HOCKEY

Darcy Kuemper stopped 49 shots and the Arizona Coyotes beat the Colorado Avalanche 4-2 on Saturday to close within 2-1 in their Western Conference playoff series.

Arizona took the early lead on Derek Stepan’s first-period goal, then spent most of the day counterpunching against Colorado’s relentless pressure.

Andre Burakovsky tied it in the second period, but Brad Richardson put the Coyotes up 2-1 in the closing seconds of the period.

Kuemper made a series of difficult saves in the third, and Taylor Hall scored on an empty net to make it 3-1.

After Mikko Rantanen gave Colorado life by scoring with 1:03 left, Lawson Crouse answered with another an empty-net goal.

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Andrei Vasilevskiy made 16 saves and the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven playoff series.

The Lightning outshot Columbus 34-17, including 16-4 in the second period, when goals by Brayden Point and Victor Hedman broke a 1-1 tie.

Alex Killorn scored in the first period for Tampa Bay.

Riley Nash and Eric Robinson scored for the Blue Jackets, and Joonas Korpisalo made 31 stops.

• Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 26 shots and William Karlsson and Patrick Brown scored as the Vegas Golden Knights moved within a game of sweeping their first-round series against the Chicago Blackhawks, holding on for a 2-1 win at Edmonton, Alberta.

SOCCER

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CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: Lyon stunned Manchester City to reach the semifinals for the first time in a decade, with Moussa Dembele scoring twice for the French team to seal a 3-1 win that sets up a meeting with Bayern Munich.

City, one of the most expensively assembled squads in football history, lost to a team that finished seventh in the French league.

FOOTBALL

NFL: Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Kenny Clark has signed a four-year contract extension.

The Packers didn’t disclose the length or terms of the deal, but Clark’s agent, Doug Hendrickson, confirmed an ESPN report that the 2016 first-round draft pick agreed to terms on a deal worth $70 million, with a $25 million signing bonus.

Clark has emerged as the Packers’ top defensive lineman. He recorded six sacks for the second straight season last year and was named to the Pro Bowl.

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Atlanta police say former Cleveland Browns linebacker Chip Banks is in serious condition following a shooting.

Atlanta police spokeswoman Marla Rooker said in an email to The Associated Press that officers found three men with apparent gunshot wounds when responding to a shooting in Atlanta just before 1 p.m. Wednesday.

One of the victims, Charles Pharms Jr., was declared dead at the scene, according to Rooker. Banks and the third man were alert and transported to a local hospital.

Banks, 60, was in serious condition, according to Rooker. There was no update on the other victim, identified by Rooker as Bennie C. Harris.

TENNIS

U.S. OPEN: Belinda Bencic became the latest top player to pull out of the U.S. Open, meaning three of the four female semifinalists in 2019 will not be at the Grand Slam tournament this year.

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Bencic is ranked No. 8 in the world. Top-ranked Ash Barty, No. 5 Elina Svitolina, No. 6 Bianca Andreescu – the reigning champion – and No. 7 Kiki Bertens also are skipping the event.

TOP SEED OPEN: Jennifer Brady reached the first WTA final of her career by using a power-based game to beat 16-year-old Coco Gauff, 6-2, 6-4, in Lexington, Kentucky.

Brady, 25, will face Jil Teichmann, a 23-year-old left-hander from Switzerland, in Sunday’s title match of the first tournament in the U.S. since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

PRAGUE OPEN: Top-seeded Simona Halep and third-seeded Elise Mertens won their semifinals in straight sets to advance to the title match.

BASKETBALL

WNBA: Jackie Young scored 16 points to lead five Las Vegas players scoring in double figures, and the Aces beat the Washington Mystics 88-73 for their seventh consecutive win.

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Ariel Atkins scored 17 points to lead the Mystics, who have lost seven straight after winning three in a row to open the season.

• Riquna Williams hit seven 3-pointers and finished with 21 points, Nneka Ogwumike scored 17 points on 8-of-9 shooting, and the Los Angeles Sparks beat the Indiana Fever 90-76 for their fourth consecutive win.

Kelsey Mitchell made a season-high seven 3-pointers and led the Fever with 25 points.

• Napheesa Collier got her second consecutive double-double, and Crystal Dangerfield scored 22 points on 9-of-12 shooting for the Minnesota Lynx in a 94-64 win over the New York Liberty.

Collier scored 26 points – one shy of her career high set last year as a rookie – and grabbed 13 rebounds.

Jazmine Jones led the Liberty with 13 points.

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