The New York Islanders center needed less than eight minutes to register a natural hat trick in the second period of his team’s 4-0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night. It was Barzal’s second career hat trick; he also netted three goals against the Winnipeg Jets on Dec. 23, 2017. Friday night, Barzal notched two goals and an assist in the Islanders’ 6-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators at Barclays Center....

The Serbian midfielder was considered surplus to requirements by Antonio Conte over the summer, with a £40 million transfer taking him to Old Trafford. Red Devils 2/1 for victory Matic has impressed in new surroundings, with his presence considered to have aided United while his absence has contributed to an inconsistent period for the Blues. The 29-year-old will get another opportunity to show his former club what they are missing when United head to west London on Sunday, but the two-time Premier League title winner insists he has no added incentive to impress....

In what Hardy calls the “series finale” of his web series, “Free the Delete,” Matt prepares for the separation of Zenith - the entity found inside of him - and he calls upon the only two people who can do it. He asks the people on the phone to come to the Hardy Compound to separate Zenith from his body. What follows is a montage of Hardy getting his affairs in order just in case something goes wrong with the process....

There is no denying that the Mets have one of the strongest rotations in MLB, but one of their best pitchers continued his struggles in Saturday’s 7-5 loss to the Indians. Matt Harvey, who is playing in a contract year, fell to 0-3 after serving up five earned runs in 5 2/3 innings pitched. MORE: Every MLB team’s worst regular-season memory “Early on, I was able to use pretty much every pitch,” Harvey said, via ESPN....

Having had a punt blocked out of the side of the end zone for a safety in the first quarter, Washington’s hopes for a comeback from a 19-point deficit took a major blow in the fourth quarter when Matt Jones fumbled out of the side of the Giants’ end zone for a touchback. MORE: The best photos of Week 3 | Washington CB Hall out with toe injury | KD watches mess at Meadowlands...

Left behind were Tony Stewart, who finished second with a late rally; Joey Logano, who pushed for the lead late in the race; and Kevin Harvick, who was disgusted with his team’s performance. MORE: Bowman’s stellar run | Junior decision due Wednesday | Gordon at Indy? Martin Truex Jr.’s rotten luck continued, losing his clutch and shifter when he had a best car on the track. Kyle Busch dominated early and had a great battle with Truex....

Ross Kenseth, 22, shouldn’t be too hard to spot on they track, as he will drive the No. 20 Dollar General Toyota — the same paint scheme his father uses in the Sprint Cup. PHOTOS: 2015 Sprint Cup winners | NASCAR families | Most surprising champions “It’s going to be neat to see him in that car,” Matt Kenseth said Wednesday. “It will be weird to see somebody in there because I feel it’s my car....

He also wasn’t surprised that the season-opening Sprint Unlimited turned into a wreckfest. MORE: More on Kenseth’s victory | Daytona 500 qualifying will be chaos | PHOTOS: Sprint Unlimited gallery “It’s what happens every year,” said Kenseth, a two-time Daytona 500 winner who held off Martin Truex Jr. to win the 75-lap exhibition. “I’ve seen a lot of plate races and more end up like that than don’t.” Nine different drivers led the wild race, but Kenseth and Truex had the strongest cars at the end, combining to lead 49 of 75 laps....

As a part of the trade, the Colts agreed to make a sizable adjustment to Ryan’s contract. They didn’t extend him; the 36-year-old still has two years left on the five-year, $150 million contract extension he signed with the Falcons in 2018. However, the Colts made sure that Ryan would get much more guaranteed money over those final two seasons than he was initially supposed to make. What adjustments did the Colts make to Ryan’s contract?...

Williams, who has been a coach with the Arizona Diamondbacks since 2010, impressed Nationals GM Mike Rizzo with his work as manager of the the Salt River Rafters in the Arizona Fall League last year, the report states. The Rafters made it to the league finals. If they give the job to Williams, the Nats would look to keep bench coach Randy Knorr in that position. Knorr has interviewed for the managerial opening....

The Cavs guard fouled Pistons center Andre Drummond hard on a fast break to force Drummond, a notoriously poor free-throw shooter, to earn his points at the line. But this went beyond your typical Hack-A-Drummond play. MORE: Dirtiest plays in sports history | Fan who yelled at LeBron is a self-made billionaire It’s wrong to throw the “dirty” label on Dellavedova when he is simply being aggressive or diving for a loose ball....

With just over a second remaining in overtime between the Calgary Flames and Nashville Predators on Thursday night, the 21-year-old Flames forward sliced a between-the-legs shot over the blocker of Predators goalie Pekka Rinne. The puck had landed in the slot after Elias Lindholm’s shot attempt was blocked, setting up Tkachuk for his highlight-reel swipe. The tally completed Calgary’s comeback from a 4-1 deficit entering the third period. The Flames scored three times in a row to tie, the last coming with 3:21 remaining in regulation....

Dallas earned the West’s fourth seed with a 52-30 record while Utah (49-33) finished fifth in the standings. The two teams enter the postseason having had nearly opposite seasons — the Mavs are 36-12 since Dec. 31 while the Jazz are 24-24 over the same span after getting out to a hot start. The teams split the season series with Dallas winning the last two games: Dec. 25, 2021: Donovan Mitchell’s 33 points led Utah pass a Luka Doncic-less Dallas team Feb....

Matthews from Williams is a nice blast from the past, but they and the other big vets (Dirk Nowitzki and Andrew Bogut, to name two) haven’t accomplished much this season. Tuesday’s W improved Dallas’ record to 14-27 at the season’s midpoint. Injuries have played a role, and that’s a huge problem in the stacked West. MORE: Mavs-Bulls Game Center Mavs coach Rick Carlisle told reporters before the game that this has been one of his “favorite teams to coach” and that the first half of the season went by “amazingly fast....

The fight was announced two days ago. It was to be the main event of UFC 272. MORE: When will we see Volkanovski-Holloway 3, Aljamain Sterling-Petr Yan 2? Holloway made his MMA debut in 2010 and joined the UFC in 2012. In 2019, he fought Dustin Poirier for the interim UFC lightweight title at UFC 236 and lost, ending a 13-fight winning streak. “Blessed” was UFC featherweight champion from 2017 to 2019 until he lost the belt to Volkanovski....

He’s coming back to the division, this time wearing a different uniform. Scherzer has inked a deal to join the Mets, according to multiple reports, giving New York one of the most formidable one-two punches in the sport with ace Jacob deGrom. As would be expected, the deal is a massive one for the 37-year-old right-hander, who will now make the highest average annual value of any player in the sport....

“I would say no, probably not,” Dave Dombrowski told the New York Post when asked if the team would re-sign Scherzer. Dombrowski said the rotation is fine without Scherzer, who is seeking a deal upwards of $200 million. “We’ve been in a situation where we’re pretty well set with our starting pitching,” Dombrowski said. “We’ve got five starters that we’re comfortable [with]. I guess you never tell what happens, but we’re not in any type of active pursuit of any other pitching right now....

Known now by memers as the “Nodding Lady,“Joli ran for congress during the 2018 election, campaigning on her support of Trump. “I am not looking to run [for Congress] because I need a paycheck, like Donald Trump. I’m not looking to run because I need fame, like Donald Trump,” she told the Miami Herald in 2017. Joli had also shared a video of her speaking to Trump on the red carpet at the Town Hall to her personal Facebook on Thursday night....

Dani Alves looking for ’the big prize’ in Champions League The teenage attacker has scored 26 goals in all competitions this season, helping the principality club to the Champions League semi-finals and break Paris Saint-Germain’s dominance of French football. Manchester rivals City and United and Spanish champions-elect Real Madrid have been strongly linked with close-season moves for Mbappe that could see sums tipping nine figures. Carvalho was a substitute alongside Mbappe before he emerged from the bench to make his debut against Tottenham in the 2015-16 Europa League and, having won the Premier League with Chelsea before playing in Spain with Real Madrid, the Portuguese has backed the 18-year-old to make an impact wherever he goes....

Before we get to my NEWSWEEK colleague Holly Bailey’s latest dispatch from Straight Talk Air, a little background: over the past few days, the McCain campaign has instituted a new conflicts policy designed to flush registered lobbyists from its staff, reportedly at the senator’s behest. Our mag’s investigative ace Michael Isikoff has now targeted two staffers–convention chief/Burma lobbyist Doug Goodyear and national finance chairman Tom Loeffler–who’ve ended up getting the boot....