Carolina coach Rod Brind’Amour had gone with Andersen’s veteran experience as the starter over Brandon Bussi for this one, and it paid off for the Eastern Conference’s top seed.

Andersen finished with 22 saves, including back-to-back stops on a third-period power play that had Ottawa buzzing with quality chances. One of those was initially ruled a goal, only for a replay review to overturn the call in showing Andersen had gloved a loose puck as it bounced off his skate near the post.

By the end of the game, Andersen was holding up against Ottawa spending most of the last 2 1/2 minutes with a 6-on-4 advantage after pulling Linus Ullmark from the net with the Senators on the power play.

It was a physical game with hard hits and chippiness throughout, starting with captains Brady Tkachuk of Ottawa and Jordan Staal of Carolina locking up in an immediate fight on the opening faceoff and heading to the box just 3 seconds into the game.

Game 2 is Monday night in Raleigh.

The Hurricanes are in the playoffs for the eighth straight year, reaching the Eastern Conference Final in two of the past three years and thrice overall in this current run that began in 2019.

The Senators are in the playoffs for the second straight year after a seven-year postseason drought since a seven-game loss in the 2017 Eastern Conference Final.

Ullmark finished with 27 saves for Ottawa, which had surged since late January to secure the second wild-card spot in the East.

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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Aaron Beard, The Associated Press

After the game finished 2-2 following extra time, Sociedad goalkeeper Unai Marrero saved shots by Alexander Sorloth and Julián Álvarez and Pablo Marín converted the last kick to clinch the shootout 4-3.

Sociedad needed 14 seconds and just three players to touch the ball directly after kickoff to take the lead through Ander Barrenetxea.

Ademola Lookman equalized for Diego Simeone’s side with a goal in the 19th minute, but a penalty by goalkeeper Juan Musso allowed Mikel Oyarzabal to restore Sociedad’s advantage in first-half injury time.

Álvarez stroked a shot into the right corner to make it 2-2 in the 83rd.

American coach Pellegrino Matarazzo took over Sociedad in December when it was two points above the relegation zone in the Spanish league. Four months later, the Basque Country club has won the cup and is in the upper half of the La Liga table.

Opta Statistics said Barrenetxea’s goal was the fastest ever in a Spanish cup final.

The opening goal against Atletico’s vaunted defense was about as simple as they come: ball to goalkeeper, long ball down the right flank, where Gonçalo Guedes was free to send in a cross for Ander Barrenetxea to head it home.

The sequence exposed a series of less-than-ideal defending. Neither Nahuel Molina nor Giuliano Simeone intercepted reachable balls; Matteo Ruggeri let the shorter Barrenetxea outjump him for the header; and goalkeeper Juan Musso perhaps could have made a more sprightly effort to stop the shot from bouncing past.

Lookman again proved the most-impactful winter signing by a Spanish side – his goal was his seventh for Atletico – when the former Atalanta forward received a pass from Antoine Griezmann just inside the area and sent a left-footed shot inside the post.

Oyarzabal went to the spot after Musso slammed into Guedes while disputing a high ball in the box. Oyarzabal lived up to his reputation as a penalty expert, slotting his try home. The Spain striker also scored a penalty for the only goal in the 2020 cup final against Athletic Bilbao.

Sociedad was in control and only minutes away from the title when Atletico finally mounted a good team move to unsettle Sociedad’s defense for the first time and set up Álvarez in the second half.

Musso made up for his earlier mistakes by making back-to-back saves in extra time. Otherwise, Atletico created several chances it couldn’t finish off to get the title-clinching goal.

Then it was Marrero’s turn to shine as he guessed right on the first two penalties by Atletico’s strikers.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

The Associated Press

The Montreal Canadiens coach knows his team is facing a perennial contender in the Tampa Bay Lightning. He’s also confident his group can match up.

“Whether we're the favourite, underdog, that's why we play the game,” St. Louis said this week. “We're not worried about this. We're going to go play the games.

"I'll give you facts, OK? They're a veteran team that's been pretty much the standard in the last seven-plus years — eight years, 10 years. They're good. We're good too. Those are just facts.”

The young, exciting Canadiens open the highly anticipated first-round NHL playoff series against the battle-tested Lightning on Sunday in Tampa, Fla. It’s a rematch of the 2021 Stanley Cup final, won in five games by Tampa Bay, though plenty has changed since.

Montreal (48-24-10) is headed to the playoffs for a second straight season after last year’s surprising berth signaled the end of a full-scale rebuild. A strong regular season also has Habs fans dreaming of a deep run this spring.

In a wave of offensive milestones not seen in a generation, captain Nick Suzuki became the first Canadien to reach 100 points in 40 years, while winger Cole Caufield hit the 50-goal mark, something no Montreal player had done since 1990.

Star blueliner Lane Hutson, meanwhile, tied Larry Robinson for the most assists by a Canadiens defenceman in a single season (66) and skilled forward Ivan Demidov led all NHL rookies with 62 points.

Even the team’s goaltending — a concern most of the season — has stabilized with Jakub Dobes posting a .916 save percentage since the NHL returned from the Olympic break.

“We know the type of guys that they have over there that have a lot of experience and know what they're doing,” Caufield said. “But we have belief in our room and our guys that play the right way.

“I think those are the things that give us a chance.”

For Tampa Bay (50-26-6), it’s a ninth consecutive trip to the post-season, with superstar forward Nikita Kucherov driving the offence and Vézina Trophy winner Andrei Vasilevskiy in goal.

The Lightning, however, have been bounced in the first round for three consecutive years, including twice by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.

“Does that come up? Has it come up during the year that we haven't advanced? There's no question,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “And can that be used as motivation? Yes, but it's not going to guarantee how we do.

“I remember the feeling I had after we lost to Columbus (in 2019). My goodness, that was a crushing playoff sweep, and then we won 11 playoff series in a row. And so our job is, you know, hopefully we've got this group — and I feel like we do — in a really motivational spot.”

Cooper also stopped short of labelling Montreal as an underdog, even if Tampa Bay is a heavy betting favourite. The Canadiens came out on top in two heated wins over the Lightning on March 31 and April 9.

“These are two 106-point teams, and the only reason we're getting home ice is because we had (more regulation wins). That's how close they are,” he said. “It's going to be a heck of a series, but I know our guys are prepared for it.”

Both teams will have to navigate the series with key absences on the blue line.

The Canadiens will be without right-shot defenceman Noah Dobson, who was injured blocking a shot with his left hand in game No. 80 of the regular season. The team said last Sunday that Dobson, who ranked third on the roster in average ice time, would be re-evaluated in two weeks.

The Lightning are missing captain Victor Hedman after he took a personal leave of absence in late March. Cooper said Saturday that Hedman is around the team and gradually returning to skating, but his return is not imminent.

TALE OF THE TAPE

Regular-season series: 2-2

Goals for per game: Tampa Bay, 3.49 (4th); Montreal, 3.40 (7th)

Goals against per game: Tampa Bay, 2.79 (3rd); Montreal, 3.06 (16th)

Top points: Tampa Bay, Nikita Kucherov, 130; Montreal, Nick Suzuki, 101

Goaltenders: Tampa Bay, Andrei Vasilevskiy, 39-15-4, .912 save percentage; Montreal, Jakub Dobes, 29-10-4, .901/ Jacob Fowler, 9-6-2, .908

Power play: Tampa Bay, 20.7 (17th); Montreal, 23.1 (10th)

Penalty kill: Tampa Bay, 82.6 (3rd); Montreal, 78.2 (18th)

The big stat: The Lightning led the league with 1,207 penalty minutes this season, 229 more than the Boston Bruins, who had the second most.

---

With files from Canadian Press sports reporter Alexis Bélanger-Champagne in Tampa, Fla.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 18, 2026.

Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press

The unofficial spokesman for a group of tailgating Carolina Hurricanes fans started to set up in the sun and heat just after 8 a.m.

Flags, tables, games, food and plenty of ice-cold beverages — all key elements to pre-game tailgate festivities.

"It ties in well with hockey culture … the brotherhood and the family aspect," Averkamp said before Carolina hosted the Ottawa Senators to open the Stanley Cup playoffs Saturday afternoon. "We're all just out here because we love hockey and we love spending time together."

Tailgating is a football tradition in the United States, but is also a big part of life for Hurricanes fans, especially this time of year.

"We're all just great friends through hockey," Averkamp said. "And I think it's a really good excuse to drink some beer and eat some food and hang out."

There was also a smattering of Senators supporters sprinkled among the smoked brisket, laughs and tunes with temperatures pushing above 30 C.

Kevin McMahon and his son, Declan, were originally planning to catch a flight to Raleigh from Ogensburg, N.Y., but the 3 p.m. faceoff forced a change of plans. The rest of the family piled into the car and headed south.

"It's exciting," McMahon said. "It's nice to see the weather. We just got here, so looking forward to exploring around here, but it looks like everyone's having a blast.

"It feels awesome," Declan added. "The drive was a bit long, but I'm really excited."

Jason Gul spent his early years in Ottawa, but moved to the Raleigh area when he was 10 years old.

"I played hockey growing up," he said in a Senators home jersey. "It's a big part of the rise of hockey in the south."

The lots around Lenovo Center are also used for the same carnival atmosphere ahead of N.C. State University football games played at nearby Carter-Finley Stadium.

"It's everything," Gul said of tailgating. "Especially with the weather being so nice here. People love to get out and have a couple beers, barbecue and all that."

Blake Gross was part of another gathering of tailgaters — this time with an ear-piercing hurricane warning siren and a mock Stanley Cup made of beer cans.

"It's a family around here," he said. "If you just look around, tailgates everywhere, a nice 90 degrees (Fahrenheit) here in April. There's not much to explain other than family and everyone's here to have a good time."

So what constitutes a solid parking lot experience?

"You've got to bring some nice, cold beverages," Gross explained. "You've got to bring some food. We've got some grills and (are) making some sandwiches.

"And we're going to bring the barbecue, because that's what Carolina does."

Averkamp, who only moved to the area in 2023 from Indiana, said the scene often develops organically.

"I met these guys randomly just at a hockey game," he said. "Throughout the next year, every game, we all started a text chain.

"And it morphed into this."

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 18, 2026.

Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press

Ottawa's Brianne Jenner and Jocelyne Larocque led the way for their younger counterparts Saturday afternoon in a 5-1 win over the New York Sirens.

Jenner, 34, had a goal and two assists, while Larocque, 37, chipped in a goal and an assist. Ronja Savolainen, Peyton Hemp and Rebecca Leslie also scored.

Gwyneth Phillips stopped 23 shots.

Paetyn Levis scored the lone goal for the Sirens (9-2-3-1) and Kayle Osborne made 24 saves.

The win gave the Charge (8-7-1-12) a five-point lead on the Sirens and Toronto Sceptres for the fourth and final playoff spot with two games remaining.

The Sirens are winless (0-0-1-7) in their last eight road games.

New York opened the scoring with a power-play goal midway through the first period when Levis took a pass in the slot and beat Philips on the stick side.

With 61 seconds remaining in the period, Jenner attempted to find Leslie in front, but the puck was redirected and went in off Leslie’s shoulder. The play underwent a lengthy review before the call on the ice was upheld.

The Charge took the lead at 7:54 of the second period.

Larocque blocked a shot to spark a short-handed rush as Jenner picked up the puck and broke in on Osborne. She gave up a big rebound that Larocque buried for her first of the season.

Just over six minutes later, Hemp won a race for the puck and knocked it free. That allowed Alexa Vasko to take possession and she sent it back to Hemp, who gave the Charge a 3-1 lead.

Ottawa scored a pair of goals in the third to put the game out of reach.

Savolainen made it 4-1 by scoring from just inside the blue line through traffic. Larocque had a shot ring off the crossbar and Jenner buried the rebound with just over seven minutes remaining.

Takeaways

Charge: Penalties were an issue again for the Charge.

Sirens: New York had a solid first period and struggled to match Ottawa’s pace through the final 40 minutes.

Key Moment

Larocque blocking a shot on the power play was key to setting up Ottawa’s first short-handed goal.

Key Stat

Gwyneth Philips played her league-leading 16th consecutive game.

Up next

Charge: Ottawa visits Boston on Wednesday.

Sirens: New York plays Toronto on Tuesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 18, 2026.

Lisa Wallace, The Canadian Press

CF Montreal got off to a perfect start under interim head coach Philippe Eullaffroy, securing a dominant 4-1 victory over Red Bull New York at Stade Saputo on Saturday afternoon.

Victor Loturi, Prince Owusu, Matty Longstaff, and Mahala Opoku all scored as Montreal (2-6-0) earned its second home win in 13 games.

Much like their first meeting last month, Montreal’s aggressive pressure caused problems for New York (3-3-2) right from kickoff. The home side frequently won the ball high up the pitch and found itself in excellent scoring position, capitalizing and striking first after just five minutes.

After pressuring the ball off Emil Forsberg, Loturi was given an uncontested shot from just outside the penalty area and made no mistake.

After finally growing into the game, New York began to control more of the ball and forced Montreal to retreat. The inclusion of three defensive-minded midfielders in the starting lineup helped handle the increased defensive responsibility but forced Montreal to rely more on the counterattack.

The counter would end up paying off greatly, helping Montreal double its lead just five minutes before halftime. After finding space down the right flank, Dawid Bugaj’s cross was blocked by the hand of Dylan Nealis and the home side was awarded a spot kick that Owusu converted into the bottom right corner.

Montreal needed only three minutes to open the scoring in the second half. After settling into their low block right away, Owusu was able to find space in behind on the counter and squared the ball to Longstaff to extend the lead.

Just as quickly as the British midfielder added to Montreal’s tally, a freak deflection off his shin led to an own goal and pulled one back for Red Bull.

New York continued to press forward and commit numbers to the attack but could not find a way through a resolute defensive block.

With 15 minutes left, Montreal restored its three-goal lead through yet another counter as Opoku scored his first goal since Aug. 31, 2024.

UP NEXT

Montreal: Will host the New York City FC on April 25.

New York: Will return home to face D.C. United on Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 18, 2026.

Elias Grigoriadis, The Canadian Press

Whatever it is, Prime Minister Mark Carney is finding himself in the international spotlight again, this time in the pages of Time magazine as part of its annual most influential people list.

Championed by Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, Carney was one of the 24 people in the leaders section of The 100 Most Influential People of 2026, which was released earlier this week by Time.

Aside from mentioning his frequent nickname in the banking world, "George Clooney of finance," and calling him a "rock-star central-bank governor," Lagarde noted his early recognition of how international co-operation is at risk of collapsing as one reason for his inclusion.

Lagarde said that after becoming prime minister in 2025, Carney was the first to identify the "breaking point of multilateralism as we have known it for decades."

"I trust he will now reinvent cooperation among the willing for the common good of all," she wrote in Time.

Carney is joined on the list by other leaders including Pope Leo XIV, U.S. President Donald Trump, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The list is broken into categories including artists, pioneers, titans, icons, leaders and innovators.

Carney came to power after then-prime minister Justin Trudeau stepped down as Liberal leader. In the leadership race, Carney dominated with more than 85 per cent of the vote in March 2025. He won a minority government a little more than than a month later and recently secured a majority through a combination of floor-crossings from other parties and three recent byelection wins in Ontario and Quebec.

In January, Carney gave a speech in Davos that found resonance around the world, particularly with other middle power countries.

"We know the old order is not coming back. We should not mourn it. Nostalgia is not a strategy," Carney said. "But we believe that from the fracture, we can build something better, stronger, and more just."

However, it wasn't praised by everyone, particularly south of the border. The Trump administration panned it widely, including Trump himself.

“Canada lives because of the United States," Trump said after the speech. "Remember that, Mark, the next time you make your statements.”

Before becoming prime minister, Carney served as central bank governor, first at the Bank of Canada and later with the Bank of England.

The last time a Canadian prime minister was on the list was Justin Trudeau in 2016. He was championed by Lorne Michaels, the legendary TV producer and mastermind behind “Saturday Night Live."

Michaels said at the time he believed Trudeau would be "a force for good."

Trudeau also shared a spot on Time's list with Trump that year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 18, 2025.

The Canadian Press

James Harden had 22 points and 10 assists while Evan Mobley had 17 and seven rebounds for fourth-seeded Cleveland, which hosts Game 2 on Monday night.

Mitchell has scored at least 30 points in an NBA-record nine straight series openers.

RJ Barrett scored 24 points and Scottie Barnes had 21 for the Raptors, who were playing in their first playoff game since 2022. Toronto was missing point guard Immanuel Quickley because of a mild right hamstring strain.

Jamal Shead started in place of Quickley and had 17 points, including five 3-pointers.

Barrett's 3-pointer pulled the Raptors to within 45-41 before Cleveland broke it open with a 27-9 run over the last 1:11 of the second quarter and first seven minutes of the third.

Strus scored 11 points during the spurt and made all three of his 3-pointers as the Cavaliers went 10 of 16 from the floor, including 5 of 8 beyond the arc.

Cleveland's largest lead was 24 points (100-76) on Sam Merrill's 3-pointer 13 seconds into the fourth quarter.

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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Joe Reedy, The Associated Press

Organizers of the ADAC 24h Nürburgring Qualifiers said that Juha Miettinen died after a crash involving seven cars. He was 66.

“Following the collision between several vehicles, race control immediately halted the race to allow for extensive recovery and rescue operations,” they said in a statement.

“Despite the immediate arrival of emergency services, the emergency medics were unable to save the driver involved, Juha Miettinen, after he had been extracted from the vehicle; the driver died at the Medical Centre after all attempts at resuscitation proved unsuccessful.”

Organizers said the other six drivers were taken to the medical center and nearby hospitals for precautionary examinations and that none were in a life-threatening condition.

A minute’s silence will be held in memory of Miettinen during the grid formation for Sunday’s race.

Verstappen is using this weekend’s races as part of his preparations for his first 24-hour sportscar race at the historic circuit on May 16-17.

Running nearly 13 miles (20.8 kilometers) through wooded German hills, with more than 150 corners and barriers often close to the track, the Nordschleife layout at the Nürburgring is known for high-risk thrills. F1 hasn’t used it since 1976, when then-reigning champion Niki Lauda suffered severe burns in a crash.

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AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

The Associated Press

Kobe Franklin had hoped his first career MLS goal would be a game winner, but the defender was still satisfied that he helped Toronto FC salvage a 3-3 draw against Austin FC on Saturday afternoon.

Franklin sent a shot from the centre of the box past goalkeeper Brad Stuver in the 88th minute to pull Toronto even. Neither team scored over 10-plus minutes of injury time.

“Definitely a proud moment for me and my family, something I've been working toward for a long time,” Franklin said.

Toronto extended its unbeaten streak to six games (three wins, three draws) with the tie.

“Obviously, very, very exciting to get (the goal) as an equalizer, but it would have been a bit sweeter if it were the winner," Franklin said. "So (I've) just got to keep working behind the scenes and hopefully more goals will come.”

Toronto (3-2-3) and Austin FC (1-3-4) treated fans to a back-and-forth contest with the teams trading leads and momentum at a wet and chilly BMO Field.

Austin FC had the edge in possession, with 54.3 per cent to TFC’s 45.7 per cent. Toronto had the 11-6 advantage in shots on target.

After the match, TFC head coach Robin Fraser quipped: “I hope the fans enjoy all the goals. I certainly don't.”

He added that he was pleased with his team’s ability to fight back after trailing twice, but is looking for more consistency.

“In terms of the spirit of the group, they never say die, and I really appreciate that about them,” Fraser said. “It's just that we need to be more consistently sharp throughout the game.”

TFC, which has 12 points on the season, also extended its unbeaten run at home to 12 games, dating back to June 25, 2025.

The match saw a flurry of offence in the second half, with five of the six goals scored in the final 45 minutes.

Trailing 1-0 at the half, TFC drew even when Daniel Salloi scored in the 52nd minute for his third goal of the year. With Toronto applying pressure, Richie Laryea put his team ahead in the 67th minute with a left-footed shot from the centre of the box.

Austin FC forward Facundo Torres tied it in the 78th minute, and Christian Ramirez, on as a substitute, gave the visitors the lead four minutes later before Franklin salvaged the draw.

“We have these lapses and lulls where we don't necessarily play as intensely as we need to in the moment," Fraser said. "This is a really good group of guys, and they just keep fighting. They always, always keep fighting.

"The range of emotions again — down a goal, have a lead, give up the lead, down a goal again, and then fight back, certainly speaks volumes of the character.”

Austin FC opened the scoring in the 29th minute when Jonathan Bell beat TFC goalkeeper Luka Gavran. Austin nearly added to the lead moments later, but Gavran made a sprawling kick-save on striker Myrto Uzuni near the top of the penalty area.

Toronto had four shots on goal in the opening 15 minutes and finished with six in the half.

TFC has two more home games over the next week. The club will host the Philadelphia Union on Wednesday and Atlanta United on April 25.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 18, 2026.

Kaitlyn McGrath, The Canadian Press