What to watch this weekend: Playoffs, Ohtani, and De Grasse’s debut | CBC Sports

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The NHL and NBA playoffs continue, Shohei Ohtani pays a visit to Toronto and Andre De Grasse kicks off his season. Here’s more on that stuff and other things for Canadian sports fans to keep an eye on this weekend:

NHL playoffs: Can the Leafs and Canucks overcome their injury headaches?

The absence of a key player has hampered both Canadian clubs. Toronto is down 2-1 to Boston as star forward William Nylander has yet to play in the series due to a health issue the team refuses to specify. It’s reportedly a severe migraine that has puzzled Leaf doctors and left Nylander’s status for Game 4 on Saturday night up in the air.

“I don’t know, we’ll see,” Nylander told reporters after participating in practice today. NHL goal-scoring leader Auston Matthews missed the skate after reportedly playing through an illness in Game 3.

The Canucks are tied 1-1 with Nashville after goalie Thatcher Demko missed Game 2 due to an unspecified injury he suffered in the series opener. Backup Casey DeSmith allowed three goals on just 15 shots, but he’ll be back in the crease for Game 3 tonight and probably Game 4 on Sunday as it sounds like Demko could miss the entire series. Coach Rick Tocchet described him as “week to week” after Game 2.

Winnipeg and Edmonton also play tonight and Sunday. Both teams are tied 1-1 (with Colorado and Los Angeles, respectively) after losing Game 2 at home.

NBA playoffs: Jamal Murray and SGA look A-OK

The top two Canadians in the league are 5-0 in the post-season after Murray and the defending-champion Denver Nuggets put LeBron James’ Lakers on the brink of elimination last night with a 112-105 win. Murray had 22 points and nine assists. Denver goes for the sweep on Saturday night.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder, seeded No. 1 in the Western Conference, are up 2-0 on the Pelicans as their series shift to New Orleans on Saturday afternoon. The MVP finalist is averaging north of 30 points in the playoffs, while fellow Canadian Lu Dort had 15 points in Game 2.

Tonight, Canadian guard Andrew Nembhard and the Indiana Pacers return home tied 1-1 with the wounded Bucks. Nembhard started both games in Milwaukee and had 20 points in Game 2. Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo will miss his third straight game with a calf injury while Khris Middleton is questionable with a sprained ankle. Game 4 is Sunday night.

Baseball: Shohei Ohtani is in Toronto for three games

A lot has happened with the Japanese superstar since he rejected the Blue Jays’ hopeful offer and signed a $700-million US deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers in December. He moved (across town, from the L.A. Angels), got married (to a former basketball player) and, oh yeah, allegedly had $16 million stolen from him by his interpreter and best friend, who apparently got in way too deep with an illegal sports-betting operation.

Tonight, Ohtani plays his first game in Ontario (where sports betting is very much legal) since all of that stuff went down. Though he’s not expected to pitch this season following elbow surgery, the two-way marvel is off to a strong start at the plate, batting .358 (third in the majors) with a 1.089 OPS (also third) and six homers (tied for 11th). But the Dodgers are a pedestrian 16-11 — hardly the Death Star they were touted to be.

The Jays, meanwhile, are the definition of average, sitting 13-13 after a damp defeat in Kansas City last night — their third straight loss.

Tennis: Three Canadians are playing in a big French Open tuneup

The prestigious Madrid Open clay-court event features three Canadian singles players — only one of them seeded. Women’s No. 32 Leylah Fernandez faces No. 8 Ons Jabeur of Tunisia in the round of 32 on Saturday.

In the men’s draw, Felix Auger-Aliassime — down to 35th in the world rankings from a career-high sixth last year — plays in the round of 64 on Saturday. 132-ranked Denis Shapovalov advanced to the round of 32 today.

Golf: A Canadian duo is in contention at the PGA Tour’s two-man event

Good pals Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin shot a 3-under-par 69 today at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans to sit one shot off the lead at 12 under with two rounds to go. The team of Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and Ireland’s Shane Lowry had a share of the clubhouse lead, while Canadians Corey Conners and Taylor Pendrith were at 9 under heading into their later-afternoon tee time. Here’s an updated leaderboard.

Olympic sports: Andre De Grasse is back on the track

The reigning Olympic 200m champion opens his outdoor season at the East Coast Relays in Jacksonville, Fla., where he lives and trains. De Grasse will compete in the 200 tonight before facing Olympic 100m champ Marcell Jacobs of Italy and American Trayvon Bromell in the 100 on Saturday. Read about De Grasse’s quest to break the Canadian 100m record here.

Canadian women’s marathon record holder Natasha Wodak will take her last crack at qualifying for the Paris Olympics on Sunday in Hamburg. The 42-year-old, who placed 13th at the 2021 Games in Tokyo, must run a 2:26:50 or better — about 3½ minutes off her Canadian record of 2:23:12.

The Diamond League track and field series continues Saturday in China, where shot put standout Sarah Mitton and steeplechaser Regan Yee are the lone Canadians competing. Mitton, who took silver at the world championships last summer before capturing the indoor world title in March, placed fourth in the Diamond League opener last week. She’ll again face Olympic gold medallist Gong Lijiao of China, who won last week, and world champ Chase Jackson of the United States, who was third. Yee finished eighth in the women’s 3,000m steeplechase last week.

International stars competing at the Diamond League meet include former men’s 100m world champions Christian Coleman and Fred Kerley of the United States; reigning women’s 100m world champ Sha’Carri Richardson of the U.S. (in the 200m); and Sweden’s Mondo Duplantis, the Olympic and world pole vault champ who broke his own world record last week.

Read a full preview of the meet here. Watch it live Saturday from 7-9 a.m. ET on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app and CBC Gem.