National Sports

VANCOUVER — A huge crowd got what many came to see early when Argentine superstar Lionel Messi was in the starting lineup Thursday night for Inter Miami CF in their match against the Vancouver Whitecaps during the first leg of the team’s CONCACAF Cha

OTTAWA — The Maple Leafs are one victory away from another Battle of Ontario triumph — and a trip to the second round of the NHL playoffs.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Nate Schmidt scored his third goal in two games, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 19 shots and the Florida Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round playoff series.

ALLEN — Braeden Cootes had two goals and three assists, Cameron Schmidt added two goals and one assist and Canada cruised to a 9-2 win over Slovakia at the under-18 men's world hockey championship on Thursday.

MONCTON — Markus Vidicek and Caleb Desnoyers each had a goal and an assist as the Moncton Wildcats topped the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies 5-3 on Thursday to take Game 1 of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League conference semifinal series.

AVONDALE, La.

TORONTO — Stewart Johnston plans to ease into his new role as CFL commissioner. Johnston officially took office Thursday following 28 years at TSN. He'd served as the sports broadcaster's president since 2010.

MONTREAL — City buses in Montreal have dropped the expression "Go! Canadiens Go!" following a complaint to Quebec's language watchdog.

MADRID — Montreal's Gabriel Diallo made the most of a last-minute spot in the Madrid Open, beating Belgium’s Zizou Bergs 6-1, 6-2 in the opening round of the clay-court tournament. In women's competition, 25th seed Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que.

WASHINGTON — Mike Matheson knows firsthand what playoff hockey in Montreal feels like, but even he can’t imagine how electric the Bell Centre’s atmosphere will be Friday night.