National Sports

Toronto FC has signed academy forward Jordan Perruzza as a homegrown player. The Toronto native will join TFC's roster on Jan. 1, 2021. He'll become the 24th player in club history from the Toronto FC Academy to sign with the first team.

NEW YORK — Canada's Leylah Annie Fernandez upset No. 2 qualifying seed Anna Blinkova of Russia 6-1, 6-4 in the opening round of qualifying for the Western & Southern Open on Thursday.

LAKE LOUISE, Alta. — Canada will not hold an alpine ski race on the World Cup circuit this season after the Lake Louise event announced Thursday it will take a season off during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Pride have loaned Canadian international defender Shelina Zadorsky to Tottenham Hotspur of the FA Women's Super League for the remainder of 2020. Zadorsky, from London, Ont.

TORONTO — The $1-million Queen's Plate will be closed to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first jewel of Canada's Triple Crown will be run Sept. 12 at Woodbine Racetrack.

EDMONTON — The Vancouver Canucks were down 3-1 with goalie Jacob Markstrom getting pounded by vulcanized rubber when they flipped the script on the St. Louis Blues Wednesday and scored three unanswered goals for a 4-3 win in NHL playoff action.

TORONTO — The Tampa Bay Lightning eliminated Columbus from the Stanley Cup playoffs in five games Wednesday, overcoming a late two-goal deficit and beating the Blue Jackets 5-4 on Brayden Point’s goal 5:12 into overtime.

TORONTO — The Montreal Canadiens watched two Eastern Conference rivals bow out of the NHL's playoff bubble before facing elimination themselves Wednesday night. Brendan Gallagher made sure his team still has a pulse in the league's summer restart.

Wednesday's Games NHL Playoffs At Toronto Tampa Bay 5 Columbus 4 (OT) (Lightning win series 4-1) Boston 2 Carolina 1 (Bruins wins series 4-1) Montreal 5 Philadelphia 3 (Flyers lead series 3-2) At Edmonton Colorado 7 Arizona 1 (Avalanche win series 4-

EDMONTON — The Colorado Avalanche spent the first three games of their series against Arizona trying to solve a hot goalie. They put on a show the final two, displaying the flash and depth that makes them one of the favourites to win the Stanley Cup.