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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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Yanks’ Germán says he’ll probably use less rosin

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Yanks' Germán says he'll probably use less rosin

NEW YORK — Yankees pitcher Domingo Germán said Sunday he probably will use less rosin on his hands when he returns from a 10-game suspension for using a foreign substance on the mound.

Germán was suspended by Major League Baseball on May 17 and will return to the Yankees’ rotation for Monday’s game in Seattle.

“You have to do something different because what I did before got me ejected from the game,” he said through an interpreter. “Probably go back to previous years before where I used it way less.”

Germán was disciplined after being ejected in the fourth inning of New York’s 6-3 win in Toronto on May 16. He retired the first nine hitters before his hands were checked by first-base umpire D.J. Reyburn as Germán headed to the mound for the fourth inning.

After the game, crew chief James Hoye said Germán had “the stickiest hand I’ve ever felt.”

Hoye’s crew also examined Germán’s hands during an April 15 start against Minnesota, when the right-hander retired his first 16 batters, but allowed him to stay in that game. Hoye had asked Germán to wash rosin off his hand and some had remained on his pinkie.

Germán said Sunday he has not gotten a direct explanation of what is the appropriate amount of rosin to use.

“As far as like a direct explanation on how much to use or not, I haven’t gotten a better explanation from MLB or the umpires,” he said. “To me, I have to keep using it, understand how much to use and keep a balance, but at the same time I’ve got to keep preparing myself to pitch and keep my routine in between starts to get me in the right shape for the next start and just keep using the rosin bag and try to keep executing pitches.”

Germán was the fourth pitcher suspended since MLB began cracking down on foreign substances in June 2021 and the second this season. New York Mets pitcher Max Scherzer also served a 10-game suspension after being ejected April 19 in Los Angeles against the Dodgers.

In 2021, Seattle’s Hector Santiago and Arizona’s Caleb Smith served suspensions for sticky substances.

“He has to avoid that and that’s us being more vigilant and check and make sure we’re in a good spot,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said of Germán. “We should be fine, but I think that’s the one thing about this: What is the line, there is no defined line, you can’t have sticky [substances] on your hands. So he’s got to be mindful of that.”

German is 2-3 with a 3.75 ERA in nine starts this season. He is 28-24 with a 4.31 ERA in 101 career appearances (79 starts) since making his major league debut in 2017 with the Yankees.

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Hendriks to rejoin ChiSox after cancer treatment

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Hendriks to rejoin ChiSox after cancer treatment

Chicago White Sox reliever Liam Hendriks will be reinstated to the active roster on Monday, the team announced, after he missed the first two months of the season while being treated for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

The White Sox posted a video montage to their Twitter page on Sunday that featured messages from White Sox players and coaches welcoming back Hendriks.

“See you soon Southside,” Hendriks posted on Instagram, along with Monday’s date, 5-29.

Hendriks, 34, was diagnosed with stage 4 non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in early December and completed his final round of chemotherapy in early April. He began a rehab assignment earlier this month, appearing in six games for Triple-A Charlotte.

Hendriks threw several batting practice sessions over the past 10 days against teammates before declaring himself ready on Sunday.

“As of now I have a clean bill of health,” Hendriks said this month as he began his rehab assignment. “I’m currently in remission.”

Hendriks announced his diagnosis on Jan. 9. His return comes just shy of six months since his diagnosis.

“As soon as I found out the regular treatment timelines, I thought, ‘OK, how can I beat it?'” he said in May. “It was those days on the couch, not being able to move much (after chemo), those were the days you needed to dig deep and find that positive mental attitude.”

The White Sox bullpen has struggled in Hendriks’ absence, though they’ve been better in May after lefty Garrett Crochet returned from Tommy John surgery and righty Joe Kelly went on a scoreless streak that lasted 10 appearances. But overall Chicago has struggled through the first two months, heading into Memorial Day with a 22-33 record.

Hendriks is in the final season of a three-year, $54 million contract, with a $15 million club option for 2024.

The White Sox host the Los Angeles Angels on Monday night.

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Lewis to come off 60-day IL, rejoin Twins Monday

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Lewis to come off 60-day IL, rejoin Twins Monday

MINNEAPOLIS — The Minnesota Twins have lost eight of 10 series in May, with a lineup that’s been limping along lately with a spate of injuries and too many strikeouts.

They could use a boost. Royce Lewis is on his way.

Lewis will join the Twins in Houston, where they’ll start a three-game series Monday. The first overall pick in the 2017 draft will be reinstated from the 60-day injured list and return to action exactly one year from the date of the torn ACL in his right knee that limited his major league debut to 12 games.

Manager Rocco Baldelli announced the move after a 3-0 loss to Toronto on Sunday. Outfielders Kyle Garlick and Matt Wallner will be sent down to Triple-A St. Paul, where Lewis has been playing on a rehab assignment. Outfielder Max Kepler will also be reinstated from the 10-day injured list, after missing 14 games with a strained left hamstring.

“This is a culmination of a lot of hard work from Royce. I’m excited to see Royce back out on the field. He can jolt you with the enthusiasm and all of the exciting things that he can do, but he’s a good young player and he’s had a long road to get back to this point,” Baldelli said.

Lewis batted .333 with four homers and 10 RBIs with a 1.098 OPS in eight games on his rehab assignment with the Saints. Manager Toby Gardenhire delivered the news, Baldelli said.

“All the reports have him in a good place, and he’s done a good job following through on everything he’s needed to do,” Baldelli said. “Now, he’s ready.”

Lewis batted .300 with four doubles, two home runs — including a grand slam – and five RBIs in 12 games for the Twins last season. He was drafted as a shortstop, but since the arrival of Carlos Correa last year he has made the transition to third base and will likely be a fixture there for the foreseeable future.

Second baseman Jorge Polanco (strained left hamstring) and outfielder Trevor Larnach (pneumonia) are two other regulars who remain out. Polanco went through a pregame workout and is eligible to return anytime, but Baldelli said he’ll continue to be evaluated daily before a decision is made. Kyle Farmer and Edouard Julien can play second base in the meantime.

Wallner was sent back to Triple-A in a roster-management game despite reaching base eight straight times.

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