road winless skid in all competitions against the New York Red Bulls with a 2-0 victory on Saturday night in Harrison, N.J.
Dallas (4-3-4, 16 points) earned its first road win in the series since its 2-1 win on May 24, 2006, in a game that was played at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. Dallas had been 0-9-2 in the previous 11 visits to the Red Bulls, including a loss in penalty kicks during U.S. Open Cup competition on May 21, 2025.
Musa scored his league-leading 10th goal by capitalizing on a breakdown by New York’s defense.
Left unattended near the left side of the net by Red Bulls defender Matthew Dos Santos, Musa waited for a pass from Ran Binyamin and put a right-footed shot past goalie Ethan Horvath.
Musa scored after missing last week’s 2-1 loss at the Seattle Sounders due to injury. His goal also helped Dallas end a four-game winless skid.
Samuel Sarver scored on a header in the 88th minute on an assist from Logan Farrington. The goal came two minutes after midfielder Ramiro Benetti blocked an attempt by New York’s Rafael Mosquera.
Besides getting another goal from Musa, FC Dallas clamped down defensively. Despite allowing New York to hold possession for 61.2% of the contest, Dallas allowed only seven shot attempts, and Michael Collodi earned the shutout without facing a shot.
New York (3-5-2, 12 points) was blanked for the second straight league game and third time overall as its winless skid reached four games (0-3-1). The Red Bulls also fell to 1-5-2 after winning their first two contests.
Horvath finished with four saves and kept the Red Bulls in it by denying Musa’s header in the 11th minute along with a pair of shots by Binyamin in the opening half.
–Field Level Media
