The Kings had the bulk of the chances in the first perio

WASHINGTON -- The Washington Nationals are certainly thankful they have Max Scherzer, who will start on Saturday night against the Philadelphia Phillies.Starter Stephen Strasburg was pulled after 42 pitches on Wednesday and has a flexor mass strain.Another right-handed starter, Joe Ross, who made his big league debut in June, 2015, has been on the disabled list since July.If the Nationals make the playoffs Scherzer will certainly pitch the first game and the Nationals will most likely need to ride him a long way in October, especially if Strasburg does not return.You dont have to be big. You have to be flexible, Washington manager Dusty Baker said of Scherzer. Some guys are just blessed with that.Baker pointed to Nolan Ryan, who pitched into his 40s and had a good work ethic -- just like Scherzer.Nolan Ryan worked his butt off, Ryan said.The same can be said of Scherzer, who was signed by the Nationals prior to the 2015 season.His legs are good and his mind is strong, said Baker, in his first year with the Nationals.Baker has asked Scherzer to let rookie pitcher Lucas Giolito follow him around and pick his brain before games.Some of the Phillies have had little success against Scherzer, who threw two no-hitters last season.Ryan Howard is hitting .100 in 20 at-bats against Scherzer although Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said it is unlikely Howard starts Saturday.Maikel Franco (wrist), who did not start for the third day in a row Friday, is hitting .067 in 15 trips to the plate against Scherzer while Freddy Galvis is hitting .182 in 25 at-bats.Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said after Fridays game that he hopes Franco can play Saturday.Cesar Hernandez is hitting .238 in 21 at-bats against Scherzer, a native of St. Louis who won a Cy Young Award with the Detroit Tigers.The Phillies starter on Saturday will be Jerad Eickoff, who was one of three pitchers the Texas Rangers traded to Philadelphia in July, 2015 for veteran lefty Cole Hamels.Eickoff is 10-13, 3.86 this year in 28 starts and has 138 strikeouts while giving up 166 hits in 167 2/3 innings. He has won five of his last six starts.He is 0-1, 4.50 against the Nationals this year and 1-1, 3.46 in two starts in his career against Washington.Eickoff has held Daniel Murphy in check with one hit in nine at-bats. Bryce Harper has just one hit in six trips against him.He won his 10th game on Monday as he beat the Miami Marlins 6-2.Anytime you get double-digit wins, its a huge testament to what we as pitchers try to do, Eickhoff told reporters after that game. Avalanche Jerseys 2021 . The Dane followed up his first European Tour title last weekend with eight birdies and just a single dropped shot on Thursday for a one-stroke advantage over South Africas Allan Versfeld and Portugals Ricardo Santos. Colorado Avalanche Shirts . PETERSBURG, Fla. https://www.cheapavalanche.com/ . Fellow centre Pavel Datsyuk remains out because of a concussion. Zetterberg has 11 goals and 19 assists for a team-high 30 points, and Datsyuk has a team-high 12 goals and 11 assists. Colorado Avalanche Gear . 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TORONTO -- Peter Budaj is still filling in nicely for Jonathan Quick, and the Los Angeles Kings gave him plenty of help Tuesday night.Jeff Carter scored twice during a four-goal second period, Budaj made 19 saves and Los Angeles thumped the Toronto Maple Leafs 7-0.Budaj hasnt allowed a goal in 150:32 and has a 1.86 goals-against average while filling in for Quick, out with a lower-body injury since the opening game of the season.Im glad Im getting into the game rhythm a little bit, Budaj told NHL.com. Im seeing the puck really well right now and I just have to continue working hard and try to help the team.Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli added goals in the second period and Dustin Brown, Kyle Clifford and Dwight King also scored. Los Angeles has won three straight.Toronto goalie Frederik Andersen allowed four goals on 26 shots, and then Jhonas Enroth came on and made 14 saves.The Leafs had won three straight.As optimistic as everything appears one day and you win three in a row, then you get your lunch fed to you and youre not competitive and not organized and not prepared, coach Mike Babcock said. It was a humbling experience for our players and myself here in our building.One of the younger teams in the league, the Leafs were ultimately schooled by a more veteran opponent, one thats captured the Stanley Cup twice in the past five seasons.They taught us a lesson tonight, Toronto forward Nazem Kadri said.The Kings had the bulk of the chances in the first period, scoring with 6:04 left in the period on Browns second this year. Third-line center Nic Dowd did the dirty work, controlling the puck down low before finding Brown atop the left faceoff circle.His shot thhrough a maze of moving bodies beat Andersen, who entered the evening with a .dddddddddddd944 save percentage in his previous five starts. The Leafs had a chance to get the puck out initially but Martin Marincins exit feed never quite reaching Ben Smith along the wall.The Leafs came up with a couple decent chances early in the second. James van Riemsdyk was stopped by Budajs blocker while efforts from the all-rookie line of Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Zach Hyman were also shut down.Matthews, who had 10 points in his first six NHL games, has only one point in his last seven.Following that initial push from the Leafs, the Kings got two goals in less than two minutes, one from Pearson and another from Toffoli.After the Leafs failed to come up with a puck in the neutral zone, Anze Kopitar scooped it up and found Pearson, who easily beat Andersen. Almost two minutes later, Toffoli finished off an odd-man rush for the 3-0 lead.Carter added two more goals for the Kings less than five minutes apart. The first again came after the visitors march easily into the Toronto zone, and Carters shot and goal ending Andersens night.Carter banked his second of the game and fifth this season off Enroth from behind the Leafs goal.Game notes The Kings added third period goals by Clifford and Lewis. Derek Forbort had a career-high three assists. ... The Leafs were outshot 43-19 overall. Tuesday marked just their second loss in six games at home (4-2-0).UP NEXTKings: Play at Montreal on Thursday night.Maple Leafs: Host Philadelphia on Friday night. ' ' '