TORONTO – Eetu Luostarinen and Mackie Samoskevich had a goal and two assists each as the Florida Panthers cruised past the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-2 on Saturday night.

Tomas Nosek, with two goals, Cole Reinhardt and A.J. Greer, into the empty net to go along with an assist, provided the rest of the offence for Florida (38-38-4).

Daniil Tarasov made 17 saves for the Panthers, who snapped a four-game slide (0-3-1).

William Nylander replied with a pair of goals for Toronto (32-34-14), which got 19 stops from Joseph Woll in the club’s fifth straight loss (0-4-1).

Both poised to miss the playoffs, the Maple Leafs and Panthers met in the second round of last spring’s post-season, with Florida topping Toronto in seven games before going on to hoist the Stanley Cup for a second straight June.

The Panthers, who started play one spot above Saturday’s opponent at 26th overall in the NHL standings, jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period before Nosek made it 3-0 in the second.

Nylander scored on a power play midway through the period, and added another to make it 3-2 through 40 minutes. Samoskevich made it 4-2 in the third. Greer and Nosek iced it into the empty net.

TAKEAWAYS

Panthers: The two-time defending champs have shut a number of key players down with the playoffs out of reach and injuries piling up. Regulars done for the campaign include forwards Brad Marchand, Sam Reinhart and Evan Rodrigues, along with blueliners Aaron Ekblad, Dmitry Kulikov and Seth Jones. Wilmer Skoog made his NHL debut at forward.

Maple Leafs: Head coach Craig Berube said following the morning skate that goaltender Anthony Stolarz, defenceman Brandon Carlo and forward Dakota Joshua are all done for the season with injuries. William Villeneuve made his league debut on defence.

KEY MOMENT

Nosek bagged his first goal of a season delayed by knee surgery when he fired past Woll at 1:32 of the second.

KEY STAT

Despite a miserable season on the ice and in the standings, Toronto entered Saturday with the league’s fourth-best penalty kill at 82.0 per cent.

UP NEXT

Panthers: Host the New York Rangers on Monday

Maple Leafs: Host the Dallas Stars on Monday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 11, 2026.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

The Edmonton Oilers are back in the post-season after back-to-back Stanley Cup final appearances.

Edmonton needed a hand by way of any result besides a Winnipeg regulation win, with the Jets losing 7-1 to the Philadelphia Flyers Saturday night.

The Oilers fell 1-0 to the Los Angeles Kings earlier in the day but still held a one-point edge on the Vegas Golden Knights and Anaheim Ducks for the Pacific Division lead.

Meanwhile, Winnipeg is near elimination, being five points behind the Kings for the Western Conference’s second wild-card spot with just three games left.

Edmonton fell to the Florida Panthers the previous two seasons in the Stanley Cup final.

This time around, however, Florida has already been eliminated from post-season contention.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 11, 2026.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

SAINTE-THÉRÈSE – The funeral for longtime Quebec baseball commentator Rodger Brulotte was held Saturday morning in Sainte-Thérèse, north of Montreal.

Hundreds gathered to pay their respects, including several political and media figures.

His wife, Pascale Vallée, delivered an emotional tribute, alongside others from the world of sports broadcasting.

Brulotte, who died of cancer on March 20 at age 79, left a lasting mark on generations of baseball fans.

He was known for his signature call, “Bonsoir, elle est partie!” (said after a home run), and his early role with the Montreal Expos starting in 1969.

A defining voice in Quebec baseball, he built a long career across radio, television and print media.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April, 11, 2026.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

After a 10-day mission that sent them around the far side of the moon, NASA Commander Reid Wiseman says he and his three fellow Artemis II crew members are “bonded forever.”

Wiseman and fellow astronauts Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen were welcomed home in an emotional and rousing event in Houston, one day after they touched back down on Earth.

“We are bonded forever and no one down here is ever going to know what the four of us just went through and it was the most special thing that will ever happen in my life,” said Wiseman.

The mission broke the record for the farthest humans have ever travelled from Earth, and on a personal level, Reid said it was no small feat.

“This was not easy being 200,000-plus miles away from home. Like before you launch, it feels like it’s the greatest dream on Earth and when you’re out there, you just want to get back to your families and your friends,” he said.

“It’s a special thing to be a human and it’s a special thing to be on planet Earth.”

Glover, a Navy test pilot, said he felt gratitude about the whole experience.

“I have not processed what we just did. And I’m afraid to start even trying,” he said.

And Koch, who was mission specialist, said it was difficult to even adequately describe what they saw.

“When we saw tiny Earth, people asked our crew what impressions we had. And honestly, what struck me wasn’t necessarily just Earth. It was all the blackness around it. Earth was just this lifeboat hanging undisturbingly in the universe,” she said.

Canadian astronaut Hansen, who became the first non-American to fly around the moon, told the crowd there was a “lot of joy up there” as a crew.

“What you saw was a group of people who loved contributing, having meaningful contribution and extracting joy out of that,” he said, while inviting his fellow astronauts for a hug on the stage.

Canadian Space Agency (CSA) President Lisa Campbell spoke at the event and reiterated this country’s dedication to space research and robotics.

“We believe we’re well positioned to deliver sought-after capabilities that’ll support the infrastructure and autonomy needed for a sustained human presence on the moon and you’ve shown us the way, Jeremy,” she said.

“Over the last 10 days, you’ve represented the very best of what it means to be Canadian. You’ve exemplified our deepest values, discipline, humility and hard work. And the Artemis crew, the four of you embodied what teamwork looks like at its very best.”

That future goal of space exploration was underscored by Republican U.S. Congressman Brian Babin, who is a member of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee.

Babin reminded the crowd of U.S. President Donald Trump’s vision for space.

“You have travelled farther from Earth than any humans have ever gone before, pushing the boundaries of exploration, reminding us of the pioneering spirit that defines our great country — and that goes for Canada as well,” Babin said.

“This mission is a critical step forward in achieving President Trump’s vision of returning Americans to the moon in 2028 and doing so before our competitors do. And there is still much work ahead, but this moment should renew our confidence, and it most certainly has.”

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

ELMONT – Ridly Greig scored a short-handed goal, Linus Ullmark stopped all 23 shots he faced and the Ottawa Senators moved to the verge of clinching a playoff spot by shutting out the New York Islanders 3-0 on Saturday.

Ottawa is in if Detroit loses at home in regulation to New Jersey. The Islanders’ hopes took another hit with a fifth loss in six games.

Senators captain Brady Tkachuk took a puck up high late in the second period, returned for one shift in the third and then did not return.

Greig made it a 1-0 game with 6:54 remaining in the first. Jake Sanderson scored in the third, and Michael Amadio sealed it with an empty-netter. The Islanders went 0 for 5 on the power play.

New York is now 1-1 since firing coach Patrick Roy and hiring Peter DeBoer as his replacement. Ilya Sorokin allowed two goals on 15 shots.

Up next

Senators: Visit the Devils on Sunday night.

Islanders: Host the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

© 2026 The Canadian Press

Federal Liberals voted in favour of setting 16 as the age of majority for Canadians to be able to use social media accounts.

Party grassroots passed a non-binding resolution Saturday morning for the restriction and to place the onus on social media companies to enforce it.

Quebec MP Rachel Bendayan, who presented the idea to her caucus and championed it at the convention, said prolonged social media use can be harmful to the mental health of young Canadians.

She said social media companies need to be more accountable and stop allowing young children to use technologies designed to be addictive.

Bendayan also said she was astonished by how many youth she personally spoke with who support the idea.

“I was very surprised to see so many teenagers and people within the age group I was targeting tell me they were in favour of this resolution, in part because they felt they have no choice but to be on social media,” she told reporters after the vote.

“So it’s not a ban for a ban’s sake. It’s something that would change the way society operates at the moment.”

The resolution sets out party policy, but because it’s not binding on the governing party, it won’t directly lead to a ban.

Carter Scott, a 17-year-old Liberal attending his first convention, said he’s frustrated that young people didn’t get a chance to chime into the debate on the convention floor this weekend.

And he says he doesn’t trust the social media platforms to handle the data used to verify a person’s age, such as government IDs or facial recognition.

“There has been a significant risk and significant concerns where this policy has been introduced is if there’s been a breach — as is likely — of the data, where thousands of Canadians — young people, seniors, whoever — could have their data leaked,” Scott said.

Bendayan said this is just the start of a wider conversation about the policy position, including ensuring it does not produce privacy risks. She said Canadians should hear more from young people, teachers, psychologists and medical experts about the issue.

“We’re in the early stages of having this debate and what today did was kick off what I hope will be a national conversation.”

An Angus Reid poll from March suggested widespread support for the idea.

The polling agency found as much as three-quarters of Canadians support a full ban on social media use for Canadians under the age of 16. Because it was an online survey and not a probability telephone sample, it does not carry a margin of error.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said last month that the idea “merits an open and considered debate in Canada,” although he does not have a settled view on it yet and said there were good points on both sides.

Australia became the first country last December to create a law enforcing age limits on accounts, and introduced fines for social media companies found non-compliant.

The Liberals also adopted a similar resolution on Saturday to set age restrictions for chat bots that run on artificial intelligence over similar concerns about the technology affecting the mental health of youth.

It says the government should limit use of “all AI chatbots and other potentially harmful forms of AI interaction” to Canadians over the age of 16.

That includes popular software such as ChatGPT that people now commonly turn to for advice or even have full conversations with.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

A City of Victoria spokesperson says the investigation into the cause of a chlorine gas exposure at a local recreation facility is ongoing.

Eight people were taken to hospital Friday after two chemicals combined to create chlorine gas, and Colleen Mycroft, intergovernmental and media relations manager, says WorkSafeBC staff are continuing their search for the cause of the incident at Crystal Pool and Fitness Centre.

The spokesperson says close to 90 patrons and 13 staff were at the facility when the chemical exposure happened, prompting its evacuation and a shelter-in-place order for the surrounding area, which was later lifted.

Mycroft says the facility is now safe to enter, but will remain closed until Tuesday morning, as city staff work with WorkSafeBC to prepare for the reopening at 5:30 a.m.

She says it is not clear yet which two chemicals combined to create the hazardous chlorine gas.

Following the evacuation of the facility, members of the Capital Regional District HAZMAT Response Team entered the facility, Mycroft says, and safely disposed of the chemicals.

She says Friday’s incident was the first of its kind in 25 years that required the response of the fire department.

Crystal Pool is Victoria’s only public pool, and a referendum last February approved plans to borrow almost $170 million to replace the facility, which is more than 50 years old, and scheduled to close in the fall of this year.

Mycroft says Friday’s incident is not related to the age of the facility.

B.C. Emergency Health Services says in a statement issued Friday they were called to the facility at around 11 a.m., and transported eight patients to hospital in stable condition, after assessing 10 patients.

Island Health says in a statement issued Friday that it is not able to share any updates about the condition of the patients, citing privacy legislation.

The health authority temporarily cleared the emergency rooms at two local hospitals to prepare for the arrival of patients among other steps, but did not initiate a Code Orange, which is used for a disaster or mass-casualty event.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

Hundreds of candidates in New Brunswick have formally kicked off campaigns for local governments, education boards and rural advisory committees.

Many of the Atlantic province’s largest cities will have competitive contests while more than 150 local seats will be filled by acclamation and some seats will be without any candidate.

Those elected in the May 11 election will make up the second cohort since New Brunswick overhauled its local governance system over three years ago.

Craig Pollett, Atlantic vice-president of Strategic Steps Inc., says he’s watching to see if elections will be focused on changes to the the governance system itself or community priorities.

“Are we still seeing candidates come forward primarily because they opposed reform?” Pollet said in a Saturday interview.

“Or primarily because they want to improve their community and they see this as a real way to do that?”

New Brunswick, starting in 2023, consolidated 340 local entities into 77 governments and 12 new rural districts, expanding local representation to the entire province.

The province also granted regional commissions responsibility for economic development, tourism, infrastructure cost-sharing, transportation and other strategic planning.

Pollett said candidate and voter turnout in this election will determine if the province’s goal of more democratic engagement was a success.

“If you want stronger local governments, you want more people involved, more people voting, more people running, that sort of thing,” he said.

“So in this case, if we end up with the opposite, then that’s a commentary on — not necessarily the reform itself — but maybe how it happened, how it was implemented.”

Elections New Brunswick reported that 1,102 people submitted nomination papers for 588 council positions within its 77 local governments.

Contests in Fredericton, Saint John and Moncton — the province’s three largest cities — will be among the 52 mayoral races this year. Another 25 candidates for mayor will be acclaimed.

Elections will determine who fills 211 councillor seats across New Brunswick while a further 136 positions had uncontested candidates.

Two council positions across as many communities will remain vacant and will require byelections in the fall to fill the seats, according to Elections New Brunswick.

Contests will be required in only five of the dozen rural district advisory committees, according to the elections agency. Twenty-six spots were filled by acclamation and four remained without a candidate.

Interest in education governance appears low this year. Overall, only 63 candidates filed nomination papers for New Brunswick’s 68 district education council slots.

While there will be 11 contests for positions that had more than one candidate, Elections New Brunswick said 18 positions were vacant after the nomination window closed.

Empty seats on rural district advisory committees and education councils will be filled by people appointed by the province.

© 2026 The Canadian Press

Police say a suspect is facing weapons and mischief charges after an incident that prompted a lockdown at the University of Ottawa on Friday evening.

Ottawa police say they responded to the area of Nicholas Street and Laurier Avenue following reports of a suspicious person.

The university had issued a notice on its emergency alert website at around 5:18 p.m. ET Friday, urging students to avoid the area and shelter in place if they were on campus.

“Take cover and remain silent until authorities instruct otherwise,” the school said, ordering students to find an enclosed area, lock and barricade the door, turn off the lights and mute their electronic devices.

“If a violent attacker is close by, be ready to run, hide or, if your life is in imminent danger, defend yourself by any means necessary until you can get away.”

Nearly two hours later, the lockdown was lifted, with police saying a suspect had been arrested at the downtown Ottawa campus and that there were “no injuries to report.”

In a Saturday news release, police also say the suspect was found in possession of a replica firearm.

According to police, the accused has been charged with possession of a weapon dangerous to the public peace, as well as mischief — preventing the lawful enjoyment of property.

The accused is scheduled to appear in court Saturday and the investigation remains ongoing, police add.

In a statement, the University of Ottawa acknowledged how distressing the events were and reminded students and staff support services are available.

The institution has already begun a review of the emergency response.

“The University’s safety and emergency protocols are instituted responsibly and with the utmost care and caution. These protocols are regularly reviewed and updated to ensure continuous improvement,” wrote director of public affairs, Jesse Robichaud.

The university also encourages students and staff to download their uOttawa safety app, SecurUO, to enable notifications.

“E-mail cannot be relied on as a primary means of safety alerts when time is of the essence due to delivery limitations,” added Robichaud.

“In an emergency, this app is the most prompt and reliable way to receive emergency notifications and the latest information.”

–with a file from Sean Boynton 

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.

The association representing police officers in New Brunswick disputes claims from the police chief in Saint John that complaints against him are union tactics.

In a statement last week, Chief Robert Bruce called the complaints, made last year, “disappointing and predictable” and said most were dismissed.

He alleged the police union used similar tactics to discredit police management and city officials before his arrival to the force. The chief, who has held the position since 2021, also claimed the complaints were timed to coincide with a challenging labour relations process last year.

In a statement, the New Brunswick Police Association said it became aware of multiple workplace harassment complaints against Bruce in September 2025.

The complaints were filed with the New Brunswick Police Commission and are also before the courts.

The association said two of the nine workplace harassment complaints were from non-unionized employees.

“The central issue is that the majority of the workplace harassment allegations against Chief Robert Bruce and the toxic workplace he caused have not been investigated on their merits, but rather summarily dismissed,” wrote Bob Davidson, the association’s labour analyst.

“Moreover, the allegations that were investigated were substantiated but resolved informally and no action taken.”

Davidson said the association has previously asked the provincial government’s public safety minister to investigate. He said they are now requesting the minister to “take whatever action is necessary” to investigate the chief’s “demoralizing, disgraceful, destructive statements and actions.”

— with a file from The Canadian Press

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.