National Sports

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks believe making the playoffs isn’t simply possible this season — it’s imperative. The club finished five points shy of a playoff spot with a 40-30-12 record last season.

TORONTO — As far as gut-punch playoff losses go, this one hurt more than most for the Toronto Blue Jays.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Djordje Mihailovic and Lassi Lappalainen scored goals in the first eight minutes and CF Montreal breezed to a 3-1 victory over Inter Miami in a regular-season finale on Sunday.

TASHKENT, Uzbekistan — Canada's Catherine Beauchemin-Pinard earned a silver medal in the world judo championship Sunday.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed forward Zach Aston-Reese to a one-year year contract worth $840,630. The 28-year-old from Staten Island, N.Y.

MONTREAL — A win Monday would be worth its weight in gold for the Montreal Alouettes. A CFL team chasing a .

Ignoring World Cup-bound Morocco's modest world ranking of No. 76, Canada coach Bev Priestman expects her seventh-ranked squad to be tested by the Atlas Lionesses on Monday.

WHANGAREI, New Zealand — Canada ran in seven tries to open its Women's Rugby World Cup campaign with a comfortable 41-5 win over Japan on Saturday, reeling off 36 straight points to snap an early 5-5 tie at Northland Events Centre.

TORONTO — Kyle Dubas didn't just double down. The Toronto Maple Leafs general manager pushed his chips all-in – a decision that could go a long way in defining his tenure in the pressure-packed role he's occupied since the spring of 2018.

MUNICH — Canadian star Alphonso Davies suffered a "cranial bruise" in taking a boot to the face in Bayern Munich's 2-2 draw at Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.