Beta[Mn] » gth. He can shoot, hes got incredible foot

ST. Fake Vans 2020 . PAUL, Minn. -- Matching the Chicago Blackhawks is a tough task, and the Minnesota Wild werent going to catch up without more presence and production from their top forwards. After a couple of quiet games and two sluggish periods, Mikael Granlund, Zach Parise and the rest of the Wilds skill-position players came to life. Granlund scored twice, Parise had a goal and an assist, and Erik Haula jump-started the Wild by scoring early in the third period in a 4-0 victory over the Blackhawks on Tuesday in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinal series. "The big guys definitely came through tonight," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. Ilya Bryzgalov made 19 saves for his first shutout in the playoffs in eight years, and the Blackhawks had their lead whittled to 2-1 with their first loss in 2 1/2 weeks. "Today is a tremendous team effort," Bryzgalov said. "We play very, very, very nice hockey." Game 4 is Friday in Minnesota. The announced attendance of 19,416 was the most in franchise history, but the atmosphere didnt match that until shortly after the second intermission. Pucks were whizzing way wide of the net, and clogged shooting lanes led to plenty of thwarted opportunities for both sides. "Theyre probably as tight a team as were going to play all year," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. Haula finally brought the fans to their feet. The rookie centre from Finland, once a standout for the University of Minnesota, started the play from the neutral zone and finished in front of the rush for a tap-in of Justin Fontaines slick pass through the defence. Then less than 3 minutes later, Granlund took a pass from Jason Pominville and went to his backhand to slip a high shot past Corey Crawfords glove for the 2-0 lead. The crowd began to taunt the goalie with a "Craw-ford! Craw-ford!" chant, and Parise put the exclamation point on the night with a power-play goal, the first in 25 chances for the Wild over their last two playoff series against the Blackhawks. Then Granlund tacked on an empty-netter with 1:17 left. "We know when we play like we can, we can beat any team in this league, especially here at home," Granlund said. Crawford stopped only 14 shots for the Blackhawks, who dropped their first two games to St. Louis in the last round before winning four in a row. Since losing to the Blues on April 19, they took the lead in all six games and outscored their opponents 23-9. Despite outscoring the Wild 9-3 in the first two games of this series, the Blackhawks have not been able to test Bryzgalov much. "We cant let it frustrate us. We just have to do something about it," captain Jonathan Toews said, adding: "Theyre a smart defensive team. Give them credit. But its more about what were not doing." The blue liners were in full force early for Blackhawks, who blocked a whopping 25 shots in Game 2, six more than the Wild even sent at the net. Niklas Hjalmarsson bravely took one on the neck Sunday, and while the seventh-year veteran was cleared to play, the Swede wasnt even allowed to talk. Quenneville said before the game he wasnt worried about any communication problems between Hjalmarsson and his teammates. Had he been able to yell, Hjalmarsson wouldve been easy to hear for most of the night. For all the noise this crowd made in the last round, the synergy between vocal fan support and a relentless attack by the Wild was largely missing during the first 40 minutes. Yeo said this was the tightest-checking game hed ever been a part of. The offence came, eventually. Pominville has only one goal in nine playoff games, but he had two assists in this one. Mikko Koivu didnt make the scoring summary, but Yeo said his captain played a critical part in helping stifle the Blackhawks and their top lines. None of the Wilds top six forwards scored in the first two games, with Parise and Pominville managing the only assists. The Wild faced yet another desperate situation after trailing 2-0 in the last round against the Colorado Avalanche. "It was pretty familiar territory for us. We knew we had to win the game," Parise said. NOTES: The Blackhawks scratched defenceman Nick Leddy, his first absence since his rookie season of 2010-11. Quenneville said he wanted Sheldon Brookbank in the lineup for a physical presence. ... Bryzgalov had three shutouts in the 2006 playoffs for Anaheim. Fake Vans . - Titans quarterback Jake Locker will miss the rest of the season with a Lisfranc injury to his right foot, leaving Tennessee trying to rally with Ryan Fitzpatrick. Fake Vans Cheap . -- Byron Scott is taking over the Los Angeles Lakers with the vocal support of his fellow Showtime greats. https://www.vansfake.com/ . - Jordan Addesis shootout goal helped the Plymouth Whalers to a 3-2 win over the Sault Ste.AMES, Iowa -- Kansas freshman Andrew Wiggins grabbed every rebound in sight. Joel Embiid was nearly unstoppable in the paint in the second half, and Naadir Tharpe seemingly couldnt miss. The young Jayhawks are growing up-- and theyre putting it together in time for another run through the Big 12. Tharpe scored a career-high 23 points on just nine shots, Wiggins of Vaughan, Ont., had 17 points and a season-high 19 rebounds and No. 15 Kansas beat No. 8 Iowa State 77-70 on Monday night for its third straight win to open conference play. "The thing about it is, if you have followed our team closely, you could make the case that this team probably enjoyed playing less than other teams weve had," Kansas coach Bill Self said. "But since we started conference play, theyre having as much fun as any team weve ever had." The Jayhawks had plenty of reasons to smile in perhaps their most impressive win of the season. Embiid had 12 of his 16 points in the second half to go with five blocks for the Jayhawks (12-4, 3-0), who outrebounded Iowa State 53-36. Kansas opened the second half with a 16-5 run and led the rest of the way, handing the Cyclones (14-2, 2-2) their second consecutive loss after a 14-0 start. Iowa State doesnt start anyone taller than 6-foot-7, and its lack of size is threatening to become an issue. "This is a couple of games in a row now where, probably the difference has been on the glass," Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg said. "We were pretty good in the non-conference portion of the schedule. You dont want this to be a trend moving forward." It wasnt all good news for Kansas either. The Jayhawks committed 24 turnovers but they survived by shooting 49 per cent from the field and dominating the glass. "We handled the ball miserably. Looked like a third grade team out there offensively sometimes taking care of the ball. But we made up for it by being pretty good on the glass. It was a great win," Self said. DeAndre Kane, who sprained an ankle in the loss to Oklahoma on Saturday, had 21 points for Iowa State, which lost to Kansas for the 17th time in 18 games. Fake Vans Website. . The Cyclones, the Big 12s top 3-point shooting team, were a dreadful 4 of 25 from beyond the arc. Kane, who led the Big 12 with 22.7 points, 6.3 assists and 3.3 steals through three league games, responded well enough to around the clock treatment on his left ankle that he has able to start. It didnt provide the early boost the Cyclones were looking for. Kansas jumped all over Iowa State, rolling to a quick 15-4 lead less than 5 minutes in. But the Cyclones fought their way back to tie the game at 36-all on Kanes 3 at the halftime buzzer. The Jayhawks started the second half the way they did the first. Perry Ellis extended their lead to 52-41 with a slam with 13:32 left, and Embiid wrapped two baskets around a blocked shot as Kansas went ahead 64-53. Kane could have made it a one-possession game with under a minute left, but he missed a layup and Tharpe answered with two free throws. Kane said his ankle was an issue -- and he was also kneed in the thigh with about 4 minutes left. "I really couldnt cut and go change of pace. But thats no excuse. I played 37 minutes. I was out there enough. I just didnt do enough to help my team win," Kane said. Melvin Ejim had 15 points for Iowa State, but forward Georges Niang had 11 points on 4-of-20 shooting from the field. Iowa State was just 9 of 37 from the field in the second half. "We came out hard. We came out hungry," Wiggins said of his teams second-half surge. Iowa State had longed for another crack at Kansas at home after the Jayhawks rallied for a contentious overtime win here last season. But Iowa States inability to knock down 3s theyd normally make was too much to overcome -- and Embiid and the Jayhawks confounded the Cyclones with their size and length. "I think Embiid is the best player in the country," Hoiberg said. "Hes huge. Hes got great length. He can shoot, hes got incredible footwork and hes been playing the game for about two years." ' ' '