National Sports

VANCOUVER — After making things look very easy for most of the season, the Vancouver Canucks are now trying to figure out why winning has become so hard.

TORONTO (AP) — Auston Matthews scored his NHL-leading 53rd goal and the Toronto Maple Leafs topped Arizona 4-2 on Thursday night to send the Coyotes to their 14th straight loss.

TORONTO — Ilya Lyubushkin is back with the Maple Leafs. Toronto acquired the bruising defenceman and the rights to forward Kirill Slepets in a three-team deal late Thursday night that also involved the Anaheim Ducks and Carolina Hurricanes.

TORONTO — Mitch Marner made one of his signature moves to give the Maple Leafs an early lead. With his team down another defenceman, its most versatile player also stepped in on the back end.

NORTH BAY, Ont. — Anthony Romani and Dalyn Wakely were too much for the Sarnia Sting on Thursday night.

HALIFAX — Antoine Keller stopped 25 shots for the shutout as the Acadie-Bathurst Titan defeated the Halifax Mooseheads 2-0 in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League on Thursday night.

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Sam Reinhart scored twice and the Florida Panthers defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 in a shootout on Thursday night.

Pittsburgh Pirates starter Paul Skenes retired the Baltimore Orioles' Jackson Holliday on a grounder to second base Thursday in a spring training matchup of the top overall picks in the last two amateur drafts.

VICTORIA — The mother of a University of British Columbia doctoral student is suing organizers of a martial arts tournament where she says he was "battered" by an opponent before falling into a vegetative state.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Joel Embiid wants to play again this season — for the Philadelphia 76ers, yes, even as they fade without the injured All-Star in the playoff hunt but also this summer for the U.S. Olympic team.