National Sports

TORONTO — Ontario has given its two American Hockey League teams the green light to play in the province, clearing the way for the Belleville Senators and Toronto Marlies to play home games.

HOUSTON — J.J. Watt and the Houston Texans split Friday, ending the tenure of the face of the franchise and adding further turmoil to an off-season of upheaval.

MELBOURNE, Australia — Felix Auger-Aliassime beat Denis Shapovalov in an all-Canadian clash in the third round of the Australian Open on Friday, while Milos Raonic may have caught a break after securing his ticket to the round of 16.

TORONTO — Tanya Mruck's workload just grew. And she couldn't be happier.

SHERWOOD PARK, Alta. — Brent Saik laughs when asked how 40 players in the world's longest hockey game are handling the bitter cold on an outdoor rink.

VANCOUVER — Life in Vancouver has felt a little unnatural for Calgary Flames goalie Jacob Markstrom this week. After spending seven seasons with the Canucks, for the first time he hit the ice at Rogers Arena as an opponent on Thursday.

MONTREAL — After starting the season on long-term injured reserve and missing the first month of action, Mike Smith wanted to make sure he was well prepared when he finally returned to the Edmonton Oilers crease.

WINNIPEG — Connor Hellebuyck led the Winnipeg Jets to yet another win this season over the Ottawa Senators. Hellebuyck stopped 41 shots -- 18 in a scoreless first period -- to anchor Winnipeg's 5-1 victory over Ottawa on Thursday night.

BOSTON — During a stretch of the third quarter on Thursday, the Toronto Raptors stopped the Boston Celtics on 17 of their 18 trips down the floor. But the Raptors could only muster four points themselves during that stretch.

The Raptors may be playing out the rest of the season in Tampa, Fla., but Kyle Lowry says that doesn't change the fact that the team still plays for Toronto and Canada.