Parise lifts Wild past Avalanche 5-2, series tied 3-3

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Zach Parise scored early and late on tipped shots, and the Minnesota Wild tacked on two empty-net goals for a 5-2 victory against the Colorado Avalanche on Monday night that sent the first-round playoff series to a decisive Game 7.

Parise and Mikko Koivu each had two assists. The teams will meet again in Denver on Wednesday night, with the winner taking on the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference semifinals.

Parise scored 49 seconds into the game and Mikael Granlund made it 2-0 later in the first period, but a costly turnover by Ryan Suter at the end of a failed 5-on-3 situation led to a game-changing short-handed goal for the Avalanche when Paul Stastny scored for the fourth time in the series.

Nick Holden got the tying goal in the second period to stop the power-play skid for the Avalanche, who had been denied by a resurgent Wild penalty-kill unit in 19 of 20 prior opportunities in the series.

Matt Duchene returned to the Avalanche lineup and notched an assist, but Parise stole the show for the home team. Parked in the crease with the season on the line, he took a shove in the back from goalie Semyon Varlamov and then outmuscled defenseman Erik Johnson for position on Koivu's shot from behind the circle with 6:29 left in the game.

Avalanche coach Patrick Roy pulled Varlamov with 2:44 remaining, and this time the daring move backfired after it led to tying goals in Games 1 and 5. Jason Pominville and Marco Scandella found the back of the net for the Wild, who got 21 saves from Darcy Kuemper.

Nathan MacKinnon's league-leading 10 points, accumulated over all three Avalanche home games, have been one of the biggest stories of the NHL playoffs so far. The 18-year-old whiz hasn't played as well on the road in this series, though, and with a mere 26 seconds elapsed he was sent to the penalty box for holding.

Parise scored just 49 seconds into the game on a power play and Mikael Granlund made it 2-0 later in the first period, but a costly turnover by Suter at the end of a failed 5-on-3 situation led to a short-handed goal for the Avalanche when Paul Stastny scored for the fourth time in the series.

Nick Holden got the tying goal in the second period to stop the power-play skid for the Avalanche, who had been denied by a resurgent Wild penalty-kill unit in 19 of 20 previous opportunities in the series. The Wild stumbled through to the second intermission, lacking the edge they had here throughout Games 3 and 4 and in the first period of this Game 6, and the atmosphere in the building became anxious, with one more goal by the Avalanche holding the power to end the home team's season.

So Wild coach Mike Yeo gave his team a spark by reuniting Parise on the first line with center Mikko Koivu, who had two assists.

"I think we started to get a little bit of fear in our game. Not necessarily afraid of them, just afraid maybe of what we were losing," Yeo said, adding: "Both of those guys were leading the charge up front and for me, their determination, their kind of get-after-it attitude, I wanted those guys going out together."

Parked in the crease with the season on the line, Parise took a shove in the back from goalie Semyon Varlamov and then outmuscled defenseman Erik Johnson for position on Koivu's shot from behind the circle that he knocked in with his stick with 6:29 left in the game.

Roy pulled Varlamov with 2:44 remaining, and this time the daring move backfired after it led to tying goals for the Avalanche in Games 1 and 5. Jason Pominville and Marco Scandella found the back of the net for the Wild, and the celebration was on.

Matt Duchene returned to the Avalanche lineup and notched an assist in extensive time on the power play, after missing the last month due to a left knee injury. The Avalanche leader with 70 points during the regular season, Duchene wasn't cleared for action until minutes before faceoff.

"He was flying out there. He was playing well. He was playing hard," Roy said.

He wasn't the only one. Ryan O'Reilly had two assists, and the Avalanche refused to express any frustration afterward, even though they'll be in an elimination situation for the first time in the series.

"If that's what it's going to need to be, then that's what it's going to need to be," Avalanche right wing P.A. Parenteau said. "It's been a battle back and forth with the Wild. We're lucky we have the home ice advantage, but we're going to have to be ready."