National Sports

TORONTO — Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock gathered his players at Toronto's practice facility Friday morning.

EDMONTON — A win over the visiting B.C. Lions on Saturday won't just ensure the Edmonton Eskimos make the playoffs. It also will buy the Eskimos some time to get their game straightened out going into the post-season.

HIROSHIMA, Japan — The Canadian men's volleyball team fell just short of an upset at the World Cup, falling 3-2 (21-25, 25-11, 20-25, 25-19, 15-13) to the United States on Friday.

DALLAS — Johnny Gaudreau didn't watch the beginning of a shootout, though he had the best view in the house for the end. Gaudreau put a backhand past Dallas goalie Ben Bishop to give the Calgary Flames a 3-2 victory over the Stars on Thursday night.

Thursday's Games MLB Post-season American League Division Series Houston 6 Tampa Bay 1 (Astros win series 3-2) --- NHL Detroit 4 Montreal 2 Pittsburgh 2 Anaheim 1 Tampa Bay 7 Toronto 3 Edmonton 4 New Jersey 3 (SO) St.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Under coach Bill Belichick, the Patriots have made a habit of besting young quarterbacks. They can add Giants rookie Daniel Jones to that list.

WINNIPEG — Patrik Laine is in some great company at the top of the NHL's scoring race after his four-point outing on Thursday. Laine scored twice and added a pair of assists as the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Minnesota Wild 5-2.

HOUSTON — All season long, it seemed inevitable. Yankees-Astros for the American League pennant. "It's the matchup that we wanted," Houston shortstop Carlos Correa said. "It's the matchup that everybody wants to watch. It's must-see TV right there.

NEWARK, N.J. — With each victory, the confidence builds for Leon Draisaitl and the undefeated Edmonton Oilers. Draisaitl scored the only goal in the shootout to give the Oilers a 4-3 victory over the winless New Jersey Devils on Thursday night.

MONTREAL — Claude Julien feels his Canadiens have simply not been "sharp" enough to start the season. The Canadiens lost 4-2 to the Detroit Red Wings in their home opener on Thursday night, Montreal's third defeat in a week.