Die Community » win. But well take the division champs any day

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Semyon Varlamov emptied the net with 2:39 left, and a penalty on Minnesota 25 seconds later gave Colorado a two-man advantage. This time, with a record roaring crowd on their side, the Wild held firm and sent the Avalanche back home with a long to-do list. Charlie Coyle scored his third goal of the series, and the Wild dominated the Avalanche for the second straight game on their way to a 2-1 win on Thursday night that evened the first-round matchup at two apiece. The Wild outshot the Avalanche a stunning 32-12, establishing a franchise record for fewest allowed by Minnesota. Colorado has been outshot 78-34 in the last two games, with Ryan OReilly getting the only goal. "Every game is a new game and you have got to always bring that energy and same focus, but I think we fed off of last game and how well we played," Coyle said. Jared Spurgeon used a slap shot to get a puck past Varlamov just 3:47 into the game, much quicker than the 65:08 the Wild needed to score in Game 3. Game 5 will be in Denver on Saturday night. Coyle was in perfect position on a power play to backhand in a friendly bounce of the ricochet of Jason Pominvilles rocket off the glass behind the net, giving the Wild a two-goal lead with 7:05 left in the second period. Just 30 seconds later, OReilly gave the Avalanche their first goal against Wild rookie Darcy Kuemper in the series after 42 shots and more than 124 minutes without one, a long-range shot from the top of the circle without any traffic in front that cut the lead to 2-1. But that was all they could scrap together on another off night by stars Nathan MacKinnon, Paul Stastny and Gabe Landeskog, who were the highlights for the Avalanche in winning the first two games. "Weve just got to stay on the pedal here and continue this push," Kuemper said. Roys daring removal of Varlamov with 3:01 remaining worked in Game 1, when Stastny tied the game with 13 seconds left and won it in overtime. This time, with the Avalanche in a 6-on-4, Mikael Granlund followed his dramatic diving overtime goal in Game 3 with some daring defence. He lost his stick at one point, but he still managed to block a shot without it as the arena erupted in approval with the final seconds ticking away. The announced attendance of 19,396 was the most ever to watch a Wild playoff game. "Weve had some exciting games since Ive been here in this building, but Ive never heard anything like that tonight. That was fun," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. The Avalanche failed to score on all four power plays and fell to 1 for 15 in the series. Roy didnt look fazed, though, even if his players were frustrated and disappointed. "When we have the type of performance that we have from our goaltender, theres no reason for us to not believe in ourselves, coming back home," Roy said. Even without suspended left wing Matt Cooke, the Wild sure werent missing any energy. They zipped crisp, purposeful passes all over the ice and again kept the play in the Avalanche zone for the majority of the night to raise the level of the crowd noise along with that. The Avalanche, angered by Cookes act, played more physically than in the last game. Granlund was a frequent target of the rough stuff. But the quality of their play further deteriorated. "Were still not testing this goalie enough. Were making him look good by taking shots from the outside and nobody being in front," Landeskog said. The Wilds defence had a lot to do with that, particularly on those power plays, but the Avalanche showed little semblance of an attack and fumbled with the puck often. "Thats part of the playoffs," Stastny said. "We knew it was going to be a tough series. Nothings going to come easy." NOTES: The Wilds win raised the home teams record in the Western Conference playoffs so far to 14-1. ... The Avalanche matched their playoff record for fewest shots on goal. They had 12 on June 2, 2001, against New Jersey in the Stanley Cup finals. ... This was the first time in seven all-time playoff series the Wild have won their first two home games. ... Avalanche-Wild playoff games have been decided by one goal 12 out of 17 times. ... MacKinnon left for the locker room in the second period, but returned soon after. 12th Fan Jersey . Under the deal, the Vikings will donate an undisclosed sum of money to five gay rights-related charities over the next five years. Kluwe said he wont receive any money as part of the settlement. "This will help a lot of people that really do need that help," Kluwe said. Patrick Kerney Jersey .B. -- Canadas Rachel Homan opened the Ford Womens World Curling Championship with a 7-5 win over Russia on Saturday. http://www.cheapseahawksjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-cortez-kennedy-jersey . Mitchell first announced on Twitter that he has signed with the Steelers and his agent Brian Hamilton confirmed the signing to The Associated Press. Financial terms were not released. The Steelers have not announced the addition of Mitchell. L.J. Collier Jersey . Manager Alex Ferguson says the injury was sustained while the player tried to hit a volley toward the end of training on Tuesday. Seattle Seahawks Jerseys China . Modin, 36, tallied seven goals and three assists in 36 games with the Thrashers this season. The Sundsvall, Sweden, native has posted 232 goals and 230 assists in 894 career NHL games with Toronto, Tampa Bay, Columbus, Los Angeles and Atlanta and has appeared in 57 post-season contests, helping the Lightning capture the 2004 Stanley Cup Championship.TORONTO -- The Toronto Raptors came into Fridays game against the New York Knicks hoping to clinch the Atlantic Division for just the second time in franchise history in front of a home crowd. But after losing 108-100 they had to wait for some help from the Atlanta Hawks, which came moments later in the form of a 93-88 win over the Brooklyn Nets. "Its sweet and sour," Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry said. "Its very sweet that we won the division but it sucks that we didnt win it by a win. But well take the division champs any day." Atlantic Division T-shirts were draped over each chair in the Raptors locker-room to celebrate following the Nets loss. But despite locking up the division, the Raptors wont be taking it easy for the rest of the season. "Were still anxious," said DeMar DeRozan, who led Toronto with 26 points. "We still want more. Were not satisfied with nothing (yet). "We understand we have much more basketball to play and a long road to go and we want to take advantage of it. Not just get there and say we got there, where people doubted us. We definitely feel like we can go in and make some noise." Carmelo Anthony shook off a sore shoulder and scored a game-high 30 points and Amare Stoudemire scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as the New York (34-45) overcame a slow start to pick up the win. Lowry added 25 points for the Raptors (46-33) and Jonas Valanciunas had 14 points and a career-high 21 rebounds. The Knicks arrived in Toronto after a four-day break between games. "It helped a lot," Anthony said of the time off. "It helped big time. I got a chance to get some rest, got treatment on multiple days and it helped me tonight." Amir Johnson returned to the lineup after missing the previous three games with a sore right ankle. He played 17 minutes and was scoreless from the field. "Im good," Johnson said. "I just got to get back into a groove. It felt like I was a step slow. Amare came out freaking flying ... He definitely played great." Stoudemires 24 points were a season-high. He logged 40 minutes against the Raptors. "Amare was big," Knicks head coach Mike Woodson said. "I played him well over his minutes that we set him at, but I didnt have a choice. He elected to go and that was good for me." The Knicks shot 50 per cent from the floor in the first quarter, but the Raptors held a two-point advantage over New York heading into the second quarter after scoring six-of-eigght three-point attempts.dddddddddddd Anthony, who missed both previous games between the Knicks and Raptors this season with a sprained ankle, made his presence felt early, scoring 18 points in the first half. "Unbelievable," said Raptors head coach Dwane Casey of Anthonys effort on the court. "He made the plays he made. He was double-teamed. John Salmons and Terrence (Ross) were draped over him. I cant fault the effort. He made some tough shots." Despite Anthonys strong performance however, the Raptors took a 47-45 lead into the break. After connecting on 7-of-12 attempts from beyond the arc in the first half, Toronto made seven three-pointers in the third frame. Toronto continued to struggle with Anthony, though, and the Knicks took a 78-77 lead into the fourth on the strength of Anthonys 27 points through three quarters. "We had no answer for him," Casey said. "We double-teamed him. We rotated all of the big men we had. We fronted, whatever we had to do. He made the shots. He made the plays, some tough plays. Carmelo was Carmelo." The Raptors went more than six minutes without scoring a field goal after a dunk from DeRozan at the 9:15 mark of the fourth quarter kept them within two points. Torontos offensive drought allowed the Knicks to pull ahead by 11 points, their largest lead of the game. Stoudemire scored eight of his 24 points in the fourth quarter. Lowry, who set a franchise record for most three-pointers made in a season with 180 -- passing Morris Petersons record of 177 set in 2005-06 -- was assessed a technical foul with 2:09 remaining in the third for arguing a non-call after a drive to the basket. Prior to the game, Casey stressed the importance of facing a team that is fighting for an opportunity to make the post-season. While he was disappointed with the loss, he said the Raptors lost to a team playing with its back against the wall. "Its funny how the expectations change," Casey said. "We go from developing and now all at once we lost to Carmelo Anthony and a team like this and the world (is collapsing). "We still have some growing to do. We have a great foundation from where we are. Now we just want to be ready to go into the playoffs with some momentum." NOTES: Andrew Wiggins of Vaughan, Ont., who is expected to be a top pick at the next NBA draft, sat courtside. That made for an entertaining moment when Toronto rapper Drakes "Draft Day" was played at Air Canada Centre. The song mentions Wiggins. 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