National Sports

TORONTO — With a date with the top-ranked United States looming Wednesday in Washington, D.C., the Canadian women take to the field Friday in Toronto against Costa Rica. At No. 43, the Central Americans are ranked 35 places below Canada.

HAMILTON — McLeod Bethel-Thompson will lead the Montreal Alouettes’ offence for the first time Friday against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.

VANCOUVER — Evander Kane is relishing the opportunity to join his hometown team, one he feels is close to being competitive with a desire to win now.

LOS ANGELES — Michael Misa did his best to shrug off the snub.

CLEVELAND — Toronto starter Kevin Gausman pitched eight superb innings Thursday in the Blue Jays 6-0 win over the Cleveland Guardians that saw slugger Vladimir Guerrero Jr. leave the game after being hit by a pitch.

The NHL and NHL Players' Association are on the verge of extending the collective bargaining agreement more than a year before it expires and expanding the regular season to 84 games.

LOS ANGELES — Matthew Schaefer has watched the NHL draft plenty of times. A player gets picked and is congratulated by family members before heading on stage to shake a dozen hands from the organization that just made his dream a reality.

TORONTO — Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving expects star forward Mitch Marner to hit the open market Tuesday unless there's a drastic change in contract negotiations.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — The San Jose Sharks placed longtime defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic on unconditional waivers Thursday for the purpose of buying out the final year of his contract.

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn has signed a one-year contract to stay with the only team he has played for in his 16 NHL seasons.