An die SV » his and I think were proving to everyone that weve

ST. PAUL, Minn. - After failing to protect a lead two nights ago against one of the NHLs worst teams, the Minnesota Wild held on late against a fellow playoff contender. Zach Parise broke a tie early in the third period, and Darcy Kuemper stopped 29 shots to break the franchise rookie victory record in Wilds 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Thursday night. After Jason Pominville had several whacks at the puck from in close, Parise stuffed it past Rangers backup goalie Cam Talbot 1:03 into the third. "Yeah, its going to be important from here on out to learn how to protect leads and win games the hard way," Parise said. "Tonight, it was a hard game, the way they played. They were in our face all the time through the neutral zone." Two nights after Kuemper failed hold a three-goal lead against Edmonton, he bounced back for his 12th victory. Nino Niederreiter also scored to help the Wild snap a three-game losing streak. Derek Stepan scored for the Rangers, who buzzed around the net in the final seconds, but couldnt get one past Kuemper. New York lost its second straight and for only the seventh time on the road in its last 24 games. "After they scored their second goal in the third period, they sort of backed off a little bit on their forecheck, and we were able to get some chances there but werent able to finish," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. Kuempers highlights included a save from close range on Derick Brassard with 8 seconds left and a key stop on Rick Nash when the Rangers were on the power play late in the third. After the game, Kuemper was asked if he felt any added pressure after Tuesday nights collapse. "No, you know what, maybe a little bit before the game. But once you get out there its just another game and you just want to do what youve done all year," he said. "I think as a whole we did a good job of that." Niederreiter scored from the slot in the first after confusion between Nash and John Moore led to a turnover deep in the New York zone. Stepan tied it on the power play at 3:19 of the second with a wrist shot that Kuemper never saw. Stepan hit the post on a shot 15 seconds earlier. It was the second straight game New York was held to a single goal. "I dont think it was so much them, I think were more worried about ourselves," Nash said. "We have to establish more offence, more shots. Its just not going our way right now. Weve got to work through this." Talbot — starting the first game of a back-to-back in place of Henrik Lundqvist — made 24 saves. Both teams are trying to hold down playoff spots as the season winds down. The Wild are in the top wild-card slot in the Western Conference, while the Rangers are in a battle to finish among the top three teams in the Metropolitan Division in the East. "What I liked was the two goals that we scored were goals that we can score in the playoffs," said Wild coach Mike Yeo, whose team has played in six straight one-goal games, going 3-1-2. "Those are the kind of goals that we have to score going forward. That was one of our keys to the game, we need a playoff offence mentality. I still think we can be a little bit more aggressive to the net." NOTES: While calling the game from between the benches in the first period, Wild television analyst Mike Greenlay took an accidental stick to the face from New Yorks Mats Zuccarello. Greenlay got stitches during the intermission and called the rest of the game with a small bandage under his left eye. "Upper body injury," Yeo joked after the game. ... Stepan has 10 points in his last eight games. New York lost for only the second time when Stepan scores. ... Parises goal was his 23rd, one behind Pominville for the team lead. Jesse Chavez Rangers Jersey . Iwakuma pitched seven strong innings to stay unbeaten in road games since last July, leading the Seattle Mariners to a 5-2 win over the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday night. Elvis Andrus Jersey . JOHNS, N. https://www.cheaprangersbaseball.com/392h-hunter-pence-jersey-rangers.html . It was the start of one nice night for the goalie and the Minnesota Wild. Backstrom made 33 saves in his first win of the season and the Wild defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 5-3 on Saturday in a rematch of their first-round playoff series. Ronald Guzman Rangers Jersey . Raonic, the mens No. 8 seed from Thornhill, Ont., needed more than three hours to overcome Frenchman Gilles Simon 4-6, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 and become the first Canadian man into the fourth round at Roland Garros. Rusty Greer Rangers Jersey . "If we could score a six in every game, obviously I would be pretty excited," Jones said. "Its a long week but a short week. Its a pretty short round robin from what were used to so you dont want to get behind the eight ball early. PITTSBURGH -- Ryan Braun already was being booed loudly and that was before he hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning. Braun hit two homers, including a two-run shot with two outs in the ninth inning that sent the Milwaukee Brewers over the Pittsburgh Pirates 8-7 Saturday night. Braun has five home runs this season after being suspended for the last 65 games of 2013 following Major League Baseballs investigation into the Biogenesis drug scandal. The other three homers came in one game on April 8 at Philadelphia as did seven of his 13 RBIs. Because he has been so prominently associated with performance-enhancing drugs, Braun is jeered wherever. That was the case when he stepped to the plate in the ninth inning and hit the go-ahead drive to centre field off Pirates closer Jason Grilli (0-1), his second blown save in six opportunities. Jean Seguras two-out single kept the inning going for Braun, who had three hits and three RBIs. "The booing is just part of the territory and I take it as a challenge instead of personally," Braun said. "If I make an out, its going to make them (cheer) but if I get a hit then its going to give me a good feeling. Id rather feel good." Braun and the Brewers were feeling good after raising their record to a league-best 13-5, including 5-1 against the Pirates. "Grillis a tough matchup for anybody and Braunie just crushed that ball," Brewers manager Ron Roenicke said. "That was impressive." Grilli wasnt very impressed by himself for giving up Seguras hit on an 0-2 count. "You cant give up a hit in that situation. You either put him away or waste a pitch," Grilli said. "That bothers me more than the home run." Jonathan Lucroy hit three doubles and drove in two runs for the Brewers. Mark Reynolds hit his fourth homer. Ike Davis doubled, singled and walked in his first game for the Pirates. The first baseman was acquired from the New York Mets iin a trade Friday night.dddddddddddd Jim Henderson (2-0) pitched a scoreless eighth for the win and Francisco Rodriguez finished for his sixth save in as many opportunities. Braun got the Brewers within a run at 7-6 when he hit a solo homer in the seventh off Tony Watson. Neither starter pitched well. Milwaukees Matt Garza allowed five earned runs in five innings, Wandy Rodriguez gave up four runs in four innings. Clint Barmes and pinch hitter Travis Snider hit consecutive two-run singles to cap a five-run fourth inning that put the Pirates ahead 6-4. Lucroy had an RBI grounder in the fifth to make it a one-run game. Andrew McCutchen made it 7-5 with an RBI double in the Pirates sixth but Braun rallied the Brewers to victory. "Its a game we probably shouldnt have won but good teams find a way to win a game like this and I think were proving to everyone that weve got a pretty good team," Braun said. NOTES: The Pirates designated 1B Travis Ishikawa for assignment to clear a roster spot for the addition of Davis, activated C Chris Stewart from the disabled list and optioned C Tony Sanchez to Triple-A Indianapolis. . Pittsburgh SS Jordy Mercer did not play because of a sore left ankle. He was injured Friday night when Milwaukee C Martin Maldonado slid into him at second base while trying to break up a double play. INF Clint Barmes started in Mercers place. . Brewers 1B Lyle Overbays three-day paternity leave ends Sunday and he will return to the team for the finale of the four-game series. Milwaukee is likely to place OF Logan Schafer, who has a strained right hamstring, on the 15-day disabled list in order to open a roster spot for Overbay. . Brewers RHP Marco Estrada (1-1, 3.06) will face Pirates RHP Gerrit Cole (2-1, 4.74) on Sunday. Estrada is 5-0 in his career against the Pirates with a 2.06 ERA in 11 games, including eight starts.724-312-9796 ' ' '