National Hockey

TORONTO — John Tavares — Toronto's calm, cool captain — smashed his stick against the post late in another loss where a decent effort was undone by costly, preventable errors. It's been a recurring theme for the Maple Leafs in 2019-20.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbus Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella hopes an overtime victory over the defending Stanley Cup champions will loosen up his team, which he says has been a bundle of nerves lately.

NEWARK, N.J. — Mackenzie Blackwood smiled through the fatigue after leading the New Jersey Devils to a hard-fought win. Blackwood made 38 saves as the Devils beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 on Friday night.

OTTAWA — The Ottawa Senators made up for a bad start with a solid ending.

WASHINGTON — Shea Weber scored to extend his points streak to five games, Carey Price made 25 saves and the Montreal Canadiens responded to a big hit by Alex Ovechkin on Jonathan Drouin, beating the Washington Capitals 5-2 on Friday night.

WASHINGTON — By the time Capitals coach Todd Reirden called a timeout to tell his team to wake up, it was too late. Alex Ovechkin’s thunderous hit on Jonathan Drouin had already energized the Canadiens.

TORONTO — Don't expect an immediate replacement for fired commentator Don Cherry on "Coach's Corner." In fact, it's possible that Sportsnet may eventually take the long-running "Hockey Night in Canada" segment in a different direction.

TORONTO — Hayley Wickenheiser says she appreciates what Don Cherry has done for the game of hockey. She says she also often disagreed with what the colourful hockey commentator had to say.

TORONTO — Whenever the calendar flipped to June over the last 16 years, Guy Carbonneau's mind would start to wander.

CALGARY — There was a sense of relief at Scotiabank Saddledome on Friday, a day after veteran Calgary Flames defenceman TJ Brodie passed out during practice and had to be taken by ambulance to hospital.