Hockey season is in full swing as the Toronto Maple Leafs are already searching for answers and the Edmonton Oilers, sensationally led by Connor McDavid, are piling up the wins.

There's plenty of soccer action as Toronto FC is mounting a late season charge to make the MLS playoffs while the Canadian women's rugby team made history with a shocking win over top-ranked England.

Over in basketball, the Toronto Raptors are ready to tip off the season after wrapping up preseason and, as tennis season nears its conclusion and Gabriela Dabrowski stays hot, curling is back in a big way.

Here's everything you need to know from the week that was in sports for Canadian athletes and teams.

Maple Leafs' struggles compounded by benching McKenna

The Toronto Maple Leafs are getting creative with their losses, having now dropped three in a row. A week after throwing away a 3-0 lead to lose 4-3 against the Vegas Golden Knights, the Leafs went down 5-1 to the Utah Mammoth before creating some late drama in a 5-4 loss.

Then against the Buffalo Sabres, Toronto took a 4-2 lead before finding a way to drop that contest in overtime. The biggest talking point of the loss, though, was head coach Jim Hiller's decision to bench No. 1 overall pick Gavin McKenna for the entire third period and overtime.

"Obviously, you wanna play but we had a good talk," McKenna said later. "We have a good relationship, me and Jim, he said it had nothing to do with my play, which is obviously nice to know. It doesn't really take away from your confidence at all so appreciated him reaching out.

"I trust him, I trust the team, trust what they wanna do so I'm willing to play whatever role this team wants."

McKenna was back in action Saturday, but that did little to save the Leafs from another loss, this time 4-1 to the New York Islanders.

Elsewhere, the Ottawa Senators lost two of three including a 7-2 hammering at the hands of the St. Louis Blues. The Montreal Canadiens responded to three straight losses by winning three out of four. The Vancouver Canucks continued to slump with a seventh straight defeat. The Winnipeg Jets have lost three of four.

Toronto FC's late season charge continues

Toronto FC is on the cusp of a wildcard spot for the MLS playoffs after a crucial 2-0 win over the New York Red Bulls on Saturday.

After following up their dramatic 2-1 win over CF Montreal with a thrilling 3-3 draw against East top seed Nashville, getting a result on the road is massive for their playoff chances. There was an added wrinkle to beating the Red Bulls, as TFC had to do it without head coach Robin Fraser, who was suspended due to yellow card accumulation.

Assistant head coach Wolde Harris took charge in his place and dedicated the win to his late father.

"My dad passed away a couple weeks so, for me on a personal level, he never got to see me coach at the professional level," Harris said. "So, for me, it has a big personal significance. In my own self I'm dedicating this win to him. He was a footballer, a legend at MSU, a legend in Jamaica, that part of it is kind of emotional."

With just four matches remaining in the season now, TFC is tied with eighth place Red Bulls and ninth place Cincinnati on 36 points. The tie-breaker is wins, though, and so TFC sits behind them in 10 th with eight wins to Cincinnati's nine and New York's 10.

CF Montreal remain in last place in the East while the Vancouver Whitecaps are inching closer to locking up first place in the West.

Canada stuns England in women's rugby

Canada caused a seismic shock in the rugby world over the weekend as the women's team defeated No. 1 ranked England 24-21.

Playing in front of home fans in Toronto, the biggest crowd in North American women's rugby history saw England's astonishing 41-match winning streak come to an end despite leading 14-5 at halftime and 21-12 late.

"We really had to grind it out and find a way," Canada captain Sophie de Goede said. "That's kind of the DNA of our team."

The two teams will meet again on Friday.

Athlete of the Week: Connor McDavid

It was only a matter of time before Connor McDavid was back on the throne in this category. The Edmonton Oilers superstar racked up two goals and three assists in a 6-2 win over Utah to push his season tally to a mind blowing 23 points in eight games.

This is the best start through eight games in McDavid's career and he's on pace for 242 points. Wayne Gretzky holds the record for most points in a season with 215 in the 1985-86 season, also with Edmonton.

"And isn't he plus-19?" asked head coach Mike Babcock. "It's impossible to coach a team when your best player isn't driving, and this guy's driving. But he has a bunch of support. We've got a lot of workers, which is positive, and you're going to see our team really grow here as we get people back and get deeper."

The Oilers have been terrific in the early season with a 6-1-1 record to sit second in the Western Conference behind the Vegas Golden Knights.

Dabrowski doubles up in Asia

Gabriela Dabrowski continued her tremendous form with another title in Asia, winning the Wuhan Open alongside doubles partner Luisa Stefani.

Coming in as the top seed, Dabrowski and Stefani took down No. 3 seeds Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova in the final 7-5, 6-4. They improved their overall record together to a fantastic 79-19.

"I'm really pleased with where we are and where our level is," Dabrowski said. "So it's really nice to see it pay off in results consistently throughout the season."

The win also earned the pair a spot in the year-end WTA Finals, the marquee event to wrap up the year for the world's top singles and doubles players.

Raptors wrap up preseason

The Toronto Raptors wrapped up preseason with narrow defeats to the New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons on the road but not before Kawhi Leonard gave us a taste of what to expect this regular season.

Leonard made his preseason debut at Scotiabank Arena and poured in 21 points in just 17 minutes of action. He made dazzling plays on both ends of the floor, even leaving his new teammates in awe as they get accustomed to playing with him.

"He's gonna draw so much attention," Scottie Barnes said. "Even watching it, coming off some of the actions that we're running, him just lifting up and shooting. That was like, 'Yo, this guy is really good…'

"Obviously, he's really good."

The Raptors will tip off their season on Wednesday against the Chicago Bulls at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

Einarson wins 7 th Grand Slam of Curling title

Kerri Einarson's rink beat South Korea's Team Kang 6-3 in the women's final in Victoria to claim her seventh Grand Slam of Curling title and first in two years.

She gave full credit to her team after the victory.

"They're very hard-working girls," Einarson told CBC. "You can tell. They're just sweeping their butts off out there. I told them I wasn't going to be heavy anymore because I was heavy on a couple draws, so I definitely put them to work."