Die Macht » remember how long hes been away from the mound," H

DENVER -- Sometimes, its hard for the Colorado Avalanche to remember that Nathan MacKinnon is just 18 years old and only a rookie. Because he keeps coming through in big moments. The speedy MacKinnon scored 3:27 into overtime after P.A. Parenteau tied the game late in regulation, helping the Avalanche rally for a 4-3 win over the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night and a 3-2 lead in the first-round series. "The kids special," Parenteau said. "I know its cliche to say, but its pretty impressive to see. ... This is the kid we want on our side." MacKinnon is having quite the series, with two goals and eight assists. Surprised at the poise of his No. 1 pick? "We knew when we drafted him what kind of player we were drafting," Avalanche coach Patrick Roy said as the series switches back to Minnesota for Game 6 on Monday. "He had a solid game." A memorable one, too. After all, its not every day a rookie scores an OT winner in the playoffs. MacKinnon corralled the puck and poked it past Darcy Kuempers glove with two defenders near him. Soon after, MacKinnon was mobbed by teammates. He deflected the credit, though, saying it should go to Paul Stastny or Gabriel Landeskog for their roles on the play. "Paulie forced the puck down in their end, Landy got it on the half-wall and I was screaming for it," MacKinnon said. "Definitely a good play by him." MacKinnons time in the spotlight was made possible by Parenteau, who scored with 1:14 left after Roy pulled goaltender Semyon Varlamov with 2:22 remaining. The strategy worked out again, just like in Game 1. There may have been some controversy on Parenteaus tying goal, though, with Stastny possibly being offsides on the play. At least, that was the Wilds take. "They missed the call and we paid for it," Minnesota defenceman Ryan Suter said. "No excuses. We have to play better in overtime. Weve got to get more pressure on the kid (MacKinnon) when he comes to the net." Wild coach Mike Yeo is hoping the breaks equal out. "I would say were due for, I dont want to say luck, but for stuff to go our way a little bit," Yeo said. "Im not going to dwell on what happened in the game." When his team trails, Roy has been rather liberal in pulling Varlamov all season long, preferring to send out an extra skater with plenty of time left on the clock. It worked in the series opener, as Stastny scored with 13.4 seconds remaining in regulation and then added the OT winner. "We believe in ourselves more when were down a goal," Landeskog said. "Its exciting to be a part of. Its not something we want to make a habit of doing." Nick Holden and Cody McLeod also added goals for the Avalanche. Kyle Brodziak, Zach Parise and Matt Moulson scored for the Wild. Two of Minnesotas goals came after a Colorado defenceman shattered their stick and had to play without one. Parise tied the game at 2 early in the third when he glided down the left side and beat Varlamov with a shot over his glove. Nearly two minutes later, Brodziak gave the Wild the lead after defenceman Jan Hejda broke his stick and struggled to cover anyone. McLeod had a short-handed goal at 8:04 of the second period, when he redirected a pass from Ryan OReilly past Kuemper. The lead was short-lived as the Wild answered 1:13 later when Moulson tipped in a shot by Jared Spurgeon from the blue line. On the play, Maxime Talbot gave his stick to defenceman Andre Benoit after his broke and then Jamie McGinn passed his to Talbot, leaving McGinn without a stick. The Avalanche may soon have leading scorer Matt Duchene back in the lineup as he skated with the team Saturday morning. Duchene has been sidelined since hurting his left knee when he ran into a teammate against San Jose on March 29. Expect Duchene back for Game 6? "Were going to take a serious look at it," Roy said. NOTES: The Wild were without suspended LW Matt Cooke for a second game after his knee-on-knee hit knocked Avs D Tyson Barrie out for at least a month. ... The Avs are 1 for 18 on the power play. ... According to the Avs, MacKinnon (18 years, 237 days) is the second-youngest player in Stanley Cup playoff history to score an OT goal. Don Gallinger was 17 years, 339 days when he scored an OT winner for Boston in 1943. Cheap Air Max 90 White China . - No matter the lineup or location, the San Antonio Spurs are rolling through the NBA again this spring, just the way they have for most of the last two decades. Wholesale Air Max 90 Ultra Se .com) - Ames, IA (SportsNetwork. http://www.outletairmax90cheap.com/outlet-air-max-90-ultra-cheap.html . In sunny and almost windless conditions, the Swede shot four consecutive birdies on the front nine on his way to a 68 and went 9 under for a one-shot lead over Englands Lee Slattery and two over Paraguays Farbrizio Zanotti (68). Undefeated x Air Max 90 White Solar Red . PETERSBURG, Fla. Cheap Air Max 90 White . RAPTORS STRUGGLING: The bottom line is the true test in sports isnt just how you handle failure, but how you handle success. CHICAGO -- Anthony Rizzo congratulated Jason Hammel for his first National League win after the Chicago Cubs topped the Pittsburgh Pirates. Only, it wasnt. Not even Hammels first this season. Hammel threw seven strong innings, Rizzo tied a career high with four hits, and Chicago won 7-5 on Wednesday night despite allowing five solo home runs. But Rizzo apparently forgot about Hammels victory last week -- or the 27 the veteran right-hander had with Colorado. "Just make sure that everybody knows that Rizzo was not there with us in Pittsburgh last week," a joking Hammel said. "Its a good one. Its a good one. "I didnt know I didnt win at all in Colorado, either." Signed to a one-year, $6 million contract over the off-season, Hammel (2-0) won his Cubs debut when he beat the Pirates in Pittsburgh. He got off to another good start in this one, retiring the first 12 batters until Pedro Alvarezs first homer of the game tied it to start the fifth. Hammel allowed three runs and three hits -- all solo homers -- while striking out six. Rizzo had his career-best fourth straight multi-hit game, Mike Olt and Junior Lake hit back-to-back home runs in the fifth against Wandy Rodriguez (0-2). Emilio Bonifacio, who entered leading the majors with 17 hits and a .515 batting average, was 2 for 5. Bonifacio had two runs for an offence that has scored 21 runs in its last three games after getting eight in its first five. "We had some well-struck balls," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said. "They did there at the end, too, so it was a good night to hit." The Pirates found that out as well on a night where the wind was blowing steadily out. Alvarez and Russell Martin homered twice for the Pirates, each getting their second in the ninth off Pedro Strop, and Travis Snider also went deep. It was Alvarezs second multihomer game of the season and ninth of his career, and it the eighth of Martins career, but Pittsburggh only had one hit besides its five solo home runs.dddddddddddd "Well, were not giving up," Martin said. "Were still fighting. Thats kind of in our DNA. No matter what the score is, were going to give our best effort. Were aware some days were going to get beat, but were never really going to cave in. Today they were better than us." Once again, the Cubs were better than Rodriguez, whom Hammel and Chicago beat for the second time. Rodriguez went five innings, giving up four runs and nine hits, keeping the Pirates from clinching their third straight series win to start the season, something they havent done since 1992. Rodriguez missed most of 2013 with a left forearm injury and Pirates manager Clint Hurdle called his performance an "optimistic outing." "Youve got to remember how long hes been away from the mound," Hurdle said. "He feels healthy. The first pitch strikes were good. A little more consistency and location, just execution at times." The Cubs offensive execution was better. Other than Rizzos congratulations to Hammel. "I was excited. We had a great atmosphere in here after the game," Rizzo said. "He pitched his tail off. We got him the W, so its nice. Hes off to a great 2-0 start." NOTES: Bonifacios hot start has given Renteria an easy choice to lead off. "Typically, if you can have a leadoff guy that you can slot in, its really big," Renteria said. ... Cubs OF Justin Ruggianos RBI double was his first hit of the season. He entered the game 0-for-11. ... The Cubs scored three times in the sixth, and the third came when Lake was originally called out at first on a double-play grounder, but Renteria challenged the call by umpire Mark Carlson, getting it overturned and allowing Rizzo to score. ... Pirates LHP Jeff Locke (right oblique) went six innings and allowed two runs and five hits while striking out 10 and walking one in a rehab outing at Single-A Bradenton. ' ' '