National Sports

KAMLOOPS, B.C. — Jack Hughes scored with 28.3 seconds left to play as the United States rallied past Russia 3-2 on Thursday in a pre-tournament game ahead of the world junior hockey championship.

TORONTO — Auston Matthews scored twice and set up two more for his second four-point game of the season as the Toronto Maple Leafs thumped the Florida Panthers 6-1 on Thursday.

VANCOUVER — Some of the world's best young hockey talents will go head-to-head in Victoria and Vancouver next week. The 2019 world junior hockey championship kicks off on Tuesday, featuring dozens of athletes likely to carve out careers in the NHL.

TORONTO — Auston Matthews isn't one to get nervous. The star centre for the Toronto Maple Leafs is used to suiting up in front of packed arenas under the bright lights with 20,000 sets of eyes trained on his every move.

MONTREAL — There has been no improvement in Adonis Stevenson's condition since doctors sedated him and placed him on mechanical ventilation after a Dec. 1 knockout loss, the boxer's promoter said Thursday.

OTTAWA — The Ottawa Redblacks have signed two key American defensive players to one-year extensions. The reigning East Division champs inked defensive lineman Jonathan Newsome and defensive back Sherrod Baltimore to deals on Thursday.

TORONTO — The Canadian Football League will stage a regular-season game in Atlantic Canada in 2019, continuing the drive to put a franchise in Halifax within a few years.

OTTAWA — Mark Borowiecki hopes Ottawa will one day have a downtown arena. As an Ottawa native and a defenceman for the NHL's Senators, he said a new facility in the city's core would be a boon for its citizens.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Former Ottawa Senators assistant general manager Randy Lee pleaded guilty Thursday to harassing a 19-year-old male hotel shuttle driver.

TORONTO — The Canadian Hockey League began its holiday break on Monday with half the season already in the books.