National Sports

WINNIPEG — Johnny Gaudreau got the hat trick, but he heaped praise on netminder David Rittich. Rittich made 35 saves as the Calgary Flames ended a three-game losing skid with a 4-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday.

MONTREAL — The Montreal Canadiens will be without goaltender Carey Price for their upcoming three-game road trip. The Canadiens announced Thursday that Price will not travel with the team to Florida because of a lower-body injury.

VANCOUVER — A catchy tune by rapper Pitbull may be stuck in the heads of many Canadians after it was played 14 times in the country's first win at this year's world junior hockey championship.

Toronto FC, which conceded a franchise-worst 64 goals last season, moved to bolster its defence on Thursday by acquiring veteran Belgian international centre back Laurent Ciman.

MOSCOW — The head of the Russian Anti-Doping Agency has asked President Vladimir Putin for help in getting key doping data released to World Anti-Doping Agency inspectors.

TORONTO — It's the proverbial calm before the storm. Both the CFL and its players are enjoying some down time over the holidays.

Ottawa Senators starting goaltender Craig Anderson and defenceman Justin Falk are out at least through the weekend with concussions.

MEXICO CITY — CFL scouts will have a chance to evaluate and recruit Mexican football players next month. The CFL announced Thursday that Mexico's Liga de Futbol Americano Professional (LFA) will host a combine Jan.

BUENA, N.J. — An attorney for a New Jersey high school wrestler forced by a referee to cut his dreadlocks before a match to avoid a forfeit says the boy's family won't pursue legal action.

NEW YORK — Edmonton Oilers centre Connor McDavid and Toronto Maple Leafs centre Auston Matthews will be two of the four team captains at the NHL all-star weekend next month in San Jose.