National Sports

NEW YORK — Jordan Staal got the Carolina Hurricanes off to a winning start in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Staal scored 4:04 into overtime to give the Hurricanes a 1-0 victory over the New York Islanders on Friday night in the series opener.

SASKATOON — A tiebreaker is still needed at the Champions Cup. Jennifer Jones and Russian Alina Kovaleva grabbed two of the final three spots in the quarterfinals with tiebreaker victories on Friday night.

TORONTO — Vladimir Guerrero Jr., set the stage for the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night. Brandon Drury provided the knockout blow. Guerrero led off the ninth inning with a double off Oakland's Yusmeiro Petit for his first big-league hit.

TORONTO — Vladimir Guerrero Jr. walked to the front of the Rogers Centre interview room, pulled out his chair, took his seat and stoically waited for his press conference to begin.

Brittany Crew is picking up where she left off, breaking her own Canadian shot put record on Friday. The 25-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., threw 18.

MONTREAL — Canadians Jennifer Abel and Melissa Citrini-Beaulieu left Friday's Diving World Series event with a little extra confidence. Montreal's Abel and Citrini-Beaulieu of St-Constant, Que.

TORONTO — After a five-race stint south of the border, Canada's reigning horse of the year is home for the first time since sweeping the first two legs of the Canadian Triple Crown. Wonder Gadot arrived back at Woodbine Racetrack on Friday.

QUEBEC — The Quebec government has abandoned the idea of bidding to hold the 2021 Francophonie Games in Sherbrooke, Que., after concluding the price tag was too high.

NASHVILLE — The Tennessee Titans agreed to terms with Canadian defensive lineman Brent Urban on Friday. The Titans announced the move on their official Twitter account. The six-foot-seven, 300-pound Urban, a native of Mississauga, Ont.

MONTREAL — Defender Daniel Lovitz thinks Major League Soccer looks down on the Montreal Impact — and he wants to use that as motivation this season.