MLS notebook: New England Revolution make history. Johnny Russell powers SKC's late-season surge.

When New England ascended to the top of the MLS standings early in the season, we duly noted that in this space with interest, and a healthy dose of skepticism.

There was no question the Bruce Arena-coached Revolution, which tore through the playoffs in 2020 to advance to the Eastern Conference final, were good. Maybe even great. But, they’d also never won a major trophy in their history, and despite strong seasons and a storied history, the whole situation just always seemed to warrant a certain amount of doubt that, historically, has been justified. 

But after weeks, if not months, as the runaway MLS leaders, the Revs clinched their first-ever Supporters' Shield on Saturday. And they did it in style – the official clincher came as a result of results elsewhere, but when they finally played Sunday at Orlando, an Adam Buksa brace gave New England a smash-and-grab 2-2 draw that cleared the pathway for the club to truly savor its trophy (no one wants to celebrate following a loss).

Three days later, the Revs were MLS single-season points record-holders following a 1-0 triumph over the Colorado Rapids.

Quite a turnaround for a team that was lost in the wilderness before Arena arrived.

MLS game of the week

Orlando City SC vs. Nashville SC (Sunday, 4 p.m. ET on UniMas/TUDN and Twitter): The coveted No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference is for the taking, and Nashville SC is jostling with Orlando City SC for a postseason route that avoids the 2021 Supporters’ Shield-winning New England Revolution until the conference final, should the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds advance that far. A head-to-head matchup on Sunday between Nashville and Orlando could be a decider as to who claims the No. 2 spot on the Eastern Conference bracket.

MLS player to watch

Djordje Mihailovic, CF Montréal: Mihailovic is CF Montréal’s ultimate distributor. Once the Chicago Fire FC midfielder of the future, the 22-year-old Mihailovic has racked a whopping 15 assists this season, which is second in MLS behind the expected league MVP, Carles Gil of the New England Revolution. Montréal is one of the most-improved clubs in MLS, thanks to stout midfield of Mihailovic, Samuel Piette and Victor Wanyama. The club of Québec is sitting on the playoff bubble, and Mihailovic will be one to watch in its quest for a playoff berth against the New York Red Bulls on Saturday (4 p.m. ET, ESPN+).

By the numbers: Johnny Russell powers SKC's late-season surge

Johnny Russell has been on a tear lately, scoring 10 of his 14 goals on the 2021 season in his team's last eight games. The eight-game scoring run is the longest in MLS this season and longest in team history. In case you were curious, the longest goal-scoring streak in MLS history belongs to Josef Martinez, who scored in 15 consecutive matches for Atlanta United in 2019. If he can score Sunday against Minnesota United, Russell will move into a three-way for the third-longest such streak in league history.

WATCH:Portland Timbers' Dairon Asprilla pulls off amazing bicycle kick goal

Sprint to finish in MLS Golden Boot race 

DC United’s Ola Kamara is currently in line to be the goal-scoring champion of MLS via his 17 goals this season. But Kamara’s form his slumped (as has United’s lately) and he’s without a goal since Sept. 29. Beyond that, Kamara has just one score in his last eight starts, so this race is far from concluded. 

Here are the most likely candidates to overtake Kamara. Four players – Sporting Kansas City’s Dániel Sallói, New England Revolution's Adam Buksa, New York City FC's Valentín Castellanos and Seattle’s Raúl Ruidíaz – are all on 16 scores this year. Behind those players, Gustavo Bou of New England has 15 goals, and can’t be counted out yet. Like the races for playoff berths and seeding, this is a really fun subplot that should carry into the regular season's final match day. 

Time to give the Rapids some love 

The Colorado Rapids aren’t just a feel-good story. They’re a serious MLS contender and are going to push the Seattle Sounders in the race for first place in the Western Conference over what remains of the regular season. The Rapids clinched their playoff berth over the weekend with a 2-0 win against the Portland Timbers at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, and they might not be done yet. Colorado (15-6-11, 55 points) is just three points back of Seattle and Sporting Kansas City for the No. 1 seed in the West. 

And the best-selling jersey in MLS belongs to ...

Atlanta United forward Josef Martinez, who has been among the top five in jersey sales since coming to MLS in 2017 but attains the top spot for the first time. Rounding out the top five are: Raúl Ruidíaz (Seattle Sounders), Carlos Vela (Los Angeles FC), Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez (Los Angeles Galaxy) and Nicolás Lodeiro (Seattle Sounders).

MLS rankings: Top 10 power poll

1. New England Revolution: With the club's first-ever trophy already in tow (the prestigious Supporters' Shield), the Revolution became the league's single-season points record-holders (73, topping LAFC's 72 from 2019) with Wednesday night's win.

2. Seattle Sounders: The Sounders suffered their worst loss of the season in a 3-0 setback against Los Angeles FC at Banc of California Stadium on Tuesday night.

3. Sporting Kansas City: SKC goalkeeper Tim Melia didn't play in Wednesday's game vs. the LA Galaxy due to a one-game suspension for a body slam of the Seattle Sounders' Cristian Roldan that got the attention of former WWE star Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. Didn't matter ... SKC shut out the Galaxy, 2-0, and climbed into a first-place tie with the Sounders atop the Western Conference.

4. Colorado Rapids: The Rapids couldn't take advantage of the opportunity presented to them by Seattle's loss to LAFC. Wednesday's defeat in Foxborough kept Colorado back three points of the conference co-leaders with just two games left to play. 

5. Nashville SC: Nashville had gone more than a month without a victory ... until Wednesday night's wild 6-3 win over FC Cincinnati.

6. Philadelphia Union: Sérgio Santos' equalizer in the 77th minute on Wednesday night saved the Union from defeat and kept the team within striking distance of second-place Nashville.

7. Orlando City SC: A less-than-ideal week for Orlando, which blew a two-goal lead late against the Revolution on Sunday, then followed that up with a road loss to the Columbus Crew on Wednesday night.

8. New York City FC: NYCFC followed up a 6-0 demolition of DC United on Saturday by defeating Chicago on Wednesday night. Those results have put NYCFC in position to host a playoff game, if the season ended today (which it doesn't).

9. Portland Timbers: The Timbers got a much-needed win Wednesday night against the San Jose Earthquakes, ending a three-game losing streak in a game highlighted by Dairon Asprilla's amazing bicycle kick goal.

10. Los Angeles Galaxy: The Galaxy's remaining two games are against a team playing for the top seed in the Western Conference (Seattle Sounders) and another fighting just to make the playoff field (Minnesota United).

Moving in: Los Angeles Galaxy

Dropping out: Real Salt Lake (previously: 9), Atlanta United (10)

Others receiving votes:  Atlanta United, Minnesota United, New York Red Bulls

USA TODAY Sports Network MLS top 10 power poll voters: Pat Brennan, Cincinnati Enquirer; Drake Hills, The Tennessean; Jacob Myers, The Columbus Dispatch; Jim Reineking, USA TODAY.

MLS schedule: What are this weekend's games?

(ABC/ESPN games available to be streamed on Watch ESPN; FOX games on FOX Sports Live. Games also available on fuboTV.) 

Saturday

• Inter Miami CF vs. New York City FC, 1:30 p.m. ET (Univision/TUDN, Twitter)
• Real Salt Lake vs. San Jose Earthquakes, 3:30 p.m. ET (Univision/TUDN, Twitter)
• New York Red Bulls vs. CF Montreal, 4 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
• Atlanta United vs. Toronto FC, 6 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
• DC United vs. Columbus Crew, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
• FC Dallas vs. Austin FC, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN+)

Sunday

• Minnesota United vs. Sporting Kansas City, 1 p.m. ET (ESPN)
• Houston Dynamo vs. Colorado Rapids, 3 p.m. ET (ESPN+)
• Orlando City SC vs. Nashville SC, 4 p.m. ET (UniMas/TUDN, Twitter)
• Philadelphia Union vs. FC Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+)