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DENVER — Tyler Seguin scored twice, Thomas Harley had an assist on all three of Dallas’ power-play goals in the second period and the Western Conference-leading Stars beat the Colorado Avalanche 7-4 on Sunday night.

Dallas now has 107 points, which is five ahead of both Colorado and Pacific Division-leading Vancouver for the top spot in the West. The Stars have four games remaining.

“It’s completely in our hands, which is nice,” said Matt Duchene, who had a goal against his former team. “If we take care of business, we’ll end up being where we want to be.”

Jamie Benn, Roope Hintz, Mason Marchment and Wyatt Johnston all scored for the Stars, who finished the season series 1-2-1 against the Avalanche. Jake Oettinger stopped 34 shots.

Dallas showed no signs of fatigue after a 3-2 loss to Chicago the day before. The team had to remain in Chicago until Sunday morning due to the windy conditions in Denver.

“I think both teams have had this game circled for a little bit,” Seguin said of the importance. “We’re at that time of the year where you’re just kind of watching the standings and knew the importance of tonight’s game. So, pretty good hockey game.”

Leading 5-2 in the second period, the Stars saw Colorado start a rally and made it a one-goal game with 9:45 remaining on Jonathan Drouin‘s score. Johnston, though, quieted the comeback with his 31st goal of the season. Seguin added an empty-netter with 8.7 seconds left.

Sean Walker, Artturi Lehkonen and Brandon Duhaime also scored for a Colorado team that was missing Mikko Rantanen (concussion protocol). Alexandar Georgiev gave up six goals on 36 shots, two days after allowing six goals on 47 shots in a loss at Edmonton.

The Avalanche are trending the wrong direction down the home stretch, going 2-4-1 over their last seven games. Colorado remains in second place behind Dallas in the Central Division with 102 points. The Avalanche are trying to hold off Winnipeg (100 points), with the top two spots in the division earning home-ice in the first round.

“The defending breakdowns we had, we did some dumb stuff today,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. “They all lead to really good scoring chances against.”

Benn absorbed penalties that allowed the Stars to go on their second-period power-play barrage. The Stars captain was hit by a high-stick from Walker that drew blood and a double-minor. Hintz and Seguin took advantage by scoring 1:20 apart. Benn later took a slash from defenseman Cale Makar that put the Stars on the man advantage again, with Marchment scoring to make it 5-2.

“That’s a different animal than some of the teams we’ve been playing,” Bednar said. “They’re a wagon. They’re deep.”

Nathan MacKinnon had two assists to give him 133 points (48 goals, 85 assists) for the season. He’s six away from matching Peter Stastny (139, 1981-82) for the most points for a season in franchise history.

Dallas came out flying in the first and outshot the Avalanche by a 9-1 margin at one point in the period. Colorado’s lone shot, though, was a goal by Walker just 1:59 into the game. Dallas responded late in the period, with Duchene and Benn scoring 2:06 apart.

Stars defenseman Esa Lindell returned to the game after suffering a lower-body injury. He had X-rays after the contest, which were negative, coach Pete DeBoer said.

“When he wakes up, I’m sure he’s going to be sore,” DeBoer said.

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Tigers’ Baddoo to miss start of regular season

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Tigers' Baddoo to miss start of regular season

LAKELAND, Fla. — Detroit Tigers outfielder Akil Baddoo had surgery to repair a broken bone in his right hand and will miss the start of the regular season.

Manager A.J. Hinch said Friday that Baddoo had more tests done after some continued wrist soreness since the start of spring training. Those tests revealed the hamate hook fracture in his right hand that was surgically repaired Thursday.

Baddoo, 26, who has been with the Tigers since 2021, is at spring training as a non-roster player. He was designated for assignment in December after Detroit signed veteran right-hander Alex Cobb to a $15 million, one-year contract. Baddoo cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Toledo.

Cobb is expected to miss the start of the season after an injection to treat hip inflammation that developed as the right-hander was throwing at the start of camp. He has had hip surgery twice.

Baddoo hit .137 with two homers and five RBIs in 31 games last season. The left-hander has a .226 career average with 28 homers and 103 RBI in 340 games.

After the Tigers acquired him from Minnesota in the Rule 5 draft at the winter meetings in December 2020, Baddoo hit .259 with 13 homers, 55 RBIs, 18 stolen bases and a .330 on-base percentage in 124 games as a rookie in 2021. Those are all career bests.

Baddoo went into camp in a crowded outfield. The six outfielders on Detroit’s 40-man roster include three other left-handed hitters (Riley Greene, Kerry Carpenter and Parker Meadows) and switch-hitter Wenceel Pérez. The other outfielders are right-handers Matt Vierling and Justyn-Henry Malloy.

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Dodgers’ Miller has no fracture after liner scare

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Dodgers' Miller has no fracture after liner scare

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Bobby Miller still had a bit of a headache but slept fine and felt much better a day after getting hit on the head by a line drive, manager Dave Roberts said Friday.

Roberts said he had spoken with Miller, who was still in concussion protocol after getting struck by a 105.5 mph liner hit by Chicago Cubs first baseman Michael Busch in the first game of spring training Thursday.

The manager said Miller indicated that there was no fracture or any significant bruising.

“He said in his words, ‘I have a hard head.’ He was certainly in good spirits,” Roberts said.

Miller immediately fell to the ground while holding his head, but quickly got up on his knees as medical staff rushed onto the field. The 25-year-old right-hander was able to walk off the field on his own.

“He feels very confident that he can kind of pick up his throwing program soon,” said Roberts, who was unsure of that timing. “But he’s just got to keep going through the concussion protocol just to make sure that we stay on the right track.”

Miller entered spring training in the mix for a spot in the starting rotation. He had a 2-4 record with an 8.52 ERA over 13 starts last season, after going 11-4 with a 3.76 in 22 starts as a rookie in 2023.

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Brewers OF Perkins (shin) to miss start of season

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Brewers OF Perkins (shin) to miss start of season

PHOENIX — Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Blake Perkins is expected to miss the first month of the season after fracturing his right shin during batting practice.

Brewers manager Pat Murphy revealed the severity of Perkins’ injury before their Cactus League opener Saturday against the Cincinnati Reds.

“They’re estimating another three to four weeks to heal and a ramp-up of four to six weeks,” Murphy said. “So you’re probably looking at May.”

Perkins, 28, batted .240 with a .316 on-base percentage, six homers, 43 RBIs and 23 steals in 121 games last season. He also was a National League Gold Glove finalist at center field.

“Perkins is a big part of our team,” Murphy said. “The chemistry of the team, the whole thing, Perk’s huge. He’s one of the most loved guys on the club, and he’s a great defender, coming into his own as an offensive player. Yeah, it’s going to hurt us.”

Murphy also said right-handed pitcher J.B. Bukauskas has what appears to be a serious lat injury and is debating whether to undergo surgery. Bukauskas had a 1.50 ERA in six relief appearances last year but missed much of the season with a lat issue.

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