National Sports

VANCOUVER — Lionel Messi was the headliner but the Vancouver Whitecaps used grit and desire to steal the show.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Pavel Buchnevich tried not to get too emotional as the hats rained onto the ice in his honor. Buchnevich scored three goals for his first career playoff hat trick and added an assist as the St.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Kirill Kaprizov missed half of the regular season with a lingering lower-body injury that kept him out until just before the NHL playoffs began as the Minnesota Wild barely got in. He's fully recovered now.

OTTAWA — Simon Benoit wasn't sure how to react. The Maple Leafs defenceman had just flung a puck on goal through traffic in overtime. He found himself in the middle of a wild celebration seconds later.

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.

Thursday's Scoreboard NHL Playoffs First Round Toronto 3 Ottawa 2 (OT) (Toronto leads best-of-seven series 3-0) St.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Pavel Buchnevich scored three goals for his first career playoff hat trick and added an assist as the St. Louis Blues beat the Winnipeg Jets 7-2 in Game 3 of their first-round series on Thursday night.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Kirill Kaprizov had two power-play goals and the Minnesota Wild beat the Vegas Golden Knights 5-2 on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in the first-round series.

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.

OTTAWA — The Ottawa Senators are staring down their biggest test of the season, but captain Brady Tkachuk is ready for the challenge ahead.