Die Macht » come back. Its been a rough 1 1/2 years for

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild found out during the second intermission their spot in the playoffs was secure. Satisfaction came only after they won their way in with a strong finish. Mikko Koivu had the only score in the shootout after Ryan Suters goal tied the game with 65 seconds remaining in regulation, and the Wild beat the Boston Bruins 4-3 on Tuesday night to clinch a wild-card spot in the Western Conference playoffs. "We wanted to get in the right way," said right wing Jason Pominville, who had two goals and an assist. "We stuck to it and found a way to score one late, and I think its a sign of a good team when you get in the right way against the best team in the NHL right now." Koivu, who had two assists, switched to his backhand to flip the puck past Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask in the second round. When goalie Ilya Bryzgalov stopped Brad Marchands try with his pad to end it, he pumped his arms as he skated out of the crease to celebrate with his teammates. The Wild will be the seventh seed and face the division winner with the fewest points. "The message was, Lets not wait for anything. Lets not back our way into anything. Lets not come through the back door. Lets go charging through the front door," coach Mike Yeo said. "And what a better way to do it against a team like Boston." As play was about to begin for the third period, the overtime loss by ninth-place Phoenix at Columbus that guaranteed a place in the post-season for Minnesota was announced to the crowd and received with a hearty cheer. The Wild then went a step further by assuring themselves of the top wild-card slot by rallying for the win. They kept up the pressure in overtime after Suters delivery, outshooting the Bruins 6-2 in overtime. Reilly Smith, Patrice Bergeron and Loui Eriksson scored for the Bruins, who fell to 16-1-3 in their past 20 games. The Bruins, who clinched the No. 1 seed for the Eastern Conference playoffs, held leading scorer Jarome Iginla out for the third time in the past four games because of a lower-body injury. Iginla became the biggest threat to the Wild during his days with then-division rival Calgary. His 67 points, including 37 goals, in 71 career games are the most by any Minnesota opponent. "Try to get some rest for certain guys and still try to play good hockey," Rask said. "Theres still something to play for. But its not always easy to find that 100 per cent perfect game in these situations." Late in the second period, Zdeno Chara wound up from the point on a power play. Eriksson and Gregory Campbell were parked just outside the crease, and the puck appeared to deflect first off Campbells stick before Eriksson poked it in for the lead with 3:42 left before the break. That didnt mean they were playing their best, though. "I felt we were a little sloppy tonight. We werent very sharp in our passing and our playmaking," coach Claude Julien said. "We didnt have everybody really playing that well. Some of our big players were just very average." Bryzgalov, the latest unlikely leader to emerge for the Wild, made 44 saves over the past two games to blank Pittsburgh and Winnipeg and put Minnesota on the brink of the post-season. His shutout streak ended at 145 minutes and 15 seconds, when Smith sent in an unassisted power-play goal for his 20th score this season. But Bryzgalov, who took over for Darcy Kuemper when the rookie suffered an upper-body injury last month, improved to 7-0-3 since arriving at the trade deadline. "The quicker you can clinch, the better it is," an impressed Julien said. Last season, the Wild limped to the No. 8 seed by winning their final game to finish 5-8-1 in April. This time, theyll have more momentum. "We played ourselves into the playoffs the way that you want to. It says a lot about the guys in here, and hopefully we can keep this thing going here," Suter said. NOTES: Wild goalie Josh Harding, the winner of the NHLs Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy last year for perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to the sport, was announced Tuesday as the teams repeat nominee for the award. Harding has been on injured reserve since Jan. 2, continuing to deal with multiple sclerosis, but returned to practice with the Wild last Wednesday. ... Bergeron has 10 goals in his past 11 games. Nike Boty Sleva .A. Happ? Happs seven wins are second on the staff to Mark Buehrles 10. Win-loss record is an antiquated stat, sure, but win total is generally an indication of a pitchers ability to work deep into games, enough to be personally affected by the result. Nike Air Force 1 Černé . The teams all-time leading scorer, DeRo has won everything there is to win in MLS. http://www.airforce1levne.com/nike-blazer.html . Spains victory rendered Frances 3-0 win against Finland meaningless as Spain needed just one point to secure passage to Brazil. Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema scored either side of Joona Toivios own-goal as France advanced to the playoff among the eight best second-place finishers. Nike Air Force 1 Pánské Levně . Peko, a fourth-round pick in 2006, started all 16 games and a playoff loss to San Diego last season. He was second on the line with 72 tackles and had a career-high three sacks. Air Force 1 Just Do It . A little more than one year after missing a last-second tip-in that would have given the Wolverines a share of the Big Ten regular-season title, the 6-foot-8 forward scored on a layup with 7.LOS ANGELES -- The ball was dropping everywhere for the Giants through the first two innings. After that, they couldnt get a hit. They made their early runs hold up, beating Los Angeles 8-4 Friday and spoiling the Dodgers home opener played nearly two weeks after they began the season in Australia. Michael Morse keyed a six-run first inning with a two-run single in the Giants highest-scoring opening inning since they scored six on June 2, 2008, against the Mets. "We had some breaks and we know it," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said, "so you take them." David Huff (1-0) got the victory, allowing two hits in 1 2-3 innings of relief while striking out three. After retiring the first two batters, Hyun-Jin Ryu got pummeled for six runs while giving up six hits, including four in a row as the Giants batted around. They finished Ryu with two more runs in the second, extending their lead to 8-0. It was the South Koreans shortest outing as a Dodger. Ryu and four relievers combined to hold the Giants hitless over the final 7 1-3 innings. "I dont really feel like he got thumped," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "We didnt help him for sure. Things didnt go his way, but I like the way he handled himself. He could have gotten irritated." Ryu (1-1) gave up a career-high eight runs -- six earned -- and eight hits while getting six outs. The left-hander walked three and struck out two while making his third start in six games. He was moved up in the rotation after injured ace Clayton Kershaw went on the disabled list for the first time in his career with a strained muscle in his back. Kershaw may be out a month. "You wish it was one of those games buried on a Tuesday night in August instead of opening day," Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis said. "It was one of those games where he (Ryu) just couldnt catch a break." Pablo Sandoval walked, Buster Posey singled and Morse singled them in for a 2-0 lead. Center fielder Matt Kemp bobbled Morses hit, allowing him to take second on the error, and Brandon Belt singled in another run. Activated from the disabled list before the game, Kemp wasnt originally in the lineup but was inserted after Yasiel Puig arrived late to the ballpark and was removed from the batting order. "The first two innings were sloppy defensively," Kemp said. "We didnt do a good job of anything, but we kept fighting. We kept grinding. Youre going to have those games when you start out slow.&quoot; Puig said after the game through a translator that he had already apologized to his teammates and Mattingly.dddddddddddd "Im sincerely sorry. It was my fault," he said. "Ill be here early tomorrow." Pitcher Ryan Vogelsongs bloop single scored Belt and Brandon Hicks after an intentional walk to Joaquin Arias, extending San Franciscos lead to 5-0. Angel Pagans RBI single tacked on another run. Hicks had an RBI double and Arias added an RBI single to make it 8-0 in the second. Bochy successfully challenged a call in the seventh after Hanley Ramirez singled leading off and was called safe in stealing second. Second base umpire Marty Fosters call was overturned under the new video review rule. "Thats a big call. Theres nobody out and they got the leadoff hitter on, but it worked out well," Bochy said. "We also had one before today that didnt work out well, so hopefully at the end of the season, you have more that go your way. But I like it. I just take it for granted that you have to use your challenge if you have one." The Dodgers got back-to-back homers by Adrian Gonzalez and Andre Ethier leading off the fourth to trail 8-2. Kemp doubled in a run in the fifth, his first hit in his season debut after rehabbing left ankle and shoulder injuries. "It felt good to come back. Its been a rough 1 1/2 years for me," Kemp said. Vogelsong allowed seven hits and four runs in four-plus innings. He struck out four and walked two. "Ive been throwing the ball exactly the way I wanted to. I just got away from it a little bit," he said. "Ill try to get my stuff cleaned up before the next outing." Notes: The Dodgers streak of winning every home opener since 2008 ended at six. They are 28-25 in home openers. ... The Dodgers allowed the most runs in a home opener since 2006, when they lost 11-10 to Atlanta. ... The Dodgers entire team was introduced for the fifth time this season, including twice in Australia and twice in San Diego, where they opened the North American portion of the schedule. ... Dodgers Hall of Fame announcer Vin Scully rode in a baby blue 1965 Mustang convertible to home plate, where he handed rather than tossed the first pitch to Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax while other Dodger greats who had defining career moments announced by Scully ringed the plate. ... Former Dodgers broadcaster Ross Porter, who spent 28 years with the team starting in 1977, served as honorary public address announcer. ' ' '