second extending its lead to 43-30 with 4:47 remaining

DENVER -- Semyon Varlamov celebrated his new contract with another stellar performance in net. Varlamov had 35 saves, John Mitchell had a goal and an assist and the Colorado Avalanche edged the Minnesota Wild 5-4 on Thursday night. Matt Duchene had two assists for Colorado, which survived a flurry at the end to get the victory. Ryan OReilly, Paul Stastny, Nathan MacKinnon and Maxime Talbot also scored. It was quite a day for the 25-year-old Varlamov, who also finalized a five-year extension with Colorado that runs through the 2018-19 season. "It was a big day for us. Im sure its a great day for Varly as well," first-year coach Patrick Roy said. "He certainly deserved that contract. Were very happy its a done deal." The Avalanche acquired Varlamov from Washington in July 2011, and the Russian turned in a pair of inconsistent seasons under former coach Joe Sacco. He has flourished under the tutelage of Roy, a Hall of Fame goalie, and goaltender coach Francois Allaire, improving to 27-9-5 with Thursdays win. "Thank God the right people came to the team during the summer," Varlamov said. "Patrick, and especially Francois Allaire. Those guys helped me a lot. They changed my game." Colorado needed every bit of Varlamovs talent against Minnesota. He helped the Avalanche win the season series 4-0-1 and move nine points ahead of the Wild in the Central Division. Colorado has a firm grasp on third place and the final automatic playoff seed in the division. "It was a big game for us. We have three games in hand and were up (nine) points in the standings," Duchene said. "That puts us well ahead and we just have to keep taking care of business." Zach Parise had two goals and two assists and Mikael Granlund and Jason Pominville also scored for Minnesota, which went 9-4-1 in January to get into the thick of the post-season race. The Avalanche used a big second period to help cool off the Wild. Mitchell broke a 1-1 tie with his sixth goal of the season at 1:43. Stastny scored his 16th of the season on a rebound midway through the period, and Talbot used the stick of Wild centre Kyle Brodziak to make it 4-1 at 15:26. Brodziak had gathered a rebound in front of goalie Darcy Kuemper when Talbot came in from behind and hit the centres stick to put the puck in the net. "We were so good the first two periods," Roy said. "Offensively this is the best Ive seen our team play. We were cycling the puck, moving it quick. We had tons of chances." A minute later, Niklas Backstrom replaced Kuemper, who had 19 saves. "I let him know it wasnt him," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "I did it to try to change the momentum at that point." "Kuemper played a pretty good game even though he got pulled. He made some amazing saves on us," Duchene said. "It could have been 6-, 7-1 if not for him." Backstrom had nine stops the rest of the way, giving the Wild a chance to get back into it. Parises goal at 7:47 of the third made it 4-2. He then assisted on Granlunds goal at 12:51 that made it a one-score game. MacKinnon appeared to seal the win with his 19th of the season at 17:35 but Pominville scored 11 seconds later. Backstrom went off for an extra skater with 1:07 left but the Wild couldnt get the equalizer. "When you get behind the 8-ball like we did, its tough to get back," Pominville said. "They are a good team for a reason." Colorado took a 1-0 lead on OReillys 20th of the season at 4:41 of the first and Parise tied in on the power play 1:35 later. The Avalanche had three power-play chances to break the tie in the first but couldnt capitalize. Brodziak nearly scored a short-handed goal but Varlamov made a save on the odd-man rush. NOTES: Stastny left in the third period with a leg injury and did not return. ... Avalanche RW P.A. Parenteau was a healthy scratch for the second straight game. Parenteau played in three games after missing 10 with a sprained left knee. ... Wild D Jared Spurgeon skated with the team Thursday. He has been on injured reserve since Jan. 4 with a foot injury. Joshua Miles Jersey .ca NBA Power Rankings. Winners of 15 straight, with a healthy roster, the Spurs have overtaken the Clippers and Oklahoma City Thunder for the number one ranking. Rodney Gunter Jersey . "Uuufff," was all shortstop Adeiny Hechavarria could come up with after Stantons latest mammoth shot. http://www.cheaparizonacardinalsjerseysa...-edmonds-jersey. Needing to bulk up on both sides of the line, the Falcons agreed to terms with guard Jon Asamoah, defensive end Tyson Jackson and defensive tackle Paul Soliai. Asamoah and Jackson played last season with Kansas City, where Asamoah lost his starting job. Ricky Seals-Jones Jersey . The unrestricted free agent agreed to terms with the club on Thursday on a one-year, two-way deal worth $700,000. Hakeem Butler Jersey . - The Green Bay Packers got back to work on Friday without star quarterback Aaron Rodgers. SAN ANTONIO -- Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard each scored 22 points, and the San Antonio Spurs overcame an injury to Tony Parker to close out the Western Conference semifinals with a 104-82 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night. Patty Mills scored 18 points and Tim Duncan had 16 points and eight rebounds for San Antonio, which had four blowout victories in the five-game series. Its the third straight conference finals appearance for San Antonio, which lost a heartbreaking seven-game series to the Miami Heat in last seasons NBA Finals. San Antonio, which had the NBAs best record, will await the winner of the series between Oklahoma City and the Los Angeles Clippers. The Thunder have a 3-2 lead. LaMarcus Aldridge had 21 points for Portland, while Damian Lillard added 17 points and 10 assists. The Trail Blazers bench contributed only seven points compared to 40 by the Spurs reserves. After playing with various injuries throughout last post-season, the Spurs had been healthy in these playoffs until Wednesday. Parker, who missed 13 games during the regular season, exited in the first half with tightness in his left hamstring. After returning to the court with 9:46 remaining in the second quarter, Parker left the game exactly a minute later. He headed back to the locker room followed closely by San Antonio general manager R.C. Buford and team physician, Dr. Paul Saenz. Parker was scoreless in 10 minutes, missing his only two shots as Portland pushed to keep the All-Star point guard out of the paint. Manu Ginobili handled most of the ball-handling duties with Parker out. Even with Parker slowed, the Spurs still had another good start thanks to their hustle on the boards. Tiago Splitter had two offensive rebounds in the opening 3 minutes. The Spurs, who were averaging 9.3 offensive rebounds in the post-season, had five in the first quarter alone.dddddddddddd The Blazers went on a 9-0 run once Splitter exited, with Aldridge benefiting the most from the big mans absence. He hit a pair of jumpers over Boris Diaw for his first points of the game to spark the run. Mills provided a huge spark even before Parkers exit. The energetic Aussie sprinted for a layup after tipping away C.J. McCollums dribble in the backcourt. A possession later, Mills blocked Lillards 3-pointer, igniting a fast break that led to Greens first 3 of the game. Green had the strongest effort of the post-season, going 4 for 6 on 3s. San Antonio had four 3s in the second quarter, with Leonards second extending its lead to 43-30 with 4:47 remaining in the half. NOTES: Portland G Mo Williams (groin) missed his third straight game. After scoring six points on 3-for-11 shooting in the series opener, Williams exited Game 2 after nine minutes with a strained groin and has not played since. . Meb Keflezighi, the first American man to win the Boston Marathon in 31 years, was in attendance. . Ginobili slapped the scorers table twice in celebration after Greens jumper rattled in with 6 minutes remaining. Green has struggled shooting throughout the post-season. .. Mills rushed down the court to hit a 3-pointer after receiving a push by Spurs assistant coach Sean Marks after the diminutive guard leapt into the teams bench to save a defensive rebound. . Spurs coach Gregg Popovich screamed at Duncan for not providing weak-side help for Diaw on a dunk by Aldridge with 6 minutes left in the first half. After initially shaking his head and frowning at Popovich, Duncan raised his hand, nodded his head and said "My fault. My fault." Duncan later pointed to