National Sports

TORONTO — The first round of the NHL playoffs has the potential for upsets and opportunities for players to make a name for themselves by stealing a game in net or scoring the winner in double-overtime.

DETROIT — Andre Drummond is out for Monday night's game between the Detroit Pistons and Toronto Raptors with a sore Achilles tendon.

CALGARY — Adding veterans Mike Smith and Travis Hamonic to a young Flames team coming off a playoff appearance the season prior was supposed to set Calgary up for greater success in 2017-18. That didn't happen.

TORONTO — James van Riemsdyk didn't see a lot of experience when he looked around the Toronto Maple Leafs' locker room at this time last spring.

VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks missed the playoffs for a third consecutive season and two of the best players in franchise history are retiring, and yet there is a sense of optimism around the team heading into the summer.

CALGARY — Bill Peters has been named head coach of Canada's entry at next month's world hockey championships in Denmark. It's the second time the head coach of the Carolina Hurricanes has been taken on the role.

OTTAWA — Changes are inevitable after the Ottawa Senators finished 30th overall in the NHL standings, but captain Erik Karlsson is hopeful they won't include him.

MONTREAL — The Montreal Canadiens had a feeling things weren't going well from the start of training camp. They didn't, as the team plummeted from 103 points and a division title in 2016-17 to 71 points to finish well out of the playoffs this season.

TORONTO — Tom Cochrane's "Big League" was written more than 30 years ago, but this week many Canadians have found it painfully resonant in the wake of the Humboldt Broncos' bus crash.

It has been a quarter century since a Canadian team has captured the Stanley Cup.