National Sports

In the midst of a global pandemic, Akim Aliu has been places he'd never dreamt of.

MONTREAL — Quebec's Health Department says the Montreal Canadiens have made a request to increase capacity during home games at the Bell Centre. It said in an emailed statement Friday the request is being analyzed.

CALGARY — Canada's top speedskaters have started getting back to normal after a double-whammy winter of a pandemic and no ice in Calgary's Olympic Oval.

WINNIPEG — The season ended with his team being swept in the second round of the NHL playoffs, but Winnipeg head coach Paul Maurice says he's proud of the job the Jets coaching staff did this season while playing in a global pandemic.

Dominique Ducharme's Montreal Canadiens have beat the odds twice already in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Completing the trifecta — versus the team from Sin City, no less — would be their biggest accomplishment yet.

BARNSTABLE, Mass. (AP) — A commercial lobster diver who got caught in the mouth of a humpback whale off the coast of Cape Cod on Friday morning said he thought he was going to die.

Canada headed to Haiti on Friday, looking to minimize its time in Port-au-Prince ahead of Saturday's World Cup qualifier.

TORONTO — Canada named its first Olympic skateboard team on Friday. Andy Anderson of White Rock, B.C., Matt Berger of Kamloops, B.C., and Micky Papa of Vancouver will represent Canada when skateboarding makes its debut at the 2020 Tokyo Games.

CARTAGENA, Spain — A disappointed Bev Priestman saw Canada's offence stall Friday in a 0-0 draw with the Czech Republic in a women's soccer friendly. The Canadians dominated possession but were unable to breach a crowded, determined Czech defence.

TORONTO — The Toronto Raptors say forward Pascal Siakam will miss approximately five months after he underwent surgery last week to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder.