Offensive depth has Rangers on verge of sweep, Avalanche and Oilers each up 2-1 in first round

Nine players have already scored for the New York Rangers and Edmonton Oilers, 10 for the Colorado Avalanche.

That depth of scoring early in the NHL playoffs has the Rangers on the verge of sweeping Washington, while Edmonton and Colorado are looking to take 3-1 leads Sunday in their respective first-round series against Los Angeles and Winnipeg.

“You’re going to need that more throughout the course of the playoffs,” said Rangers coach Peter Laviolette, whose team could next face Carolina 18 years since guiding the Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup. "But I think getting contributions from everybody inside of a playoff series, a playoff run, I think that’s really important.”

Meanwhile, Nashville is trying to get something — anything — going offensively in Game 4 after falling behind 2-1 to Vancouver despite outshooting the Canucks 30-12. The Predators got goalie'd by backup Casey DeSmith, leaving coach Andrew Brunette to say: “It was fun hockey game. It's hard to leave this game feeling awful about it.”

The Oilers are feeling great about hanging six goals on the Kings' Cam Talbot on Friday night in a blowout win. Zach Hyman and Leon Draisaitl each scored twice and Connor McDavid and Evander Kane each had a goal.

“As good as Leon and Connor are, and they’re going to win you a lot of games, but they can’t win every game,” coach Kris Knoblauch said. “We need contributions from everybody.”

Colorado's 6-2 win in Game 3 ended with a big scrum of pushing and shoving as the intensity rachets up between the Central Division rivals. The Jets could carry that into Game 4, but the Avalanche are happy to park that and move forward.

“We have to play hockey, they have to play hockey Sunday,” Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon said. “We have to get a win, and they need one just as badly, so I don’t know. Whatever happens happened here.”

What has happened in the series is Colorado taking control after a wild 7-6 loss in the opener. In addition to goals from everywhere, goaltender Alexandar Georgiev has gotten his groove back, stopping 50 of 54 shots over Games 2 and 3 and hearing home fans chant his name.

“I feel the guys did such a good job for me,” Georgiev said. “Just made my job so much easier, especially in the second and third. I feel they deserve more chants.”

Brunette wants to see more movement on offense from the Predators, especially working to get in front of the net where DeSmith has gotten help from Canucks defenders clearing pucks off juicy rebounds. If Nashville can break through, the offense could come quickly with All-Star Thatcher Demko sidelined by injury.

“That’s the most O-zone possession time we’ve had, most shots, most grade A (scoring chances)," said forward Luke Evangelista, who scored his team's only goal in Game 3. “If we keep playing like that, we’ll be in a good spot.”

The Predators are 1 for 13 on the power play, a unit captain Roman Josi said “needs to step up.” Vancouver's Rick Tocchet, front-runner to be coach of the year, was ecstatic with the win but acknowledged his team needs to make some improvements and expects adjustments from Nashville.

“Brunette's a good coach,” Tocchet said. "He has some really good offensive sets there that we’re going to have to tweak.”

The games have been tighter than the series situation indicates, though at times it has looked every bit like the Presidents' Trophy winner against the last team to get into the playoffs. That's mostly on special teams, where New York has three goals on the power play and two short-handed and is one win from eliminating Washington.

“It’s been pretty tight out there to score 5 on 5," Rangers winger Jimmy Vesey said. “They want to play a 2-1 game, so we’ve got to match their desperation at the start of the game and then settle in, maybe be comfortable in a tight game.”

The Capitals expended so much energy down the stretch just to qualify, including winning three games in four nights to clinch the second and final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Now it's gut-check time for a young team missing several injured defensemen that could have a ninth different player, Swede Hardy Haman Aktell, make his playoff debut in this series.

“We don’t have time to start overthinking too much or feel sorry for ourselves,” rookie forward Hendrix Lapierre said. “We’re just trusting the process. We’re trusting that everyone’s going to do a job, and we got a long way ahead of us.”

The Kings are the only team in the playoffs without a power-play goal thus far, going 0 for 10. The Oilers are 7 for 14 and have all the momentum, two victories away from knocking out L.A. for a third consecutive year.

“Game 4 is a big game for us," McDavid said. “It feels like it’s a big, swing game. I think we’ve learned our lesson from Game 2. We came out a little bit flat and didn’t match their desperation. We’ve got to be ready right off the hop.”

McDavid led all playoff scorers through Friday night with nine points, and Draisaitl and Hyman each have seven. Containing them is the Kings' best way to even the series.

“They’re good players,” interim coach Jim Hiller said. “They’ve done it for a long time. And you got to find a way. I thought we did a pretty good job in Game 2, so we’ll just have to make sure we do that same job in Game 4.”

AP Sports Writers Pat Graham in Denver, Teresa M. Walker in Nashville and Joe Reedy in Los Angeles contributed.

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL

Vancouver Canucks goaltender Casey DeSmith (29) warms up before the start of Game 3 in an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Nashville Predators, Friday, April 26, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Colorado Avalanche right wing Valeri Nichushkin, foreground shoots the puck past Winnipeg Jets defenseman Neal Pionk, left, and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck for a goal during the third period of Game 3 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Friday, April 26, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Edmonton Oilers left wing Zach Hyman, left, scores on Los Angeles Kings goaltender Cam Talbot during the third period in Game 3 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Friday, April 26, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) rests on the boards during a timeout during the second period against the New York Rangers in Game 3 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Friday, April 26, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)

Nashville Predators center Ryan O'Reilly (90) and defenseman Roman Josi (59) skate off the ice after the team 2-1 loss against the Vancouver Canucks in Game 3 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Friday, April 26, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

Colorado Avalanche goaltender Alexandar Georgiev stops a shot by Winnipeg Jets center Mark Scheifele during the third period of Game 3 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Friday, April 26, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Edmonton Oilers left wing Zach Hyman, center, celebrates his goal with center Connor McDavid, left, and center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins during the third period in Game 3 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Kings Friday, April 26, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin (31) is embraced by teammate Barclay Goodrow (21) after defeating the Washington Capitals in Game 3 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup first-round playoff series, Friday, April 26, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner)

NEW YORK (AP) — Atlanta’s Max Fried and two relievers combined for a no-hitter through 8 2/3 innings before New York’s J.D. Martinez homered to spoil the bid as the Braves beat the Mets 4-1 on Saturday.

Fried opened with seven no-hit innings and Joe Jiménez worked around a pair of walks in the eighth before Raisel Iglesias retired the first two batters of the ninth. Martinez homered just over the wall in right field on the next pitch off Iglesias, who walked Jeff McNeil and allowed an infield single to Harrison Bader before retiring Brett Baty on a fly to center.

The Braves have not thrown a no-hitter since Kent Mercker’s gem against the Los Angeles Dodgers on April 8, 1994. The no-hitter drought is the fourth-longest in the majors.

The Braves have the second-most wins and second-lowest ERA in baseball since 1994, a span in which Hall of Famers Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and John Smoltz pitched for the team.

Fried walked three over the first seven innings, throwing 109 pitches, one shy of his career high. The 30-year-old left-hander retired the first eight batters he faced before issuing consecutive walks to Tomas Nido and Brandon Nimmo. He then set down 11 straight before walking Pete Alonso with one out in the seventh.

BLUE JAYS 10, TWINS 8

TORONTO (AP) — Ernie Clement broke an 8-all tie with a bases-loaded single in the seventh inning and Toronto overcame a six-run deficit to beat Minnesota.

Danny Jansen hit a two-run home run while Bo Bichette and Davis Schneider each hit solo homers for the Blue Jays, who came in having lost six of eight.

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went 4 for 5 with three RBIs in his 11th multihit game of the season as the Blue Jays used a season-best 16 hits to cool off the Twins, who had won 16 of 18.

Guerrero tied it at 8-all with a two-run, two-out single off Steven Okert in the sixth inning.

After two Blue Jays batters reached against Jay Jackson (1-2) to begin the seventh, pinch hitter George Springer walked and Clement broke the tie with a single to shallow center off Caleb Thielbar. Schneider followed with a sacrifice fly.

Carlos Santana hit a three-run home run and Ryan Jeffers had a solo homer for the Twins, whose seven-game road winning streak was snapped.

RED SOX 4, NATIONALS 2

BOSTON (AP) — Rafael Devers hit a tiebreaking, two-run double in the eighth inning to lift Boston to a victory over Washington.

Wearing their alternate bright-yellow jerseys with powder-blue lettering, numbers and caps, the Red Sox snapped a three-game losing streak with just their second victory in eight games.

Devers hit his two-out double over the head of left fielder Eddie Rosario off Robert Garcia (0-2) after Tyler O’Neill was intentionally walked with Rob Refsnyder on second.

Chris Martin (2-1) worked a scoreless inning and Kenley Jansen got three outs for his sixth save, the 426th of his career.

Wilyer Abreu hit a solo homer and Jarren Duran added an RBI double for Boston.

Rosario and Joey Meneses each hit a solo homer for the Nationals, with Meneses’ his first this season.

RAYS 7, YANKEES 2

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Randy Arozarena homered and drove in four runs, Yandy Díaz hit a leadoff shot, and Tampa Bay beat New York.

Arozarena put the Rays ahead 4-2 with a three-run homer in the third inning off Nestor Cortes (1-4). The 2023 All-Star has struggled this season — he went 2 for 3 to raise his average to just .154 — but has gone deep four times in his last eight games.

Díaz homered on Cortes’ first pitch of the game. Díaz and Arozarena had RBI doubles in a three-run seventh.

Zack Littell (2-2) allowed two runs and four hits in 5 2/3 innings as the Rays returned to .500 at 20-20.

Rays closer Pete Fairbanks returned after missing 19 games with nerve-related hand issues and struck out one in a 1-2-3 ninth.

Anthony Volpe had a two-run single in the second for the Yankees, who lost for the second time in eight games.

PHILLIES 8, MARLINS 3

MIAMI (AP) — Bryson Stott hit a tiebreaking, bases-loaded triple in the sixth inning, and major league-best Philadelphia beat Miami.

Stott finished with two hits and four RBIs. Catcher J.T. Realmuto had a run-scoring single and threw out two baserunners trying to steal for the Phillies, who have won 13 of 15 to improve to 28-12. Cristian Pache had three hits and an RBI and is 5-for-9 through the first two games of the series.

Phillies starter Taijuan Walker (3-0) allowed one run in six innings. He gave up eight hits and struck out four.

The Marlins dropped to an NL-worst 10-31. They are 1-7 since trading NL batting champion Luis Arraez on May 4.

Philadelphia trailed 1-0 in the sixth before Realmuto’s RBI hit against Marlins starter Jesús Luzardo (0-3). Anthony Maldonado relieved Luzardo and allowed Alec Bohm’s two-out single and walked Nick Castellanos. Stott then hit a hard grounder over the bag at first that rolled to the wall and cleared the bases.

The Phillies broke it open with a four-run eighth. Stott and Pache hit RBI singles and Johan Rojas’ two-run single padded the lead.

ORIOLES 5, DIAMONDBACKS 4, 11 INNINGS

BALTIMORE (AP) — Jordan Westburg flicked a game-ending single inside the right field line in the 11th inning for his fourth hit of the day, and Baltimore beat Arizona.

Gunnar Henderson tied the major league lead with his 12th homer of the season for the AL East-leading Orioles, and Anthony Santander went deep in the eighth to tie the game at 4-all.

Craig Kimbrel (4-1) worked a scoreless 11th after a rough stretch in which the veteran closer failed to convert four of five save opportunities. He also worked a scoreless seventh in Friday night’s 4-2 win. Baltimore (26-12) has won seven of eight and has the second-best record in the majors behind Philadelphia.

Westburg hit an RBI double in the second and singled in the fourth and ninth before his well-placed walk-off hit against Bryce Jarvis (0-2), which scored automatic runner Colton Cowser.

Ketel Marte extended his hitting streak to 12 games and homered for the second consecutive day for the Diamondbacks, who haven’t won at Camden Yards since June 17, 2007.

TIGERS 8, ASTROS 2

DETROIT (AP) — Mark Canha hit a grand slam in a seven-run second inning, Kerry Carpenter homered twice and Detroit beat Houston.

Tarik Skubal (5-0) gave up two runs on seven hits and two walks while striking out seven over 6 1/3 innings.

Cristian Javier (2-1) allowed seven runs on five hits and four walks in 1 1/3 innings, making his first start since going on the injured list because of neck discomfort nearly a month ago.

The Tigers loaded the bases against Javier in the pivotal second and then he threw four straight balls to Riley Greene, forcing home the first run. Two pitches later, Canha sat on a changeup and sent it 393 feet over the left-field fence.

Carpenter’s two-run homer put Detroit ahead 7-0 and ended Javier’s brief and rough outing.

After Houston was held scoreless for a third straight inning, hitting coach Alex Cintron was ejected after appearing to argue with the umpiring crew.

Alex Bregman and Yainer Diaz responded in the fourth inning, hitting RBI singles to make it 7-2. Carpenter hit a homer off Hunter Brown in the home half, putting Detroit ahead by six runs.

WHITE SOX 3, GUARDIANS 1

CHICAGO (AP) — Mike Clevinger combined with three relievers on a four-hitter, and Chicago topped Cleveland for their season-high fourth consecutive victory.

Clevinger permitted one run and four hits in 4 2/3 innings in his second major league start of the season. The right-hander, who signed a $3 million, one-year contract with Chicago on April 4, struck out five and walked none.

Then the bullpen took over.

Tim Hill (1-0), Jared Shuster and John Brebbia combined for 4 1/3 hitless innings as the last-place White Sox improved to 9-6 since their 3-22 start. Shuster got six outs before Brebbia handled the ninth for his first save since June 8, 2018, for St. Louis at Cincinnati.

Cleveland wasted a sharp performance by Triston McKenzie (2-3), who pitched 6 2/3 innings of four-hit ball. The Guardians lost for the fourth time in five games.

Josh Naylor accounted for Cleveland’s only run with an opposite-field drive to left with two out in the fourth. It was his 11th homer of the season.

PIRATES 10, CUBS 9

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Paul Skenes struck out seven over four-plus innings in his major league debut and Yasmani Grandal hit a go-ahead three-run homer as Pittsburgh edged Chicago.

Skenes, the top overall pick in the 2023 draft, showed flashes of why he is considered perhaps the best pitching prospect in a generation. The 21-year-old — who was greeted by a standing ovation by most of the near-capacity crowd including girlfriend Livvy Dunne — reached 100 mph on 17 of his 84 pitches.

He was electric at times but hardly perfect. Skenes allowed at least one runner in every inning he started — including a solo homer by Nico Hoerner in the fourth — and was pulled after allowing a pair of hits leading off the fifth. He was charged with three runs on six hits with two walks and a hit batter.

Pittsburgh’s bullpen imploded immediately after Skenes’ exit, allowing Chicago to score seven runs to take the lead, with six coming on walks with the bases loaded, most of them on counts that weren’t even competitive.

Pirates relievers Kyle Nicolas, Josh Fleming and Colin Holderman threw 26 balls in a span of 31 pitches sandwiched around a 2-hour, 20-minute rain delay in the top of the fifth.

GIANTS 5, REDS 1

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Matt Chapman hit a grand slam in the first inning to lead struggling San Francisco to a victory over Cincinnati.

The Giants had lost eight of 11 games coming into the contest and were averaging less than three runs over their last 15 before Chapman provided more than that with one big swing in the first against Nick Lodolo (3-2).

Chapman came to the plate with two outs in and sent a drive over the bullpen beyond the fence in left-center to give San Francisco a 4-0 lead.

Mason Black made the lead stand up by allowing only one run in 4 1/3 innings in his home debut, giving up a solo homer to Elly De La Cruz in the fourth.

The bullpen did the rest, sending the Reds to their ninth loss in 10 games.

BREWERS 5, CARDINALS 3

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Rhys Hoskins hit a go-ahead three-run home run in the seventh inning and Milwaukee beat St. Louis, sending them to their seventh straight loss.

Milwaukee trailed 3-2 when Hoskins hit his ninth homer, a 407-foot blast to center off reliever Andrew Kittredge (0-2).

The NL-Central leading Brewers have eight straight wins over the Cardinals, dating to last season.

St. Louis, last in the division and nine games behind Milwaukee, has the longest current losing streak in the majors.

Milwaukee starter Freddy Peralta, who walked six batters in five innings in his last outing, walked one and struck out eight, giving up three runs in six innings.

Relievers Hoby Milner (1-0), Bryan Hudson and Trevor Megill held St. Louis in check, allowing four hits in three shutout innings. Megill earned his fourth save.

ROCKIES 8, RANGERS 3

DENVER (AP) — Elias Díaz had two hits including a tiebreaking single in a six-run seventh inning, Ryan McMahon tied a career high with four hits, and Colorado won its first series of the season with a victory over Texas.

The Rockies, who had lost 11 of their first 12 series and split the other, won their third straight game for the first time this season.

Jacob Stallings had a two-run single and Charlie Blackmon had a two-run double in the seventh, when the Rockies scored all six runs with two outs. Blackmon had his 599th career extra-base hit, tying Larry Walker for second in franchise history.

Leody Taveras had two hits including a 389-foot homer off Jake Bird to give the Rangers a 3-2 lead in the top of the seventh.

Tyler Kinley (2-0) got out of a two-out, two-on situation by striking out Adolis Garcia to end the seventh.

David Robertson (2-1) did not retire any of the four batters he faced after entering with a 3-2 lead and a runner on second base with two outs in the seventh.

DODGERS 5, PADRES 0

SAN DIEGO (AP) — Teoscar Hernández hit a grand slam, James Paxton tossed six scoreless innings to remain undefeated and Los Angeles defeated San Diego.

Freddie Freeman hit a solo homer for the Dodgers, who have won eight of their last nine games.

Paxton (5-0) was masterful while allowing four hits with four strikeouts and no walks. In a start against San Diego on April 14, Paxton walked eight in a no-decision.

The Petco Park attendance of 46,701 set the largest single-game attendance record in the stadium’s 20-year history. The previous high was 45,567 on March 30, 2014 — opening day — also against the Dodgers.

Even with the loss, the Padres have won four of seven against the Dodgers this season. The teams play the rubber match of the three-game series Sunday.

With the Dodgers leading 1-0 in the sixth, Hernández blasted a 390-foot shot to left field off a slider from Padres reliever Enyel De Los Santos, who entered the game to face Hernández.

ANGELS 9, ROYALS 3

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Jo Adell hit a three-run homer and Kevin Pillar had three hits and three RBIs in Los Angeles' victory over Kansas City.

Logan O’Hoppe had a two-run double during a four-run seventh for the Angels, who won for only the sixth time in 22 games.

Tyler Anderson (3-4) yielded three runs and seven hits over 6 2/3 effective innings for the Halos, ending his five-start winless skid. The left-hander retired 12 straight at one point.

Salvador Pérez had an early RBI double for the Royals, whose three-game winning streak ended.

Cole Ragans (2-3) allowed eight hits and five runs over 6 1/3 innings for Kansas City, recording a season-low three strikeouts in his first loss in four starts.

ATHLETICS 8, MARINERS 1

SEATTLE (AP) — Rookie starter Joey Estes struck out five in five solid innings after being called up earlier in the day for his first major league win, and Oakland beat Seattle.

Abraham Toro and Brent Rooker hit run-scoring singles in the two-run third inning to put Oakland up 2-1. Max Schuemann added added a three-run double in the eighth and JJ Bleday had a two-run homer in the ninth as Oakland snapped a two-game losing streak. The A’s had lost five of six following a six-game winning streak.

Cal Raleigh hit his 10th home run, a solo shot in the second inning to put Seattle up 1-0. It was all Athletics after that.

Bryce Miller (3-3) struck out nine, allowing five hits, but started the costly third inning with one of his two walks, to Lawrence Butler. The speedy right fielder moved to second on Brett Harris’ single and scored on Toro’s single to right field. Rooker’s hit to shallow right scored Harris for the 2-1 lead.

The Mariners had beaten the A’s in 13 of their last 14 dating to the start of the 2023 season. They’ve lost three of their last four and four of six. Seattle had been 12-1 in Miller’s last 13 quality starts.

Atlanta Braves' Raisel Iglesias pitches during the ninth inning of a baseball game against the New York Mets, Saturday, May 11, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)