Five things to watch in Canadian sports this weekend

Here are five things to watch in Canadian sports this weekend

SEVENTH HEAVEN: Montreal Canadiens fans will have their eyes fixed on Friday night’s Tampa Bay Lightning-New York Islanders game. The Habs’ opponent in the Stanley Cup final will be the winner of Game 7 between the Lightning and visiting Islanders. Montreal became the first Canadian team in 10 years to earn a spot in the Cup final with a 3-2 overtime win over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 6 of their NHL semifinal last night.

IN THE HUNT: Brooke Henderson usually is the best bet for Canadian golf fans on the LPGA Tour. But another Canadian is in prime position to make a run heading into the second round of a major. Hamilton’s Alena Sharp shot 3-under 69 on Thursday at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. She is tied for third, two strokes back of leader Lizette Salas in Johns Creek, Ga.

OLYMPIC DREAMS: Some of Canada’s best track and field athletes will be trying to punch tickets to Tokyo this weekend. The Olympic and Paralympic Track and Field Trials go through Sunday in Montreal. While some of the top Canadians already have booked spots, others need to perform well this weekend. One of them is defending Olympic high jump champion Derek Drouin, who has been hampered by injuries in recent years.

BUFFALO BIRD BATTLE: The Toronto Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles are playing a weekend series for the second weekend in a row. This one is in Buffalo, N.Y., the temporary home of the Blue Jays. Toronto won two of three against the last-place Orioles last week. Rookie Alek Manoah is scheduled to start for Toronto on Friday. He was thrown out of last Saturday’s game in Baltimore for intentionally throwing at Maikel Franco.

ON TOUR: Ottawa cyclist Michael Woods has a big role in this year’s Tour de France. Woods is the designated team leader of the Israel Start-Up Nation Entry. He’ll be be one of 184 riders in Brest on Saturday for the start of the 108th edition of the race. Woods is scheduled to compete in the Olympic road race after the Tour de France.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 25, 2021.

The Canadian Press