National Sports

VANCOUVER — Just five games into the Major League Soccer season, Vanni Sartini says his side Vancouver Whitecaps are preparing for another crucial match.

TORONTO — José Berríos knows he'll have goosebumps as he warms up ahead of the Toronto Blue Jays home opener. Berríos will be Toronto's starting pitcher in its season debut at Rogers Centre against the Texas Rangers on Friday night.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” TV star, a Paralympic swimmer and a self-described “brand king” were among the Instagram and TikTok influencers who were paid by Chinese officials for a discreet campaign that promoted the Beijin

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Elias Lindholm scored twice, Matthew Tkachuk added a goal and two assists, and the Calgary Flames beat the San Jose Sharks 4-2 on Thursday night. Trevor Lewis also scored for Calgary, which won its third straight game.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Connor McDavid set a career high with his 42nd goal and became the seventh player in NHL history to record multiple point streaks of at least 15 games in a season as the Edmonton Oilers defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 on Thursda

LAS VEGAS — A high playoff seed at the men's world curling championship could ease the grind for Brad Gushue's Canadian team. After securing a playoff berth, that asset was on the table for Gushue on Friday.

GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Bo Horvat and Alex Chiasson each had two goals and an assist and the Vancouver Canucks continued a late playoff push with a 5-1 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night.

DALLAS (AP) — Auston Matthews broke the Toronto season goals record with Nos. 55 and 56, the second 2:10 into overtime to give the Maple Leafs a 4-3 victory over the Dallas Stars on Thursday night.

TORONTO — It was a solid victory against a potential playoff opponent, and came despite the absence of two key players. With two games to go in the regular-season, Pascal Siakam and the Toronto Raptors are rounding into form at just the right time.

OTTAWA — Considering their current playoff situation and the opponent of the evening, the Nashville Predators desperately needed a win Thursday. They got it.