There were plenty of highs and lows over the past week for Canada's teams and athletes.

The joy of Scottie Barnes scoring a career-high 41 points for the Toronto Raptors was silenced by the disappointment of losing back-to-back games and three of four overall.

In the hockey world, the Montreal Canadiens are in a groove after winning their fifth straight contest while the Toronto Maple Leafs slumped to a pair of disappointing defeats. The Edmonton Oilers continue to roll led by their captain Connor McDavid, while Sidney Crosby had himself a banner week.

Toronto FC's playoff hopes came to an end while the Vancouver Whitecaps clinched top spot in the West. Leylah Fernandez reached another final in Asia and there was some controversy between Canadians Jamal Murray and Dillon Brooks.

Here's everything you need to know.

Barnes scores career-high 41 but Raptors struggle without Kawhi

Scottie Barnes scored a career-high 41 points against the Orlando Magic on Friday night in their NBA Cup opener, but it came in a losing effort.

There wasn't much support for Barnes on the night and so his individual effort was sorely needed. The 25-year-old was in attack mode all night with 30 of his 34 shots coming within 15 feet of the basket, but can consider himself unlucky to only finish with three free-throw attempts.

Toronto took a two-point lead early in the fourth quarter but the Magic weathered the storm and were led superbly by Franz Wagner, Desmond Bane, and Anthony Black. Orlando looked determined to bounce back from a blowout loss to the Raptors on Wednesday night and brought the physicality and intensity from the opening tip-off.

Unfortunately, there was no bounce back from the Raptors on Sunday night as they lost 131-125 to the Los Angeles Lakers. The score is deceiving, though, as Luka Doncic was dominant with 45 points, 15 rebounds, six assists, and five steals and the Lakers led by double-digits for most of the night and by 15 with four minutes remaining. Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic pulled the starters at that point, and the bench made an unlikely run in the closing stages to make for a fun ending.

Toronto is now 1-3 without Kawhi Leonard in the lineup, who reportedly may miss up to four weeks due to swelling in his left knee.

Canadiens surge with 5 straight wins; Oilers atop the West

The Montreal Canadiens are rolling, winning five in a row to move up to third in the Eastern Conference.

Goaltender Jacob Fowler is making a name for himself, becoming the third Canadiens rookie goalie in the past four decades to win seven straight games. He’s completed two shutouts in his eight starts this season with a .932 save percentage, which has helped him secure the NHL’s “Rookie of the Month” award for October.

The Toronto Maple Leafs lost some of their momentum, dropping games against the Calgary Flames and Seattle Kraken before avoiding what would have been an embarrassing defeat to the last place Vancouver Canucks. Auston Matthews scored his 11 th goal of the season in the win to give him 24 points on the season.

Over in the Western Conference, the Edmonton Oilers continue to set the pace with an 11-2-2 record. No one is doing it like Connor McDavid right now, sitting at 39 points to be well on pace to become the first player since Wayne Gretzky to cross the 200-point mark in a single season. He scored and assisted in their latest win over the New York Rangers, extending his NHL record assists streak to open a season to 15 games. He is also the fastest player in league history to 30 assists in a single season.

Toronto FC playoff hopes come to an end

After a spirited late charge, TFC's season will end on a whimper after crucial losses to DC United and Atlanta United that officially ended its playoff chances.

Facing a must-win encounter against Atlanta on Sunday, Toronto fell behind 3-0 just six minutes into the second half to seal their fate. Recent signing Lewis Morgan scored a consolation goal in the 79 th minute but it was too little, too late.

"Disappointment, disappointment, because we certainly feel like throughout the season at various times we played well enough to be a playoff team," head coach Robin Fraser said when asked to sum up his feelings on missing out. "We've shown resiliency, we've shown character. I do feel that the injuries in the first half of the season really hurt us.”

The Vancouver Whitecaps clinched first place in the Western Conference, crushing the Seattle Sounders 5-1 courtesy two goals from Brian White. They will wrap up their regular season against CF Montreal, who are set to finish bottom of the Eastern Conference.

Athlete of the Week: Sidney Crosby

While the Pittsburgh Penguins did come up with the short end of the stick in a 5-4 loss to the Habs, it was a record-setting night for Sidney Crosby with a goal and two assists.

Those became assists No. 1,111 and 1,112 for his career, which is the most by any player with one franchise in NHL history. His goal, the 1,771 st of his career, also moved him into a tie for sixth on the all-time scoring list.

You think back to the expectations “Sid the Kid” entered the league with and it's remarkable that he's exceeded them with nothing but class and dignity along the way. At 39 years old, we can only sit back and appreciate whatever is left of his all-time career.

Fernandez makes yet another final

Leylah Fernandez reached her third final since the U.S. Open, losing to Diana Shnaider 4-6, 7-5, 2-6 at the Japan Open.

The Asian swing of the tennis tour has been a fruitful one for Fernandez, winning in Singapore and reaching the final in Ningbo. This was an emotional weekend for Fernandez, though, revealing in her final ceremony speech that she lost her grandfather after congratulating Shnaider on the win and thanking her coach, Eric Hechtman.

"Lastly, I just want to thank my family who are back home," Fernandez said. "We had some bad news today but thank you so much for all the support, all the messages, it really means a lot. And Lolo, I know you are looking down on us so thank you for always being strong and supporting us. I know you are going to take care of us from above, so thank you."

Over in Mexico, Bianca Andreescu finally found reason to smile on a tennis court as she won the Queretaro Open. She defeated top-seeded Tatjana Maria 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 in the final. This was a WTA 125 level event, which ranks lower than the 250 (Japan Open), 500, 1000, and WTA Finals, as well as Grand Slam events.

Speed skaters win five medals at Short Track World Tour

Canada's short track speed skaters were on their A-game this past week, winning five medals at the World Tour event in Montreal.

They saved their best for last, winning gold in the men's 5,000 metre relay final. Felix Roussel, Steven Dubois, Mathieu Pelletier, and Maxime Laoun were the quartet that got the job done, ahead of China's and Korea's teams.

Among the other medals were a silver for Roussel, Courtney Sarault, and Danae Blais in the 2,000m mixed relay. Blais also won silver in the women's 500m, while Pelletier captured silver in the men's 1000m.

Canada is atop the ISU Team Crystal Globe rankings, ahead of Korea and the Netherlands. Roussel is Canada's top ranked male sitting second in the men's rankings while Sarault is the No. 1 women's speed skater in the world.

Tension between Canadians NBAers Brooks and Murray

There was some drama between Mississauga, Ont., native Dillon Brooks and Kitchener, Ont., native Jamal Murray on Friday night.

After jawing back and forth over the course of the game, Brooks appeared to kick out at Murray's groin while attempting a jump shot. Murray immediately went to ground and appeared to be in a lot of pain, and the play was then reviewed by the officials.

Brooks was assessed a Flagrant 2 foul and ejected from the game.

Jamal Murray was dropped from the Canada men's senior basketball program for the upcoming 2028 Olympics window, new head coach Gordie Herbert citing that Murray couldn't meet the level of commitment Herbert had made a requirement.

Brooks has become an integral part of the senior national team program over recent years, but Murray played down any possible malicious intent between the two after the game.

"No, of course not," Murray said. "He's shooting the ball. I mean, he might have flopped a little bit, but I don't think he's really trying to kick me in the [groin]."

Of course, it's well established now that Brooks is not one to shy away from physical play and controversy. That surely factored into the decision by the officials to eject him.