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Mitch Marner had a goal and an assist to extend his point streak to 10 games and the Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Florida Panthers 4-3 on Wednesday night to set a franchise record with their 46th win.

Toronto also set a high-water mark with its 27th home win and can clinch a playoff spot if the Philadelphia Flyers lose in regulation to the Colorado Avalanche later Wednesday.

James van Riemsdyk added his 35th goal – and the 200th career – for Toronto [url=http://www.texansauthorizedshops.com/authentic-justin-reid-jersey]http://www.texansauthorizedshops.com/authentic-justin-reid-jersey[/url] , while Auston Matthews and Patrick Marleau added their 30th and 25th goals, respectively.

Frederik Andersen made 30 saves and set a career high with his 36th victory.

Jonathan Huberdeau scored twice, and Evgenii Dadonov also scored for Florida, which got 31 stops from Roberto Luongo, including a couple of big ones early.

CAPITALS 3, RANGERS 2, OT

WASHINGTON (AP) – Evgeny Kuznetsov scored 38 seconds into overtime to help Washington move closer to its fourth consecutive playoff appearance.

Kuznetsov’s goal came after Washington’s Lars Eller tied it with 1:05 left in the third period with goaltender Braden Holtby pulled for an extra attacker. Holtby stopped 35 of the 37 shots he faced to look more like the Vezina Trophy winner than he had shown in recent months.

Andre Burakovsky also scored for Washington [url=http://www.newyorkgiantsteamonline.com/saquon-barkley-jersey]Saquon Barkley Giants Jersey[/url] , which has won five in a row and leads the Metropolitan Division. Henrik Lundqvist made 30 saves for the Rangers in his first career game with no playoff implications.

Kevin Hayes and Ryan Spooner scored New York’s goals as it outshot Washington 37-33 in its first contest since being eliminated from the playoff hunt.

FLYERS 2, AVALANCHE 1

DENVER (AP) – Ivan Provorov had a goal and an assist, Petr Mrazek stopped all 17 shots he faced in relief of starter Michal Neuvirth and Philadelphia held off Colorado.

Claude Giroux also scored as the Flyers climbed into third place in the Metropolitan Division. They’re tied in points (92) with second-place Pittsburgh, with the Penguins currently holding the tiebreaker.

Philadelphia looked crisp early – scoring both goals in the first period – despite losing in overtime at Dallas a night earlier. Neuvirth turned back 10 shots in his first game since suffering a lower-body injury on Feb. 18, but he exited the game midway through the second period for an undisclosed reason.

Matt Nieto scored for an Avalanche team that’s on the outside of the playoff picture with five games remaining. Andrew Hammond had 31 saves during an emergency start for Semyon Varlamov, who was sidelined by an illness.

COYOTES 3, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 2

LAS VEGAS (AP) – Kevin Connauton scored twice to lead Arizona over Vegas.

It marked Arizona’s first victory over the expansion Golden Knights in the teams’ fifth and final game this season.

Richard Panik also scored for the Coyotes [url=http://www.authenticsnewenglandpatriots.com/cheap-troy-niklas-jersey]Troy Niklas Color Rush Jersey[/url] , and Antti Raanta improved to 18-16-6 by making 27 saves.

Erik Haula and Alex Tuch scored for the playoff-bound Golden Knights. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 29 shots.

—


PHOENIX — Right-hander Yoshihisa Hirano has been spectacularly efficient in his first season in Arizona, part of the reason the Diamondbacks will enter their four-game series against the San Diego Padres with the best bullpen ERA in the majors.

Hirano may be a major league rookie, but his work the last five seasons as a closer with the Orix Buffaloes in Japan has translated well.

Hirano, 34, had a franchise-record 26-game scoreless streak broken in an 8-4 loss to St. Louis on Wednesday, when he finished one scoreless appearance short of tying former Red Sox right-hander Koji Uehara for the longest such streak by a Japanese-born pitcher in major league history. Even that loss could not diminish the value Hirano has had this season.

Arizona right-hander Shelby Miller is scheduled to face San Diego left-hander Eric Lauer in the first game of the series Thursday.

Arizona manager Torey Lovullo was Boston’s bench coach when Uehara set the record in 2013, so he can provide a comparison of Uehara and Hirano.

“They have the same work habits [url=http://www.bengalsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-malik-jefferson-jersey]http://www.bengalsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-malik-jefferson-jersey[/url] , which is pretty impressive,” Lovullo said. “They both come in and get their work done pregame. They come in and get their work done postgame. They find themselves healthy and strong and prepared for every single one of their outings.

“They both have a fearlessness to their game and an approach to understanding what needs to happen during each at-bat. They are not afraid to put the ball on the plate with two different pitches. They go out and expect to get outs. Very similar mind-set. Very similar makeup. Very similar confidence.”

Hirano is 2-0 with a 1.43 ERA in 42 appearances. He has 19 holds, fourth in the majors, and he has permitted only one of his 16 inherited runners to score while being primarily used in the seventh inning. Eighth-inning reliever Archie Bradley leads the majors with 22 holds and closer Brad Boxberger has 20 saves.

Uehara began the 2013 season in a similar setup role in the Boston bullpen before advancing to the closer’s role after injuries thinned the relief corps. He finished with 21 saves, a 1.09 ERA and an 0.57 WHIP.

“As soon as he became the closer, he gave off a certain edge and a certain confidence that was noticeable,” Lovullo said.

“It’s as close to a slam dunk [img]http://www.sndpic.com//nike_nfl_jerseys/nike_washington_redskins/nike_redskins_3408.jpg[/img][url=http://www.authenticsclevelandbrowns.com/cheap-denzel-ward-jersey]Denzel Ward Color Rush Jersey[/url] , shut-down ninth-inning save as I’ve ever seen. He had this ability to collect outs and get through innings in 12 pitches or less. It was so quick, the ninth inning was over before it even started. It was a very comfortable setting for all of us. You played the Boston Red Sox in 2013 for eight innings because the ninth inning was over. That’s what I remember.”

Hirano has a 1.01 WHIP, fourth among major league relievers with at least 40 appearances.

“He’s been very versatile,” Lovullo said. “He’s unfazed by any role we have asked him to do. He can pitch in traffic. He can start clean innings. He can get left-handers and right-handers out.”

The Diamondbacks lost two of three to St. Louis and have dropped five of their past six games overall. They took two out of three games in their only other series against the Padres this season, also at Chase Field.

San Diego has slumped over the last 2 1/2 weeks. The Padres have lost three in a row and are 3-13 since beating Atlanta 9-3 behind left-hander Clayton Richard on June 15. They have scored 30 runs in their last 10 games.

“We’re not getting hits with runners in scoring position,” San Diego manager Andy Green told reporters after a two-game sweep in Oakland.

“Sometimes the best thing you can do is relax, go play baseball and enjoy what you’re doing. Then the hits start coming.”

Christian Villanueva hit his 17th homer for the Padres in a 4-2 loss to the A’s Wednesday.

Miller is 0-2 with an 11.42 ERA in two starts this season after returning from a 14-month absence following Tommy John surgery in last May [url=http://www.authenticstampabaybuccaneers.com/cheap-vita-vea-jersey]Vita Vea Color Rush Jersey[/url] , 2017. He has given up 15 hits and 11 runs in 8 2/3 innings.

Miller is 2-2 with a 4.54 ERA in eight career appearances, including seven starts, against the Padres. He had a strong outing against them early last season, giving up four hits and one run in 7 1/3 innings in the third of his four starts before suffering the elbow injury.

Rookie Lauer joined the Padres’ rotation in late April and is 3-5 with a 5.08 ERA in 13 starts this season. He was 2-2 with a 2.76 ERA in six June starts and is 1-2 with a 5.09 ERA in seven road starts.

He has never faced the Diamondbacks.

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