National Sports

VANCOUVER — Dakota Joshua still struggles to put into words what it felt like to receive the news. The Vancouver Canucks winger knew something was wrong, but hearing the doctor's diagnosis of testicular cancer was scary.

TAMPERE, Finland (AP) — Florida captain Aleksander Barkov had a goal and three assists in his return to his hometown, Sam Reinhart scored twice and the Panthers beat the Dallas Stars 6-4 on Friday night. Finnish players put on a show.

OTTAWA — The Ottawa Redblacks are in unfamiliar territory as they return to the playoffs for the first time since 2018. Ottawa takes on the Toronto Argonauts in the East Division semifinal Saturday afternoon at BMO Field.

MONTREAL — A small Quebec town northeast of Montreal is racing to find a stolen bronze statue of revered Formula One driver Gilles Villeneuve, as locals fear it will get melted down for cash.

REGINA — There is no clear favourite in Saturday’s CFL West Division semifinal between the Saskatchewan Roughriders and B.C. Lions, especially given their unusual regular-season series that had both teams recording lopsided victories.

CALGARY — Blake Coleman believes his Calgary Flames captain Mikael Backlund can beat the franchise record for most games played. That means hitting the 1,219 currently held by former captain Jarome Iginla. Backlund is on his way after reaching 1,000.

MONTREAL — William Dandjinou was turning heads among short-track speedskating legends long before he started picking up gold medals on the world stage.

NEW YORK (AP) — The Professional Women’s Hockey League’s New York Sirens have signed No. 1 pick Sarah Fillier to a one-year contract.

Another year, another Canadian Premier League coach of the year nomination for Forge FC's Bobby Smyrniotis.

TAMPERE, Finland (AP) — The Florida Panthers and the Dallas Stars didn't make the Finnish fans wait long to see their homeland's players take the ice on Friday. They started all of them.