Montreal's Professional Women's Hockey League team can book a ticket to the post-season on Wednesday night. But just securing a playoff spot won't quite satisfy general manager Danièle Sauvageau as the regular season nears the finish line. "We want to finish first," Sauvageau said from the Verdun Audit...

Deep NHL playoff runs Jason Demers went on during his playing career usually ended the same way. "The injuries just accumulated too much," he said. "And then you're just not playing at 100%." That attrition is already showing early in the first round this spring at Demers' old position, as defences ...

TORONTO - With a Professional Women's Hockey League playoff spot secured, Toronto remains focused on improvement over its final three regular-season games. Toronto returned from the international break with a loss against Boston on Thursday and a win against Montreal at Bell Centre on Saturday that clinched its post-s...

TORONTO - There's at least one piece of basketball memorabilia that Bennedict Mathurin wishes he was a part of. A basketball with the signatures of 19 Canadian players currently in the NBA is up for grabs in an online contest through the NBA Represent website. All of the signatures were gathered in the hallways of Toro...

WINNIPEG - It was just over a year ago when Nino Niederreiter made a frank assessment of the Winnipeg Jets. The veteran forward said there were too many "passengers" on the team as it was fighting to grab the second wild-card spot for the 2023 Western Conference playoffs. Flip the calendar to this season and ...

TORONTO - It's the only must-win race of David Moran's 2024 season. The veteran Woodbine rider will race this year against his son, Pietro, an 18-year-old apprentice jockey. That's expected to happen repeatedly this season but for the elder Moran, the first meeting will be the most crucial. "I've got to try to get...

EDMONTON - The in-house decibel meter shot past 100 throughout the game. More than 1,150 hats - 14 bags full - were collected after Zach Hyman scored his third goal of the game. Just another raucous playoff night at Edmonton's Rogers Place, right? Not quite. The Oilers announced a sellout crowd for their 7-4 win over L...

VANCOUVER - The Vancouver Canucks will be without all-star goalie Thatcher Demko when they face the Nashville Predators in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series. Coach Rick Tocchet says Demko is "day-to-day" and will be evaluated later today. He will be replaced in net by back-up Casey DeSmith. Demko, 2...

CALGARY - Hockey Canada completed its 25-player roster for the upcoming world men's under-18 hockey championship Tuesday with the addition of forward Tij Iginla. The 17-year-old son of Hockey Hall of Famer forward Jarome Iginla had 47 goals and 84 points in 64 games with the Western Hockey League's Kelowna Rockets this...

TORONTO - Growing up in England, John Herdman saw plenty of cup competition. He knows the pitfalls that can come with it. "What you always know is that there's a few banana skins in the opening rounds," said the Toronto FC coach. "There's always some upsets and surprises." The semi-pro Simcoe County...

Red Deer Ringette is hosting a free "Come Try It" event for kids this Sunday. Held at the Servus Arena on April 28, kids aged four to 16 will have a chance at trying the "fastest game on ice".Organizers say experienced players and coaches will be on hand to provide information and instruction to int...

DETROIT (AP) - The U.S. Justice Department announced a $138.7 million settlement Tuesday with more than 100 people who accused the FBI of grossly mishandling allegations of sexual assault against Larry Nassar in 2015 and 2016, a critical time gap that allowed the sports doctor to continue to prey on victims before his ...

BOSTON - Ilya Samsonov had just made a small mistake that quickly turned into a massive problem. The Maple Leafs goaltender fumbled a puck late in the first period of Game 2 against the Bruins. The sequence quickly mushroomed into a jarring shot off the side of his mask, a lost defensive zone faceoff, a goal for David...

ÖSTERSUND, Sweden - Canada's Kadriana and Colton Lott scored six in the sixth end to clinch a 12-5 win over Scotland at the world mixed doubles curling championship on Tuesday. The husband-and-wife team from Gimli, Man. scored three in the second end and stole another in the third after the Scottish duo of Sophie ...

TORONTO - The Canadian Olympic Committee has become the first national Olympic committee in the world to join the Centre for Sport and Human Rights. The centre based in Switzerland launched in 2018 to promote human rights in sport and prevent violations of those rights. Former Irish president and former United Nations...

Mark Stone of the Vegas Golden Knights went from the 26-game injured reserve list to the Game 1 Dallas scoresheet in 83 seconds, the Boston fan with the big sign "Matthews STILL stuck on 69!" was nowhere to be seen after last night's Leafs-Bruins' game, and the New York Islanders played an impressive 24 minut...

EDMONTON - The Edmonton Oilers have won a Game 1 for the first time in seven years. Edmonton beat the visiting Los Angeles Kings 7-4 on Monday night to open their first-round, best-of-seven NHL playoff series. Oilers' forward Zach Hyman scored a hat trick, while captain Connor McDavid had five assists. The Oilers had b...

EDMONTON - Zach Hyman had three goals and an assist, and Connor McDavid had five assists as the Edmonton Oilers ended their series-opening jinx with a 7-4 victory on Monday over the Los Angeles Kings in Game 1 of their first-round NHL playoff series. Adam Henrique, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Leon Draisaitl and Warren Foegele...

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - The Carolina Hurricanes were down big at home in the NHL playoffs, playing desperate hockey full of withering long shifts in the offensive zone as they tried to rally. They fought back long enough to give themselves a chance - then Sebastian Aho and Jordan Martinook pounced to complete an improbabl...

DALLAS (AP) - Vegas captain Mark Stone scored quickly after missing two months, Tomas Hertl had a nifty goal in his playoff debut for the Golden Knights and the reigning Stanley Cup champions opened defence of their title with a 4-3 win over the top-seeded Dallas Stars on Monday night. Jonathan Marchessault got his fra...

BOSTON (AP) - Auston Matthews scored on a breakaway to snap a third-period tie with eight minutes left, and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Boston Bruins 3-2 on Monday night to knot their first-round playoff series at one game apiece. Ilya Samsonov stopped 27 shots for Toronto, which snapped an eight-game losing strea...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Bo Bichette had a bases-clearing triple, Daulton Varsho hit a two-run homer and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Kansas City Royals 5-3 on Monday night. The Jays have won seven of the past nine. The Royals lost their third straight at home after winning their previous nine at Kauffman Stadium. Yus...

BOSTON - Auston Matthews scored the winner in the third period and added two assists as the Toronto Maple Leafs topped the Boston Bruins 3-2 on Monday to even their first-round playoff series 1-1. The star centre took a lob pass from Max Domi and moved in alone on Linus Ullmark before making a move to the forehand with...

GENEVA (AP) - The World Anti-Doping Agency said after reviewing various media reports that it stands by its decision to clear 23 Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a banned heart medication before the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. WADA addressed questions at a Monday news conference and acknowledged there would be skeptic...

VANCOUVER - Rick Tocchet has long believed Dakota Joshua had something special to offer the Vancouver Canucks. The coach saw it when he took over the team last January, and he set to work getting the most out of the big winger. "He's a coachable kid," Tocchet said on Monday. "I just think that he needs...

Lindy Ruff is returning to Buffalo for a second stint as coach of the Sabres. General manager Kevyn Adams announced the hiring Monday. Adams had strongly hinted at bringing Ruff back into the fold when talking about hiring a coach with significant NHL experience. Ruff coached the Sabres from 1997-2013 and was the last ...

WINNIPEG - Connor Hellebuyck made sure he did one important thing while winding down Sunday after the Winnipeg Jets beat the Colorado Avalanche 7-6 in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series. The favourite to win this season's Vezina Trophy as the NHL's top goalie made sure his recovery included replenishing his flu...

MILAN (AP) - A 2-1 victory over AC Milan in the derby on Monday gave Inter Milan a 20th league title - breaking a tie with its fierce city rival - and a coveted second star on the team shirts on Monday. Not even the pouring rain dampened the Nerazzurri fans' spirits at San Siro as they joyously reclaimed city bragging ...