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NEW YORK — Defenseman K’Andre Miller had two goals and two assists in New York’s six-goal first period, Jaroslav Halak made 22 saves for his first shutout of the season, and the Rangers beat the Nashville Predators 7-0 on Sunday night.

Artemi Panarin had a goal and two assists in the opening period, and Filip Chytil, Mika Zibanejad, Tyler Motte and Chris Kreider also scored to help New York cruise to its fourth straight home win and second shutout in two days. The Rangers beat Pittsburgh 6-0 on Saturday night after also beating the Penguins on Thursday and Washington on Tuesday.

The Rangers scored six times on their first eight shots, chasing Nashville starting goalie Kevin Lankinen after he gave up four goals on five shots. He was replaced by Juuse Saros.

Miller became the first defenseman in franchise history with four points in a single period as the Rangers led 6-0 less than 14 minutes in. The avalanche of early goals tied the franchise record for most in the first period, most recently achieved on Dec. 15, 1999, in an 8-3 home win over Los Angeles.

“That was pretty fun,” Miller said. “The puck was finding me.”

Halak improved to 8-2-2 in his past 12 starts as the 37-year-old Slovak-born goalie secured his 53rd career shutout, third-most among active netminders behind Marc-Andre Fleury and Jonathan Quick.

“It was a team effort from the drop of the puck until the end,” Halak said. “Last two games — yesterday and today — we did a really good job playing for 60 minutes and it paid off.”

Halak, who has 294 career wins with seven NHL teams, was especially pleased with his first shutout as a Ranger. His family — including 6-year-old son Nathan, who also is a goalie — were in attendance at Madison Square Garden.

“It’s more special when they are in the stands,” Halak said. “It feels great to get a win and more special to get a shutout. Our D, even though we had a big lead, they were blocking shots.”

The Rangers became the sixth team in NHL history with back-to-back shutouts while scoring six or more goals. The Rangers had three straight 6-0 shutouts from Feb. 4-10, 1973.

“I thought our guys did an excellent job,” Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said of his team’s ability to stay focused with a six-goal lead after one period. “They played the game the right way.″

The Predators were coming off a deflating home overtime loss to Winnipeg on Saturday and were dealing with a raft of injuries to key players. Nashville was without captain and leading scorer Roman Josi — hurt against the Jets — plus defenseman Ryan McDonagh and top forwards Filip Forsberg and Ryan Johansen.

Nashville trails the Jets by five points for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

“It’s humbling to get beat 7-0,” Predators coach John Hynes said. “It something we can learn from and we will. Tonight wasn’t good enough.”

Chytil opened the scoring with his 20th goal at 2:37 — assisted by Miller and Halak — followed by Zibanejad’s team-leading 37th at 7:22. Motte scored his fifth goal 52 seconds later before Miller scored at 9:09 to make it 4-0, ending Lankinen’s night.

Panarin then added his 23rd goal at 10:01 — the fastest five goals to start a game in franchise history — before Miller scored again, his eighth of the season, with 6:24 remaining in the period.

Panarin has points in nine of his past 11 games and leads the Rangers with 80 points overall. Zibanejad, who had a goal and two assists in Saturday’s rout of the Penguins, also assisted on Panarin’s goal and has nine points in his past four games and 28 points in his past 21 contests — including 15 goals.

Kreider increased the lead to 7-0 at 9:02 of the second with his 32nd goal this season and the 261st of his career, moving the Rangers forward within one goal of Vic Hadfield for fifth place on the Rangers’ all-time list.

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2025 MLB All-Star Game: Everything you need to know

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2025 MLB All-Star Game: Everything you need to know

For the first time since the turn of the century, MLB’s All-Star Game will be held in Atlanta — the first ever at Truist Park since its opening in 2017.

All-Star festivities begin July 11 and culminate in the Midsummer Classic on July 15, as the National League looks to gain just its second win since 2013 while the American League aims to extend its dominance.

Following the first phase of All-Star voting, we know the top overall vote-getters in each league — Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani — automatically earned the starting spot at their positions, outfield and designated hitter, respectively. Now, the starting lineups have been revealed, with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Detroit Tigers leading the way each with three starters, followed by the Chicago Cubs with two. Four players named as starters — Cal Raleigh, Jacob Wilson, Ryan O’Hearn and Pete Crow-Armstrong — are first-time All-Stars.

Stay tuned, as we’ll have everything you need to navigate All-Star Week — from event schedules and full rosters to All-Star Game analysis.

Vote for the All-Star starters: All-Star Ballot 2025

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How does MLB All-Star voting work?

2025 MLB All-Star roster predictions, biggest debates

Which slugger will win the HR Derby? Breaking down the field

All-Star schedule

(All times ET)

July 2: MLB All-Star starters reveal at 7 p.m. on ESPN

July 6: MLB All-Star full rosters announced at 5 p.m. on ESPN

July 11: HBCU Swingman Classic at 8 p.m. on MLB Network

July 13: MLB Draft at 6 p.m. on ESPN and MLB Network

July 14: MLB All-Star Celebrity Softball Game at 1 p.m. on MLB Network

July 14: MLB Home Run Derby at 8 p.m. on ESPN

July 15: All-Star Red Carpet Show at 2 p.m. on MLB Network

July 15: MLB All-Star Game at 7 p.m. on FOX

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Rangers activate Burger from IL, demote Jung

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Rangers activate Burger from IL, demote Jung

The Texas Rangers reinstated first baseman Jake Burger from the 10-day injured list before Wednesday night’s series finale against the visiting Baltimore Orioles.

Burger, 29, missed the Rangers’ past 10 games with a left oblique strain. He is batting .220 with 10 homers and 29 RBIs in 65 games this season, his first with Texas.

Burger is a career .246 hitter with 82 home runs and 214 RBIs in 409 games with the Chicago White Sox (2021-23), Miami Marlins (2023-24) and Rangers.

The Rangers optioned All-Star third baseman Josh Jung to Triple-A Round Rock in a corresponding move. Jung, 27, is batting .237 with eight homers and 35 RBIs in 75 games this season.

Jung is hitting .152 with one homer, eight RBIs and 13 strikeouts in his last 11 games.

Drafted No. 8 overall by Texas in 2019, Jung made the American League All-Star team in 2023 and is a career .252 hitter with 43 home runs and 135 RBIs in 269 games.

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Outfielder Pillar retires after 13-year career

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Outfielder Pillar retires after 13-year career

Kevin Pillar, an outfielder who spent the majority of his 13-year major league career with the Toronto Blue Jays, announced his retirement on Wednesday.

Pillar confirmed his decision during an appearance on the Foul Territory podcast, about a month after he was released by the Texas Rangers. After rehabilitating from offseason thumb surgery, Pillar played in 20 games for the Rangers – his 10th major league team – with nine hits in 43 at-bats.

Pillar, 36, was drafted by the Blue Jays in the 32nd round in 2011 and made his debut in 2013. He was traded to the San Francisco Giants early in the 2019 season, which was his best in the big leagues. He batted .264 with 21 home runs, 87 RBI and 14 steals for the Giants that year, before signing with the Boston Red Sox in 2020.

“You will always be our Superman,” the Blue Jays said in a congratulatory social media post.

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