National Sports

TORONTO — The Maple Leafs felt they were equal to the moment. The battle-tested, desperate, championship-calibre roster on the other side was just a little bit better.

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Ondrej Palat got the New Jersey Devils on the scoreboard early and they had shut down the New York Rangers the rest of the way to move one win away from advancing to the second round.

TORONTO — There were many questions swirling around the Tampa Bay Lightning after they coughed up back-to-back comeback victories to the Toronto Maple Leafs in their first-round playoff series.

TORONTO — Fans lined up for hours before puck drop just to stand outside Scotiabank Arena and watch the Toronto Maple Leafs face the Tampa Bay Lightning. Owen Das from Markham, Ont.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Linnea Johansson shot a 7-under 64 to take a one-shot lead after the first round of the JM Eagle LA Championship on Thursday at Wilshire Country Club. Johansson had a bogey-free round, one of just five in the first round.

VALLARTA, Mexico (AP) — Austin Smotherman already has his name on the Mexico Open trophy.

NDP MP Peter Julian said at a parliamentary committee meeting Thursday that Canada Soccer is worse at handling certain "important" issues than Hockey Canada. The statement came during a questioning of former Canada Soccer president, Steven Reed.

CARY, N.C. — The North Carolina Courage have acquired Canadian international midfielder Victoria Pickett from Gotham FC in exchange for US$200,000 in allocation money. The 26-year-old from Barrie, Ont.

MADRID (CP-AP) — Canadian international Cyle Larin scored in a losing cause Thursday as Real Valladolid was beaten 2-1 by Valencia. The 28-year-old from Brampton, Ont.

LAS VEGAS — Jets forward Morgan Barron will go back to his regular visor starting Thursday night after using a full cage on his helmet for most of Winnipeg's first-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights.