The Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes put themselves one win away from earning first-round sweeps, while three Canadian teams set out to take the lead in their series on Friday. Here are five things to know entering Friday's post-season action: HOSTILE TERRITORY The Vancouver Canucks might have taken both games ...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Aaron Gordon had 29 points and 15 rebounds, Nikola Jokic added 24 points, 15 rebounds and nine assists, and the Denver Nuggets moved to the brink of the second round with a 112-105 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of their first-round series Thursday night. Jamal Murray of Kitchener, Ont...

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Philadelphia 76ers All-Star center Joel Embiid has been diagnosed with Bell's palsy, a form of facial paralysis he says has affected him since before the play-in tournament. Embiid wore sunglasses to the podium after he scored 50 points in the Sixers' Game 3 win over the New York Knicks and said he'...

NEW YORK (AP) - Defensemen Brent Burns and Dmitry Orlov got Carolina off to a fast start and the Hurricanes held on to beat the New York Islanders 3-2 on Thursday night for a 3-0 lead in the first-round series. Sebastian Aho also scored for the Hurricanes and Andrei Svechnikov had two assists. Frederik Andersen stopped...

DENVER - Resting on top of an audio speaker just inside the entrance to the Winnipeg Jets' locker-room sits a reminder of what the NHL team is fighting for. A blue board, complete with team logo and Stanley Cup in the background, has plastic slots for 16 hockey pucks -- one for each post-season victory. One slot was f...

Chelsea Carey wants to be clear. She's not trying to fill Jennifer Jones's curling shoes. Carey has been handed the skipping reins of Jones's young team ranked second in Canada and fourth in the world. Six-time Canadian champion Jones, also a two-time world champ and an Olympic gold medallist, retired from team curling...

VANTAA, Finland - Gavin McKenna scored twice and Canada opened with a 6-3 win over Sweden on Thursday at the world men's under-18 hockey championship. Jett Luchanko had a goal and an assist and Malcolm Spence, Matthew Schaeffer and Carson Wetsch also scored for Canada. Porter Martone added two assists. Carter Geroge ma...

NASHVILLE - Rick Tocchet expects boos to rain down when his Vancouver Canucks take the ice on Friday. That's exactly how it should be, the head coach said. The Canucks will be in hostile territory as their first-round playoff series with the Predators shifts to Nashville for Game. Being the despised opponent is a role...

Members of the NHL community and beyond paid tribute Bob Cole on Thursday after the legendary broadcaster died at age 90. He died Wednesday night in St. John's, N.L., surrounded by his family, his daughter, Megan Cole, told the CBC. Cole, an influential voice in broadcasting for more than half a century, brought life t...

TORONTO - There were tears in the Simcoe County Rovers' locker room ahead of Wednesday's Canadian Championship game against Toronto FC as players' family and friends offered love and support by video. "Go Rovers," was the repeated refrain from loved ones young and old. "So proud of you and the hard work...

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - The man who fatally shot retired NFL star Will Smith during a confrontation following a car crash in 2016 received a 25-year prison sentence Thursday in a New Orleans courtroom. It was the second time Cardell Hayes, 36, had faced sentencing in Smith's death. He was convicted of manslaughter in Decemb...

Bob Cole, a welcome voice for Canadian hockey fans for a half-century, has died at the age of 90. Cole, known for his "Oh baby!" catchphrase, called some of the most iconic games in hockey as part of CBC's "Hockey Night in Canada" broadcast team. His distinctive play-by-play style added even more fl...

EDMONTON - Despite some ugly early-series numbers, Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner still has the faith of his coach. Skinner gave up three goals on the first seven shots he faced in Wednesday's Game 2 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. The Oilers rallied before losing 5-4 in overtime on a breakaway goal from Anze...

TORONTO - Rogers Communications and the NHL have reached an exclusive agreement with Amazon's Prime Video to carry Monday regular-season games in Canada for the next two seasons. Rogers and the league said in a joint statement Thursday that Prime Monday Night Hockey will stream all national regular season Monday night ...

ÖSTERSUND, Sweden - Canada's Kadriana and Colton Lott scored an 11-4 win over Australia on Thursday, securing their spot in the playoffs at the world mixed doubles curling championship. The husband-and-wife team from Gimli, Man., opened with a deuce and then stole a single in the second end to take an early 3-0 le...

MADRID - Montreal's Félix Auger-Aliassime rallied to defeat Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the first round of the Madrid Open on Thursday. Auger-Aliassime, ranked 35th in the world, fired 11 aces and won 81 per cent of his first serves in a match that lasted two hours and 19 minutes on the clay surf...

VANCOUVER - Wrexham AFC, co-owned by Canadian actor and Vancouver native Ryan Reynolds, is set to play Major League Soccer's Vancouver Whitecaps on July 27 at BC Place Stadium. It will be the last of Wrexham AFC's three North American matches this summer as part of their 2024 Wrex Coast Tour. Preceding the Vancouver vi...

The Toronto Maple Leafs fell behind in their first-round series again without star winger William Nylander on Wednesday, and Thursday's schedule presents two teams in need of a win. Here are five things to know heading into Thursday's post-season action: WHERE'S NYLANDER? Nylander missed a third straight game to open ...

EDMONTON - Anze Kopitar scored the overtime winner and had a pair of assists as the Los Angeles Kings knocked off the Edmonton Oilers 5-4 to tie their opening-round playoff series 1-1 on Wednesday. Kopitar scored just 2:07 into overtime after a weird bounce gave him a lane up the centre of the ice and he beat Stuart Sk...

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Canada's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 33 points and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the New Orleans Pelicans 124-92 on Wednesday night to take a 2-0 lead in their first-round Western Conference playoff series. Chet Holmgren had 26 points and seven rebounds and Jalen Williams added 21 points for th...

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Alec Marsh and four relievers combined for a six-hitter as the Kansas City Royals beat the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 Wednesday night. Maikel Garcia and Salvador Perez each had two hits and an RBI for Kansas City, which bounced back from a loss in the series opener on Monday to win two straight. John...

OTTAWA - Katerina Mrazova scored the shootout winner Wednesday night to lead Ottawa to a 3-2 win over Boston in Professional Women's Hockey League action. Both teams are vying for the fourth and final playoff spot. Ottawa, now with 32 points, gained a three-point lead over Boston in addition to having a game in hand. T...