morning teamed with Rickie Fowler in a foursomes win over McIlroy a

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild were denied at the net by Semyon Varlamov time after time, a 44-shot barrage in regulation that resulted in, alas, zero goals. Coach Mike Yeo jokingly wondered aloud at the third intermission whether his team was "psychotic" to put itself through such angst. After all, the way this sport often goes, the next score in the scoreless game had the strong potential to be one of those bad-bounce goals that make a night of domination go for naught. Mikael Granlund made sure that didnt happen. Granlunds diving goal 5:08 into overtime gave the Wild a 1-0 win over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 3 on Monday. Minnesota pulled within 2-1 in the best-of-seven series after Varlamov stopped 45 of 46 shots, a franchise playoff record for shots on goal by the Wild. "You see it so many times where teams do so well and get chance after chance after chance and then a fluky one goes in against you. Luckily. that wasnt the case," said Wild left wing Zach Parise. Granlund, who had a career-high seven shots on goal, sliced toward the crease and moved parallel to the net with some slick stick work. Avalanche defenceman Erik Johnson, who saved Game 1 by racing to swat away a shot on an empty net, lost his balance and tried unsuccessfully to dive at Granlund, who then began to fall forward. Granlund extended his stick to knock the puck in, and the celebration ensued. "We were playing really good. We were creating chances. We got rewarded. We need to just keep playing like that," Granlund said. Game 4 is at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday, when the Avalanche will be without defenceman Tyson Barrie. He took a knee-to-knee hit in the second period that yielded a penalty for Matt Cooke and a medial collateral ligament injury for Barrie. Coach Patrick Roy said hell be need four to six weeks to recover. "Knee on Tyson Barrie is without a doubt the play of the game. We lost our best offensive defenceman," Roy said, expressing confidence the NHL will suspend Cooke. Darcy Kuemper made 22 saves, and the Wild goalie in his first career playoff start was just as good as Varlamov. He said he had a feeling this would be a one-goal game. "I just tried to stick with it and make the saves I had to," Kuemper said. "My teammates were obviously playing unbelievable and making it easy on me. I was just trying to do my job and stay sharp." After the Avalanche line of Nathan MacKinnon, Paul Stastny and Gabe Landeskog combined for 17 points and seven goals over the first two games, the Wild kept them from doing any damage. The Wild shuffled their lines, with veteran Dany Heatleys move off the scratch list the most notable change, and played their style. They didnt get enough guys to the net for long rebounds Varlamov has a tendency to produce, but they completely controlled the flow, even if there wasnt much to show for it. "We were a little on our heels. We couldve been a little bit better, played a little more simple," MacKinnon said. After wasting a 4-2 lead in Game 1, giving up the tying goal with 13 seconds left to Stastny, as well as the overtime winner, the Wild badly needed to recapture some energy. They did from the opening faceoff, firing up a crowd thats been waiting 11 years for a playoff series victory. The Wild finally figured out how to contain the super-fast MacKinnon, forcing the 18-year-old wonder to have to stay in his own zone. They had the Avalanche on their heels for the majority of regulation. Cooke was all over the ice in his 100th career playoff game, colliding with just about every white Colorado jersey. "We didnt play up to what were capable of, theres no doubt. But Id rather give them credit. They played well. They were sharp. They were the better team on the ice," Roy said, adding yet more praise for Varlamov. Thanks to Granlund, the Wild avoided the huge hole. "Lets not kid ourselves. This is a huge win for us, not only to get the win but the way that we played the game, the way that we played our game," Yeo said. "We know that next game is going to be even bigger and a tougher test, and were going to have to be real good. But theres no question that we needed this one." Wholesale NBA Jerseys . And yet as they left TD Garden amid the slush and snow of a winter storm on Thursday evening, there was a sense among the Leafs that they had finally stood toe to toe with their long-time bully, only to fall just short. Cheap NBA jerseys China . After a 10-game skid, winning sure feels good. Atlantas third error in the last two innings allowed Jackie Bradley Jr. http://www.wholesalefootballjerseyschina.com/ . The English Football Association had charged the German right back with violent conduct after retrospectively reviewing video evidence of an incident that was missed by match officials at Craven Cottage on Saturday. Cheap Football Jerseys . - Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis said Wednesday hes "nodded off" during meetings, but he said its something every player does. Wholesale China Jerseys . The mood in Seattle was electrified as the parade featuring the NFL champions began near the Space Needle and made its way to CenturyLink Field, the home of the team. At a ceremony inside the stadium, the team thanked its loyal followers -- the 12th Man -- capping a day of boisterous celebration that drew an estimated 700,000 revelers to Seattle. ATLANTA -- Billy Horschel showed why he might be the hottest player in golf at the moment with another 4-under 66 on Friday in the Tour Championship. It was his 10th straight round in the 60s. He already has a victory and a runner-up finish in the FedEx Cup playoffs. And now he gets to take on the best player in golf. Rory McIlroy rode three big putts and one bizarre break -- a tee shot landed in a spectators pocket -- on his way to a 65 that left him two shots behind and put him in the final group at East Lake going into the homestretch of the FedEx Cup. At stake for both of them -- along with Chris Kirk -- is a shot at the $10 million bonus. "Im a guy that when I feel good about my game, Ive got some confidence that Im going to figure out some way to play well and post a number," Horschel said. That he has done. Horschel is 35 under par in his last 10 rounds. He was runner-up at the Deutsche Bank Championship two weeks ago, when he squandered a shot to at least get into a playoff by chunking a 6-iron into a hazard. And he followed that with a victory in the BMW Championship at Cherry Hills. And now he has a pair of 66s, putting him at 8-under 132 at East Lake. McIlroy made his only bogey with a buried lie at the face of a bunker on No. 4, causing him to blast out sideways. He bounced back with birdies, and poured it on at the end of his round with a 12-foot par save, a 20-foot birdie and a 25-foot birdie. And then there was his par on the 14th, which looked ordinary only on paper. His tee shot drifted right into the pine trees, clattered around and dropped straight down. No one knew where it went until a fan realized it had fallen into the front pocket of his shorts. PGA Tour rules official Robby Ware made sure the fan had not moved, and McIlroy was given a free drop under Rule 19-1-a. Retrieving the ball? McIlroy wasnt going there. "I know how sweaty my pockets are. Im not going into anyone elses," McIlroy said. "I need to stop hitting it off line. Things happen there." McIlroy was joined by Jason Day, who made bogey on his last hole for a 67; and Kirk, who made two bogeys on the back nine that offset a run of four straight birdies around the turn for a 68. Kirk, Horschel and McIlroy are among the top five seedss in the FedEx Cup, meaning a victory would guarantee the $10 million bonus.dddddddddddd McIlroy seized the No. 1 ranking by winning the British Open, a World Golf Championship and the PGA Championship in successive starts. He was the top seed going into the FedEx Cup, though because the points are reset for East Lake, the 25-year-old from Northern Ireland always knew it would come down to the Tour Championship. As much as he wants to end a great year on a high note, McIlroy appears to be playing with no concerns. "Before coming into these FedEx Cup playoffs ... it was going to be a great season, anyway," he said. "I wanted to cap it off in style, and Ive given myself a chance to do that over the next two days. Im going into this week with nothing to lose. Im the one thats got the two majors this year. Im the one thats had the great season. Those are the guys that are trying to cap off a great season for themselves. "No matter what happens over the weekend, its going to be OK," he said. "But I still want to win this thing." McIlroy and Horschel first mixed it up seven years ago when they were amateurs at the Walker Cup. Horschel beat him in singles on the 18th hole, and the next morning teamed with Rickie Fowler in a foursomes win over McIlroy and Jonny Caldwell. Horschel was shouting and pumping fists, as he always does, and it rubbed McIlroy the wrong way. In the final singles session, McIlroy beat him 4 and 2. That was a long time ago. Neither harbours a grudge. McIlroy has gone on to win four majors at age 25 -- only Woods, Jack Nicklaus and Bobby Jones have done that -- while Horschel picked up his second career win last week. They last played together as pros at the Honda Classic this year, where McIlroy had rounds of 66-63 and Horschel missed the cut. "Hes a good buddy," Horschel said. "If I happen to come out on top and were battling out these next two rounds, that means a lot. The guy won three straight events in a row, and two of them happened to be majors. I think thats pretty impressive. Hes at that stage where when youre able to go toe to toe with one of the best players and the No. 1 ranked player in the world and youre able to come out on top, that gives me a lot of confidence." ' ' '