ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Minnesota Wild were denied at the net by Semyon Varlamov time after time, a 44-shot barrage in regulation that resulted in, alas, zero goals. Coach Mike Yeo jokingly wondered aloud at the third intermission whether his team was "psychotic" to put itself through such angst. After all, the way this sport often goes, the next score in the scoreless game had the strong potential to be one of those bad-bounce goals that make a night of domination go for naught. Mikael Granlund made sure that didnt happen. Granlunds diving goal 5:08 into overtime gave the Wild a 1-0 win over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 3 on Monday. Minnesota pulled within 2-1 in the best-of-seven series after Varlamov stopped 45 of 46 shots, a franchise playoff record for shots on goal by the Wild. "You see it so many times where teams do so well and get chance after chance after chance and then a fluky one goes in against you. Luckily. that wasnt the case," said Wild left wing Zach Parise. Granlund, who had a career-high seven shots on goal, sliced toward the crease and moved parallel to the net with some slick stick work. Avalanche defenceman Erik Johnson, who saved Game 1 by racing to swat away a shot on an empty net, lost his balance and tried unsuccessfully to dive at Granlund, who then began to fall forward. Granlund extended his stick to knock the puck in, and the celebration ensued. "We were playing really good. We were creating chances. We got rewarded. We need to just keep playing like that," Granlund said. Game 4 is at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday, when the Avalanche will be without defenceman Tyson Barrie. He took a knee-to-knee hit in the second period that yielded a penalty for Matt Cooke and a medial collateral ligament injury for Barrie. Coach Patrick Roy said hell be need four to six weeks to recover. "Knee on Tyson Barrie is without a doubt the play of the game. We lost our best offensive defenceman," Roy said, expressing confidence the NHL will suspend Cooke. Darcy Kuemper made 22 saves, and the Wild goalie in his first career playoff start was just as good as Varlamov. He said he had a feeling this would be a one-goal game. "I just tried to stick with it and make the saves I had to," Kuemper said. "My teammates were obviously playing unbelievable and making it easy on me. I was just trying to do my job and stay sharp." After the Avalanche line of Nathan MacKinnon, Paul Stastny and Gabe Landeskog combined for 17 points and seven goals over the first two games, the Wild kept them from doing any damage. The Wild shuffled their lines, with veteran Dany Heatleys move off the scratch list the most notable change, and played their style. They didnt get enough guys to the net for long rebounds Varlamov has a tendency to produce, but they completely controlled the flow, even if there wasnt much to show for it. "We were a little on our heels. We couldve been a little bit better, played a little more simple," MacKinnon said. After wasting a 4-2 lead in Game 1, giving up the tying goal with 13 seconds left to Stastny, as well as the overtime winner, the Wild badly needed to recapture some energy. They did from the opening faceoff, firing up a crowd thats been waiting 11 years for a playoff series victory. The Wild finally figured out how to contain the super-fast MacKinnon, forcing the 18-year-old wonder to have to stay in his own zone. They had the Avalanche on their heels for the majority of regulation. Cooke was all over the ice in his 100th career playoff game, colliding with just about every white Colorado jersey. "We didnt play up to what were capable of, theres no doubt. But Id rather give them credit. They played well. They were sharp. They were the better team on the ice," Roy said, adding yet more praise for Varlamov. Thanks to Granlund, the Wild avoided the huge hole. "Lets not kid ourselves. This is a huge win for us, not only to get the win but the way that we played the game, the way that we played our game," Yeo said. "We know that next game is going to be even bigger and a tougher test, and were going to have to be real good. But theres no question that we needed this one." Yeezy Boost 350 Wholesale China . 5 Trade Deadline isnt that far away and teams will be making decisions on whether to buy, sell and decide which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value. Womens Ultra Boost Cheap .Y. -- Sore nose and all, Sidney Crosby had a goal and three assists to help Pittsburgh beat Buffalo 5-3 on Friday night, snapping the Penguins mini-slump and slowing the Sabres late-season surge. http://www.ultraboostclearance.com/ultra-boost-parley-sale.html . The 33-year-old defender has spent his entire career at Chelsea, scoring 57 goals in 621 appearances. He regained his regular starting place under Jose Mourinho in the season that ended at the weekend without Chelsea winning a trophy. Adidas Ultra Boost Clearance Sale . The 29-year-old German, the 2011 overall World Cup champion, says she has decided "to end my career now. Pure Boost Shoes Sale .com) - John Wall supplied 24 points and 11 assists in leading the Washington Wizards to a 102-91 win over the New York Knicks on Christmas Day.New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Florida has ascended to the top spot in the mens college basketball rankings, ending Syracuses three-week reign at the top of the Associated Press poll. The Orange lost twice last week after starting the season 25-0, falling at home in overtime against a weak Boston College team before a controversial finish at Duke on Saturday. Florida, riding a 19-game winning streak, received 47 first-place votes and a total of 1,606 points from a nationwide media panel to move up from second, earning the No. 1 ranking for the first time since repeating as national champions in 2007. Wichita State, the only unbeaten team in Division I mens basketball, earned 14 first-place votes to move up to second, while Arizona picked up four top tallies and rose one place to third. Syracuse, the first No. 1 team to lose twice in the same week since Texas in 2010, dropped to fourth and is followed by Kansas, Duke, Louisville, Villanova, Creighton and Saint Louis. The second 10 consists of Cincinnati, Virginia, San Diego State, Wisconsin, Iowa State, Michhigan, Kentucky, Michigan State, North Carolina and Iowa.dddddddddddd. San Diego State had the biggest fall this week, dropping seven spots from sixth after a loss to New Mexico on Saturday. Memphis, Ohio State, SMU, Texas and New Mexico are the last five teams ranked this week. North Carolina, SMU and New Mexico are the newcomers, although each had been ranked earlier this season The Tar Heels began the season ranked 12th and had been unranked since early January, but have won nine straight to vault back into the poll. SMU was ranked two weeks ago, earning a spot in the poll for the first time since the 1984-85 season, but fell out last week after a loss to Temple. New Mexico, tied for first in the Mountain West Conference with San Diego State, began the season ranked 23rd and reached 19th before falling out of the rankings in late November. Connecticut, UCLA and Gonzaga dropped out. Gonzaga was 25th and lost twice last week. This weeks two ranked matchups wont take place until Saturday as Louisville visits Memphis and Virginia hosts Syracuse. ' ' '