played extremely well and are a very powerful side Hull KR

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Surging into and out of the Olympic break, the Minnesota Wild have created a significant cushion between them and their competitors for the two Western Conference wild-card playoff spots. Thats not enough. With five days before they play next, this was still a game they were worried about -- and had to win. Jared Spurgeon and Zach Parise scored in the third period, and the Wild notched their season-high fifth straight victory, 3-2 over the Calgary Flames on Monday night. "You dont want to go a week without getting any points the way things are, even if you have a cushion," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "The cushion to me is nothing ... because its not about where the people are behind you. To me its much more of a race of what you need to get to." The Wild have 75 points, nine ahead of the cut, but they are off until Saturday. Then they will launch their final stretch of 20 games in 37 days. "I dont think we were at our best. I dont think we played at a level we need to play. But it doesnt matter when you look back at the score," Parise said. Kyle Brodziak also scored, rookie Darcy Kuemper stopped 21 shots during his 15th start in a row, and the Wild raised their record at home to 22-7-2 while playing in front of their fans for the first time in 25 days. Captain Mikko Koivu, back from a 17-game absence due to a broken ankle, skated on the second line with Dany Heatley and Charlie Coyle, apart from Parise for the first time. Parise gave the Wild some insurance by camping in the crease and deflecting a shot past Reto Berra with 5:16 remaining for his 21st goal. Just 77 seconds later, Mark Giordano scored to bring the Flames back within a goal. But Kuemper hung on to raise his record to 11-3-2. Kuemper has played so well in place of Josh Harding and Niklas Backstrom that the Wild might not need to trade for a goalie before the deadline. "The confidence he has now, you can see that, and its just kind of the edge hes playing with thats good to see," Koivu said. "Hes playing winning hockey right now, so obviously thats a huge part of the team." Mikael Granlund had two assists while playing in the NHL for the first time against his brother Markus Granlund, who was called up from the AHL last week by the Flames. After a scoreless, sluggish and penalty-free first period, the pace picked up in the middle frame. Matt Cooke swooped in behind the net to poke the puck away from Berra. Brodziak crept toward the crease to corral the puck and knocked it in for the games first goal. "If you make a mistake the puck ends up in the net. I feel bad for the team because they played really hard tonight and we had a great chance to win," Berra said. Mike Cammalleri, playing perhaps his last game for the Flames with the NHL trade deadline looming on Wednesday, tied it 1-1 in the second period when Koivus pass ricocheted across the slot to him for an easy tap-in that Kuemper had no chance to stop. "No moral victories. We know theyre playing well, but wed like to win," Cammalleri said. With Coyle screening Berra on a power play, Spurgeon sent a slap shot through traffic for the lead. "We had to kind of grind that one out. I had a feeling this was going to be a difficult game for us right from the start," Yeo said. The Flames, buried in the Western Conference playoff race, could make some moves this week. Cammalleri scored for the first time since Jan. 6. He missed nine games during that stretch because of a concussion. "Cammi, you always know that hes going to show up to work," coach Bob Hartley said. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, as a guest of Wild owner Craig Leipold, watched from a suite. Leipold took him earlier in the day to Target Field, where baseballs Twins play, and TCF Bank Stadium, the football home of the University of Minnesota, for tours of possible outdoor game venues. The NHL put on six this season. Bettman has assured the Wild they will be awarded an outdoor game but hasnt committed to a timeframe. NOTES: Flames RW David Jones hurt his upper body in a collision against the boards. "It doesnt look very good," Hartley said. ... Koivu missed 17 games, plus the Olympics for his native Finland, because of a broken ankle. ... Markus Granlund posted his first NHL assist, on Giordanos goal. Fake NHL Jerseys .com) - Lloyd Sam struck in stoppage time on Wednesday as Red Bull New York hung on for a crucial 1-0 win over Atlantic Cup rivals D. Wholesale NHL Jerseys Online . -- Jerel Worthy and his Michigan State teammates charged across the field, holding four fingers in the air while celebrating another sweet victory over their biggest rival. http://www.cheapnhlcustomjerseys.com/ . Murray beat Sam Querrey 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 6-1, 6-3 to clinch Britains opening-round victory against the United States on Sunday at Petco Park. "Im proud of the way Im playing just now, because I had to do a lot of work to get back to where I want to be," Murray said after celebrating with his teammates on the red clay court in a temporary stadium in left field of the downtown home of baseballs San Diego Padres. NHL Jerseys From China . Forward Iker Muniain scored the winner in the 70th minute after Bilbaos incessant pressure recovered the ball and sparked a counterattack inside Barcelonas half. Neymar was once again tagged to pick up Messis goal-scoring duties, but when he wasnt frustrated by slippery footing Bilbaos defence got the better of him. Authentic NHL Jerseys Cheap . -- In the stadium program sold at the Miami Dolphins game on Halloween, Richie Incognito was asked whos the easiest teammate to scare.Hull FC moved back to the top of the Super League table with a convincing 36-12 win over Hull KR that also consigned their fierce rivals to the Middle 8s. Hull FC scored six tries in all with Mark Minichiello and Steve Michaels both scoring twice and Danny Houghton and Liam Watts also crossing the whitewash.Marc Sneyd converted all six tries and had a huge influence on the game with his crossfield kicking taking control of the game for his side after a nervy start. Hull KR were poor with their sets and missed several opportunities in the first half but did get two tries late in the second half through Adam Walker and Iain Thornley which Josh Mantellato converted.After suffering surprise back-to-back defeats, Hull answered their critics in emphatic fashion to displace Wigan at the top while the other beneficiaries were Wakefield, whose place in the top eight is guaranteed ahead of their trip to Catalans Dragons on Saturday.Not even the shock re-appearance of goalkicking winger Mantellato, three weeks ahead of schedule, could help Hull KR, who must fight for survival in the Qualifiers for a second successive season. Hull FC coach Lee Radford says he is extremely pleased with his sides win over Hull KR Yet there was little hint of the one-sided nature of the game after Rovers dominated the opening exchanges and the visitors ought to have taken the lead.Winger Ken Sio dropped Albert Kellys inch-perfect kick to the corner with a try beckoning and second rower James Donaldson crossed the line only to be brought back for a forward pass.Hull were far more clinical and never looked back after scoring two tries in a five-minute spell. Marc Sneyd analyses Hull FCs 36-12 win over Hull KR Prop Liam Watts charrged over after taking a smart pass from hooker Danny Houghton, who then read Sneyds kick off the side of his boot to collect and touch down for his sides second try.ddddddddddddCentre Mahe Fonua ought to have added a third shortly afterwards when he dropped Jordan Abdulls pass with the line breached but Hull duly increased their lead on 23 minutes when Sneyds grubber kick deceived Kelly and second rower Minichiello collected the ricochet to touch down for his first try.Sneyd kicked his third conversion to make it 18-0 and, although he caused some anxiety among the home fans when he went off after taking a knock three minutes before the interval, he was back for the start of the second half. Hull KR coach James Webster says Hull FC played extremely well and are a very powerful side Hull KR lost Donaldson to a heavy knock midway through the first half and they lost their way for the rest of the game as the Black and Whites continued to dominate at will.Minichiello demonstrated a devastating combination of pace and neat footwork to go over for his second try and right winger Michaels took Fonuas pass to cross for Hulls fifth of the night. Hull FCs Danny Houghton says their 36-12 win over Hull KR was a performance his side needed Sneyd, by then switched to full-back with veteran Leon Pryce partnering Abdull in the halves, maintained his unerring accuracy with a touchline conversion to make it 30-0 before prop Adam Walker charged through a rare chink in the Hull defence for a consolation try.The impressive Fonua sent Michaels away for his second try, to which Sneyd added his sixth goal from as many attempts, but the badly-beaten Robins had the final say when centre Iain Thornley went 50 metres for a try and Mantellato kicked his second conversion. ' ' '