The end of August is nearly here, and it's the point of the season where the schedule starts to get very busy for teams in MLS, particularly if you're still alive in a cup competition or two.

With that, points come at a premium, and the true tiers in the standings start to open up. This year, Vancouver currently sits atop what appears to be a three-horse race for the Western Conference crown, while Toronto and Montréal both exist in the mess that is the bottom of the Eastern Conference, where nine teams are separated by just seven points fighting for the last three postseason spots.

Points now come at even more of a premium than before, with every win massive, and every loss magnified. Here's a look at what stuck out in MLS' matchday 22.

Five-star showing

A fairly poor run of form for the Whitecaps culminated in a 1-0 home loss against Houston on Wednesday, which temporarily pushed the Dynamo into the top spot in the West. That was the first time in a little bit that spot hasn't been in possession of Vancouver, and it clearly provided some motivation as Dallas came to town on Saturday.

Right from the start it was 'Caps pressure, with Emmanuel Sabbi scoring from a corner in the 11th minute. Brian White added a brace in his return, before Édier Ocampo scored in stoppage time to make it four.

The second half mellowed out a bit, with Bruno Caicedo scoring off the bench, and Vancouver cruised to a 5-0 win against a playoff-level team out West.

The amount of talent the Whitecaps have makes this showing always a possibility, and the ability to come out like this after a disappointing loss should make Jesper Sørensen very happy about the mentality of his group.

Though Ralph Priso had to be pulled at half, health seems to be trending in the right direction, most notably White returning after a few weeks out. The striker's brace marked his first goals in MLS play since before the World Cup break, and getting him fit and firing will be key down the stretch if the 'Caps would like to hold on to the top spot in the West.

Best week in a while

Toronto's win over Inter Miami will likely go down as the team's best win in 2026, as Robin Fraser's side used a couple of well-worked counter-attacking goals in quick succession to hold on against MLS' most star-studded team.

That win capped off a seven-point week that included hanging on at home over New England, a near-impossible comeback against Charlotte and this improbable away win at Miami. 

Certainly, luck has been on their side a bit, with seven goals from 10 shots on target in a week likely not the most sustainable way of scoring, but with a full cadre of attackers available for the first time in forever, there's certainly more potency moving forward.

Niklas Dorsch was a revelation in midfield before unfortunately suffering a facial fracture late in Wednesday's match, but Alonso Coello filled in nicely against Miami. Markus Cimermancic's introduction to the midfield has also been a big plus, with the 21-year-old's energy and ground coverage a big boost to a team that needed more legs.

Benjamín Kuscevic's return has been massive for the Reds as well. Here's an easy way to look at it: When the Chilean plays a full match, Toronto has a record of 5W-3D-0L. When he doesn't, the record is 0W-6D-7L. 

The organization and box defending Kuscevic brings is key for this team, and he clearly makes a massive difference for Toronto, who now sit tied with Orlando and DC for the final playoff spot in the East.

Still alive, barely

Speaking of the Eastern Conference playoff race, CF Montréal still sit just three points back of that final spot, though they'd have to pass five teams to get there.

The Impact couldn't follow up a massive road win in Columbus with a victory over the LA Galaxy in Alexis Sánchez's home debut, but a Prince Owusu equalizer after Galaxy 'keeper JT Marcinkowski saw red salvaged one point and extended the unbeaten run to four games.

Sánchez got about 30 minutes off the bench this weekend, which was about as expected. He's still clearly getting into the thick of things, but had a few good moments in this one.

Where things really are trending in the right direction, though, is in the underlying numbers. After the 2-2 draw against the Revolution, where New England frankly dominated and somehow, some way didn't come out with three points, Montréal has put together three very good performances in terms of controlling chances.

They've won the expected goals battle 5.79-2.23 over these past three matches, and have looked like the better team in all three. Continuing this good, sustainable play down the stretch, while adding Sánchez into the mix from the start, will be what's needed if Montréal is to make a real run at a playoff spot in 2026.