TOPEKA, Kan. – Steve Torrence and J.R. Todd claimed the top spot in their respective categories Saturday afternoon at the 31st annual Menard’s NHRA Heartland Nationals presented by Minities at Heartland Motorsports Park.

Top Fuel points leader Torrence’s second qualifying run of 3.760 seconds at 325.45 mph stood strong through Saturday’s qualifying efforts. He will start from the No. 1 position for the 21st time in his career as he looks for his fifth consecutive victory this season in his Capco Contractors dragster. Torrence will line up against Terry Totten for the first round of eliminations.

“I tell you what, probably all of the odds are against us,” Torrence said. “Richard Hogan (crew chief) and Bobby Lagana (crew chief) and that whole Capco group over there are doing awesome. My dad has come out and done really well. We’ve got a lot of pipeliners back home working really hard to keep us out here and, ‘thank you’ to them. It’s Topeka and I’ve never won here in Top Fuel and I’m hoping that we can get the monkey off our back and do some good here tomorrow.”

Billy Torrence’s pass of 3.765 seconds at 323.58 mph landed him the No. 2 spot in the Capco Contractors dragster and rookie Austin Prock is seeded No. 3.

Todd secured his first No. 1 qualifier of the season and 100th for Kalitta Motorsports with his pass of 3.924 seconds at 318.99 mph Friday evening in his DHL Toyota Camry Funny Car. He is chasing his second win on the season and first victory at Heartland Motorsports Park.

“That’s pretty awesome because I don’t have too many No. 1 qualifiers under my belt,” Todd said regarding clinching the 100th No. 1 for his team. “I’d say most of those came from Dougie (Kalitta, Mac Tools driver) who is the leader over there. That was a good run Friday night which we knew that Q2 was going to be your best round of the weekend. We have a really good car heading into race day tomorrow and no reason that we can’t turn on four win lights. That’s the plan for tomorrow.”

Tim Wilkerson’s run of 3.931 seconds at 318.54 mph locked-in the No. 2 position for Sunday and 16-time world champion John Force is third.

ST. LOUIS -- As the St. Louis Blues are one win away from the first Stanley Cup in franchise history, there's speculation about who will win the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP.

One of the names in consideration is winger Vladimir Tarasenko, who has 11 goals in 24 games. But defenseman Colton Parayko offered another interesting candidate: Yana Tarasenko, who gave birth to their son on Friday.

"She's the real MVP," he said, smiling. "We're on the road, and it happens on the day we get back. I think we landed and [Tarasenko] went straight to the [hospital]."

The Blues defeated the Boston Bruins in Game 5 on Thursday night and flew back to St. Louis. On Friday, Yana Tarasenko posted a photo of her husband holding their newborn with the caption "our little boy ... welcome to the world."

Tarasenko didn't participate in practice on Saturday for what was called a "maintenance day."

In their locker room on Saturday, the Blues expressed their joy about the new addition to the Tarasenko family -- they have two other boys, Mark and Sasha -- while praising the clutch timing of the birth.

"Yana did a good job of holding on, making sure Vladimir was there. We're so happy for him. Another boy for them. So happy for the Tarasenkos and their family, and everyone's healthy. It's good to see that," winger Pat Maroon said. "Yana's done a good job. Good communication I guess. It's been good."

Many of the Blues players are fathers, and acknowledged the difficulty in having the birth of a child looming while trying to focus on a potential championship run.

"Yeah, he's gotta be exhausted. I can't imagine, for him, what it's like," O'Reilly said. "But it's amazing. It's one of the greatest things in the world, to be a parent, and especially at this time going through all that, the emotions he must have are amazing. Everyone here is so happy for him."

His coach, Craig Berube, was also impressed with his Russian star's focus.

"Yeah, he's done a great job of it. It's not easy, and he's not the only player who's gone through it. It's hard. Obviously, family is important and first, and you gotta make sure that's all in check. But Vladi's been great. He's been doing a great job of [focusing], and when the game time comes, he's played hard and played well," said Berube of Tarasenko, who also has five assists to go with his 11 goals, including two game-winning goals as well as a playoffs-high 85 shots.

Yana Tarasenko talked about the work/life balance with Vladimir in a piece with St. Louis Magazine last September.

"Vladi is very attentive while at home. During the travel season, we stay in touch via FaceTime. Sasha knows that when Daddy wears a suit, it means he might be absent for several days, and he's OK with that. They both understand that we are a sports family. They're proud of it and try to be just like Dad," she said.

In the next two games, "Dad" will find out if he's a Stanley Cup champion. Then comes the real challenge: Raising three children.

"I had three at once," said Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo, who welcomed triplets last summer. "So they'll be all right. They'll find a way to balance it."

ST. LOUIS -- Zdeno Chara didn't say much to the media Saturday, but that he said anything at all was a good sign.

Five days after blood gushed onto the ice after a puck deflected into his face -- and two days after suiting up, remarkably, for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final -- the Boston Bruins' captain was able to speak in complete sentences, but it appeared he could not open his mouth fully.

Chara, meeting with reporters in a podium setting alongside teammate Tuukka Rask, had a noticeable scab under the right corner of his mouth. Multiple reports suggest his jaw is broken, but when Chara was asked specifically about his injury Saturday, he did not respond.

The Bruins are in must-win mode as they trail the St. Louis Blues 3-2 in the best-of-seven series. Game 6 is Sunday in St. Louis.

Chara said "there is no limitations" for him playing through the injury, which the team has described only as a facial injury.

"Obviously it was a quick turnaround after the game here," Chara said. "But I felt fine."

With Chara cleared to play, the Bruins suited up seven defensemen in Game 5. Coach Bruce Cassidy said the team wasn't sure how much Chara would "be able to play, how much was it going to affect him, his breathing, et cetera."

Chara, wearing a full shield, played 16 minutes, 42 seconds in the 2-1 loss, mostly alongside his usual defensive partner, Charlie McAvoy. Chara also made four hits, three blocks and took two shots on goal, but he looked uncomfortable at times.

When asked if he could eat food properly, Chara said: "I'm trying to at least eat as much as I can, keep my nutrition up and food up."

Chara is likely to play again in Game 6. The Bruins were also hoping to have regular top-six defenseman Matt Grzelcyk back in the lineup. Grzelcyk has been out since Game 2 with a concussion, and Cassidy said he was still not yet medically cleared Saturday.

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Forward Jeff Skinner is both grateful and motivated by the new contract he signed to remain a member of the Buffalo Sabres for the next eight seasons.

He's impressed by the faith the Sabres showed by making him the team's second-highest-paid player behind captain Jack Eichel. And Skinner welcomes the raised expectations that come with his $72 million contract.

"Obviously, I know there's expectations and what my job is, and my job is to produce," Skinner told The Associated Press by phone Saturday in his first interview a day after reaching the deal.

"But I think that any athlete has that pride and wants to work and help the team win," he added. "I'm excited to be there and be a piece of the puzzle."

Skinner will be relied upon to be a major piece after scoring a career-best and team-leading 40 goals in his first season in Buffalo. The 27-year-old spent his first eight seasons in Carolina before being traded to the Sabres last August.

The Hurricanes made the trade believing they weren't going to afford Skinner's asking price once his contract expired after the season.

The rebuilding Sabres have a dire need for proven scorers, and weren't going to pass up an opportunity to secure the four-time 30-goal scorer before he was eligible to become a free agent July 1.

"One of the questions is going to be about giving an eight-year contract to a 27-year-old, but there's always going to be risks," Buffalo general manager Jason Botterill said Saturday.

"Our biggest focus I think heading into free agency was getting Jeff signed, and we've accomplished that," he added. "We want to add to our group and not have to go out there and try to replace what Jeff Skinner can bring."

Skinner became Buffalo's first player to score 40 goals since Thomas Vanek in 2008-09. And Skinner, Eichel and forward Sam Reinhart accounted for 90 of Buffalo's 226 goals last season.

Botterill's focus now is developing the young talent and adding players either through trades or free agency this offseason to provide more secondary scoring.

"We didn't make the playoffs. We have to continue to improve in a lot of different facets," Botterill said. "If we can find a way to add a little bit more depth instead of relying so much on Jeff, Sam and Jack, I think that's certainly one of our goals."

Skinner has for 244 goals, 198 assists and 442 points in 661 career games. Since entering the league, the NHL's 2011 rookie of the year is tied for 13th in total goals scored and ranks fifth with 191 goals scored at even strength.

The Sabres are in the midst of an eight-season playoff drought -- the NHL's longest active streak. And they're coming off a season in which they finished 27th overall and joined the 2016-17 Philadelphia Flyers in becoming the second of 50 NHL teams to miss the playoffs in the same season they won at least 10 consecutive games.

The Sabres followed their 10-game winning streak in November by closing the season winning 16 of their final 57 games.

Skinner put aside missing the playoffs for the ninth time in his career by saying he's impressed by the young talent Buffalo already has assembled.

"I think they're going to be consistently competitive for a long time, and that's probably the No. 1 thing," he said.

Though he enjoyed his season in Buffalo, Skinner had no preconceptions as to whether he would re-sign with the team after the season ended . He spent time consulting with family and friends, and gradually came to the conclusion Buffalo was the best fit.

"You put a positive step after a positive step together and at the end you sort of end up where you are," Skinner said. "And fortunately for me, I'm very happy with how it ended up."

He was also enthused following a lengthy chat by phone with newly hired coach Ralph Krueger, who takes over after Phil Housley was fired in April.

"I think it helped. It was definitely a positive," Skinner said, noting he also spoke to numerous players and coaches who have worked with Krueger. "What stood out was his excitement and enthusiasm to be in Buffalo. ... I think it was really genuine."

The 59-year-old coach is considered an innovator in having coached both in the NHL and internationally, including leading Team Europe to a second-place finish at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

In retrospect, Skinner said he was surprised by how smoothly his transition went after being traded for the first time in his career. What caught him by surprise is how passionate the Sabres fan base is, something Skinner never realized during the Hurricanes' visits to Buffalo.

Though he holds no grudges toward Carolina for trading him, Skinner knows he's now on a team invested in his long-term future.

"I'm very fortunate Buffalo gave me the opportunity it did, and I'm grateful they continue to show the belief in me," Skinner said. "It's a good feeling to play for an organization like that."

CINCINNATI, Ohio -- United States manager Gregg Berhalter said he'll field a starting 11 that is closer to his preferred lineup in Sunday's final pre-Gold Cup tune-up against Venezuela, but that neither Christian Pulisic nor Michael Bradley will play in the match.

Pulisic trained with the team for the first time on Friday after taking a two-week break. Bradley has been nursing a hamstring injury, but has been a full participant in training.

"With Christian, it's that he just got into camp," Berhalter said. "We're building him up in the same way that we built up Weston [McKennie] and other guys that arrived at a later date into camp."

On a positive note, Berhalter noted that newcomer midfielder Tyler Boyd, forward Jozy Altidore and defender Aaron Long are all available. Berhalter added that Boyd would see limited minutes, while Altidore would play some part in the match, although he stressed that the Toronto FC striker wouldn't go the whole 90 minutes.

"We're going to continue to progress this group," Berhalter said. "You will see a more representative [team] of what could be a potential lineup. We know we're still missing some players, and that's fine. The whole idea of these two games was to build the team. We came in with an Olympic/national team group. We transitioned into more of a national team group, and now we're getting more of the Gold Cup group prepared. It's not going to be our end lineup, but you have to deal with these things as they come."

Berhalter also further addressed his decision to leave 19-year-old forward Josh Sargent off the Gold Cup roster, opting to go with only two strikers in Altidore and Gyasi Zardes.

"When [Altidore is] fit and he's strong, there's not a better striker than him in America," Berhalter said. "So it's hard to say, 'OK, here's a 19-year-old that is going to displace Jozy Altidore, even though he has a bright future ahead of him.' And the way we frame this is we're saying, 'Okay, he's participated in a U20 World Cup already. This is an opportunity for a guy like Sebastian Soto to show his self, his game on the world stage.' And he's done a great job of taking advantage of that.

- When is the CONCACAF Gold Cup?

- Full Gold Cup fixtures schedule

"Now if we view Josh as being more advanced than the U20 level, that doesn't mean he's ready to be a full international. There's space in between that. In between that comes the Olympic team, and Olympic qualifying, and perhaps the Olympics. In my mind, Josh is really close and has a lot of talent. If we had extra space on the roster, he'd be with us. But we don't."

The U.S. will be facing a Venezuela side that has its own tournament for which to prepare, that being the 2019 Copa America in Brazil. Berhalter feels that La Vinotinto will provide a different kind of challenge than Jamaica did last Wednesday.

"Whereas Jamaica gave us the physicality and the counterattacking, Venezuela has a very good striker, good wingers as well, so they do have transition and they'll high press at times," Berhalter said. "So it's another good challenge, something to prepare us for the Gold Cup."

The high press will be one to watch, especially since the U.S. was sloppy in playing the ball out of the back against Jamaica, with one such sequence leading to Shamar Nicholson's game-winner.

"Any time you're in some high pressure, there's going to be some errors," Berhalter said. "It's about staying calm, being brave, opening up, moving for each other and you can solve it."

Berhalter also added that he has yet to settle on who will captain the team during the Gold Cup.

"The way we see this group is that it's a group that we're developing, and we want to get leadership from a number of different players," he said. "We're not at the point now where we can say there's one leader in the group who is going to lead us forward. We think that right now we want a number of different guys to step up. We're not in the phase yet where we're ready to pick a full-time captain."

Hope Solo isn't a participant in this year's Women's World Cup, but the former United States goalkeeper isn't interested in being a silent observer.

Just three days before the U.S. begins play, Solo ripped coach Jill Ellis and said "she cracks under pressure."

Solo has been at odds with U.S. Soccer since being suspended for six months and seeing her contract terminated after calling Sweden's national team a "bunch of cowards" during the 2016 Olympics.

The 37-year-old Solo took aim at Ellis during a BBC interview Saturday and indicated she isn't a fan of Ellis' methods.

"Jill -- she's not the leader I wish her to be," Solo said of the national team's coach since 2014. "She relies heavily on her assistant coaches. She cracks under the pressure quite a bit. But oftentimes it doesn't matter, because the quality of the players on the U.S. team is superb."

Solo said the U.S. would win games no matter who coaches the squad.

"We have a rich history of winning, a winning tradition, and it doesn't matter oftentimes who's coaching us, because we'll find a way to win ... in spite of who the coach is," Solo said.

Solo was the goalkeeper for the 2015 World Cup-winning squad as well as the 2007 and 2011 teams. She also earned gold medals as the goalie for the 2008 and 2012 U.S. Olympic teams.

Solo earned 202 caps with the national team and holds the record of 102 career shutouts.

The U.S. plays Thailand in its opening match Tuesday in Reims, France.

CINCINNATI, Ohio -- The final dress rehearsal for the Gold Cup has arrived for the U.S. men's national team as the U.S. takes on Venezuela this Sunday. The only problem is that a few understudies are still playing prominent roles in place of the headliners.

Christian Pulisic isn't available. Neither is Michael Bradley, while minutes for Jozy Altidore and newcomer Tyler Boyd will be limited to varying degrees. Tyler Adams won't join up with the team until June 11. All are expected to be ready to go when the Gold Cup begins for the U.S. on June 18 against Guyana, but it's a less-than-ideal scenario heading into a tournament in which the U.S. will attempt to reverse the negativity surrounding the program, which was ratcheted up again following last Wednesday's 1-0 loss to Jamaica.

For manager Gregg Berhalter, the priorities haven't changed. He's still in the process of imparting his system to the players, though it has been more difficult than it might appear in this camp given that players have been arriving at different times and in varying states of fitness. Yet with the start of the Gold Cup now a week and a half away, the team must move forward.

- When is the CONCACAF Gold Cup?
- Full Gold Cup fixtures schedule

Against Jamaica, Berhalter experimented with both personnel and tactics, with little success, though he insists the data obtained will help the team down the road. The U.S. manager said his team's approach against Venezuela will be similar to what was on display in friendlies earlier this year. The team will likely go with a variant of 4-3-3, with Nick Lima the prime candidate to occupy the hybrid right-back/center midfield role.

"It will be a good opportunity to keep working through things, to create more offensive chances, to be stable in defense," Berhalter said. "The defensive stability last game was pretty good. We didn't let up any real goal opportunities. But we want to create more, so we'll see if we can put ourselves in position to create more goal-scoring opportunities."

Against the Reggae Boyz, the U.S. penetrated the attacking third easily enough, especially in the first half, but that didn't lead to many clear opportunities as the team managed just one shot on target. Getting a different result on Sunday will require playing with greater speed and precision.

"I think we're going to focus on wing progressions, how to get them more involved and behind the lines," defender Aaron Long told ESPN FC. "I think that's a big one for us right now."

Of course, that is by no means the only challenge. Venezuela, currently preparing for its own summer tournament at the 2019 Copa America (live on ESPN+, June 14-July 7) will pick its spots to press the U.S. team. The Americans were sloppy with the ball in the second half of the Jamaica game, with a turnover yielding Shamar Nicholson's winner. Long hinted that the U.S. will continue to try to do what it can to control the game.

"We're going to work on building out of the back as usual," Long said. "They have some good pressure, so that's going to be a good challenge for us, just circulating the ball and being a little more potent in the attack."

Berhalter added, "Any time you're in some high-pressure [situations], there's going to be some errors, and it's about staying calm, being brave, opening up, moving for each other and you can solve it."

Altidore will likely make his first international appearance since "That Night in Couva" and he continues to take plenty of flak from U.S. fans for what happened in that World Cup qualifier against Trinidad & Tobago. The reality is that Altidore remains the best forward in the U.S. pool, especially with his passing and hold-up play. The 2017 Gold Cup seems eons ago, but it was Altidore who scored in both the semifinal against Costa Rica and the final against Jamaica. Those goals not only helped the U.S. win the title but saw the oft-injured forward make a rare contribution in a tournament setting.

Berhalter will be counting on Altidore to be a difference-maker in this edition of the tournament, with Sunday's friendly the first match toward that goal.

"He's a guy that we have a lot of faith in," Berhalter said of Altidore. "He's a great addition to this group. I'm excited to see how he fits into everything we're doing."

Long is one member of the team who Berhalter said has returned to health. The New York Red Bulls defender was dealing with a hamstring injury but has been a full participant in training for the past week, and could see the field in place of either Omar Gonzalez or Matt Miazga. Whoever plays will certainly have his hands full with the likes of Atlanta United forward Josef Martinez and/or West Bromwich Albion striker Salomon Rondon.

The hope now is that with the Gold Cup looming and the roster now finalized, the U.S. can generate some momentum heading into the tournament.

"It's a feeling of excitement now," Long said. "We know our 23 and we're ready to get after it."