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DENVER -- Nino Niederreiter hesitated for just a moment after scoring the winning goal, not sure if what he just saw actually occurred. It happened, all right. His Minnesota teammates suddenly skating over to mob him made the moment real. Niederreiter scored his second goal of the game at 5:02 in overtime after Ilya Bryzgalov made a big save filling in for the injured Darcy Kuemper, leading the Wild to a 5-4 win over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 7 on Wednesday night. The right winger was a rather unlikely star with his first two goals of the series. "An unbelievable feeling," said Niederreiter, whose team captured their first playoff series since 2003. "I think our heart made the difference tonight." Minnesota trailed 4-3 before Jared Spurgeon scored on a nifty play with 2:27 left in regulation. Spurgeon waited for a clear look at the goal, and then shot it over Semyon Varlamovs shoulder and off the left post. Mikko Koivu and Dany Heatley had the other goals for the Wild, who will face the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks in a second-round series that begins Friday. The two met last season, with the Blackhawks winning in five games. Nick Holden, Jamie McGinn, Paul Stastny and Erik Johnson scored for the Avalanche as they returned to the post-season for the first time since 2010 and tied a franchise record with 52 wins in capturing the Central Division. Not that its much consolation -- not now, anyway. "The toughest part is to not come back tomorrow and be ready for Chicago," first-year coach Patrick Roy said. "We believe in ourselves and its hard to see that its over. "Im sure tomorrow is going to hurt more thinking its over because we still have the emotion of the game." Rookie Nathan MacKinnon couldnt agree more. "It tarnishes the year a lot," said MacKinnon, who had two goals and eight assists in the series. "We wanted to make a run here and we had a chance twice to win the series, once in Game 6 and obviously tonight. Its tough to describe what went on. "Weve got to wait until September to get things going again, which is going to be a long summer, especially watching the playoffs. Its going to be tough." The Avalanche took a lead on four different occasions, only to have the Wild respond. Niederreiter won it for Minnesota on a 2-on-1 break when he sent a shot over Varlamovs shoulder in the fourth overtime of the series. "Its not easy to play against a good team," said Varlamov, whos a finalist for the Vezina Trophy thats given to the leagues top goaltender. "Theyve been playing well against us the whole series." Bryzgalov took over in net for Kuemper midway through the third. Bryzgalov started the series but was replaced by Kuemper in Game 2. The veteran Bryzgalov stopped a shot with his left shoulder early in the overtime, paving the way for Niederreiters winner. It was his only save in 13:15 of action. Now, like most of the season, the Wild have a concern at goalie, especially since coach Mike Yeo isnt sure how badly Kuemper is hurt. "If only we had any experience dealing with this," Yeo jokingly said. "Were fortunate we have good depth at that position." Roys first season on the bench for the Avalanche ended the same way his Hall of Fame goaltending career did -- with a loss to the Wild in Game 7. Roy surrendered the winning overtime goal in 2003. This one was just as agonizing. "We had our chance -- dont kid ourselves," Roy said. "We had our chance and they took advantage of theirs." Niederreiter was starting to heat up in Game 6, but couldnt find the net. That changed on Wednesday. "He raised the bar," Yeo said. "Got himself in trouble now, because this is what we expect." Niederreiter was only happy to contribute. "As a little kid, its exactly the moment you dream about," Niederreiter said. "Im very happy and fortunate that it happened tonight." NOTES: Minnesota F Matt Cooke served the fourth game of his seven-game suspension for his knee-to-knee hit on Avs D Tyson Barrie. Cooke has appeared in the most Game 7s (seven) of any Wild player. ... Yeo said this is the start of a "budding rivalry" between the two Central Division foes. ... Wild F Kyle Brodziak had three assists. ... Colorado Fs P.A. Parenteau and Matt Duchene each had two assists. This was Duchenes second game back after missing almost a month with a knee injury. Wholesale Basketball Jerseys . -- Former NHL star Jeremy Roenick shot a second-round 69 to take the lead after 36 holes and former LPGA great Annika Sorenstam and Chad Pfeifer, who lost his left leg above the knee serving in Iraq, are among several players in contention in the American Century Championship tournament on Saturday. Basketball Jerseys For Sale .Lets go back to the Avs, who have become one of the funnest teams to watch in this years playoffs. https://www.fakebasketballjerseys.com/ . - The first sign that Kansas Speedway was going to be a heartbreaker for Hendrick Motorsports should have come during qualifying when Jimmie Johnson inexplicably spun and earned one of his worst starting spots since 2005. Basketball Jerseys Black Friday . A last-minute leveler ensured the two-time defending champion remained nine points ahead of Roma, which drew 0-0 at bitter rival Lazio in the capital derby. Custom Basketball Jerseys .ca presents its latest weekly power rankings for the 2013-14 Barclays Premier League season.MIAMI -- Here they are again, back on the brink of a championship. It slipped away from the San Antonio Spurs last year, but it would take something special -- historic, actually -- to stop them now. The Miami Heat would have to make the biggest comeback in NBA Finals history. "Theyre the two-time champs, theyre a great team, and there is still one more game," Spurs guard Tony Parker said. "We have to win one more game." Kawhi Leonard had 20 points and 14 rebounds, and the Spurs routed the Heat again, winning 107-86 on Thursday night to open a commanding 3-1 lead. The Spurs can win their fifth NBA championship with a victory at home in Game 5 on Sunday and avenge their seven-game loss to Miami last year. They have three chances, and the way theyre dominating the Heat, they might need just one. "Im pleased that they performed as well as they did while weve been in Miami, and thats about as far as it goes," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Now weve got to go back home and play as well or better." LeBron James had 28 points and eight rebounds, but Dwyane Wade was just 1 of 10 through three quarters and finished with 10 points. "They smashed us," James said. "Two straight home games got off to awful starts. They came in and were much better than us in these last two games. Its just that simple." No team has overcome a 3-1 deficit in the finals, and the way the Heat were outclassed twice on their home floor makes it hard to imagine the two-time champions being the first. "We put ourselves in a position where it is about making history," James added. Parker added 19 points, and Tim Duncan had 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Spurs, who shot 57 per cent from the field and are hitting 54 per cent in the series. The Spurs lost twice in Miami to end last years finals, their only defeat in the championship round. They won their two games in South Florida this time by a combined 40 points. San Antonios surprising dominance has Miami on its heels, and unless Miami can figure things out quickly, the Heats two-year championship reign will come to an abrupt end. If this was the last home game of the season in Miami, it looked and sounded nothhing like the ones to end the last two years, which featured confetti falling and trophies raised.dddddddddddd This one had the unfamiliar sound of boos late in the first half and a chant of "Go Spurs Go!" with under 3 minutes left from the San Antonio fans who remained long after many of Miamis had bolted. A Heat win Sunday would force a Game 6 in Miami Tuesday. The Heat had followed their last 13 post-season losses with a victory, but now at the end of a fourth straight season that has gone the distance, they might be out of gas. Miami seemed to lack the energy -- or maybe effort -- to defend San Antonios precision ball movement for the full 24 seconds, and time after time the Spurs ended up with a shot from somebody who didnt have a defender nearby. Not quite as sharp as when they shot a finals-record 75.8 per cent in the first half Tuesday night, the Spurs were still plenty good enough to open another huge lead by halftime, and they withstood every attempt Miami made to make a run. "We were expecting a reaction from them but we were ready for it, so we just did the same thing," Spurs forward Boris Diaw said. The Spurs knew their defence had to be better, realizing their once-in-a-lifetime, 19-for-21 start in Tuesdays 111-92 Game 3 victory covered the fact that they allowed Miami to make more than 50 per cent in the game. They held Miami to 35 per cent in the first half. "They played great and I can honestly say I dont think any of us were expecting this type of performance," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. San Antonio blew the game open late in the second quarter with seven straight points, capped by Leonards soaring follow dunk that made it 55-33. James, who battled cramps in Game 1, left the court and briefly returned to the locker room midway through the first quarter Thursday. But he had 10 quick points in the third quarter to bring Miami within 13, but San Antonio pushed it to 81-57 after three and never looked back. Notes: Under Popovich, the Spurs have won 15 of the 18 best-of-seven series in which they led 2-1. ... The Heat hadnt lost back-to-back games in the playoffs since dropping three straight against the Boston Celtics in the 2012 Eastern Conference finals. ' ' '