Stanley Cup Playoffs

The Minnesota Wild have turned their home ice into a deafening, discouraging place for opponents to play in the playoffs. For the second straight game, they dominated the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks.

Mikael Granlund scored twice, Zach Parise had a goal and an assist, and Erik Haula jump-started the Minnesota Wild by scoring early in the third period in a 4-0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinal series.

Right about the time the Chicago Blackhawks got into trouble Friday night, it was showtime for Patrick Kane. Kane scored two goals in the third period and the Blackhawks beat the Minnesota Wild 5-2 in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.

Nino Niederreiter hesitated for just a moment after scoring the winning goal, not sure whether what he just saw had actually occurred. It happened, all right. His Minnesota teammates suddenly skating over to mob him made the moment real.

The Minnesota Wild gave Zach Parise all that money for games like this. Parise signed that megadeal two years ago for games even bigger than this. They forced at least one more with a furious finish.

Nathan MacKinnon scored 3:27 into overtime after P.A. Parenteau tied the game late in regulation, helping the Colorado Avalanche rally for a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night and a 3-2 lead in the first-round series.

Charlie Coyle scored his third goal of the series for Minnesota, and the Wild dominated the Colorado Avalanche for the second straight game on their way to a 2-1 win Thursday night that evened the first-round matchup at two apiece.

Minnesota Wild left wing Matt Cooke apologized Thursday for the knee-to-knee hit on Tyson Barrie that sidelined the Colorado Avalanche defenseman for at least a month, saying he did not intend to injure him.

The NHL cracked down hard on Matt Cooke, suspending the Minnesota Wild left wing for seven games Wednesday for his knee-to-knee hit that injured Colorado Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie.

Mikael Granlund's diving goal 5:08 into overtime gave the Minnesota Wild a 1-0 win over Semyon Varlamov and the Colorado Avalanche in Game 3 on Monday night to pull within 2-1 in their best-of-seven Western Conference quarterfinal series.