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ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Matching the Chicago Blackhawks is a tough task, and the Minnesota Wild werent going to catch up without more presence and production from their top forwards. After a couple of quiet games and two sluggish periods, Mikael Granlund, Zach Parise and the rest of the Wilds skill-position players came to life. Granlund scored twice, Parise had a goal and an assist, and Erik Haula jump-started the Wild by scoring early in the third period in a 4-0 victory over the Blackhawks on Tuesday in Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinal series. "The big guys definitely came through tonight," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. Ilya Bryzgalov made 19 saves for his first shutout in the playoffs in eight years, and the Blackhawks had their lead whittled to 2-1 with their first loss in 2 1/2 weeks. "Today is a tremendous team effort," Bryzgalov said. "We play very, very, very nice hockey." Game 4 is Friday in Minnesota. The announced attendance of 19,416 was the most in franchise history, but the atmosphere didnt match that until shortly after the second intermission. Pucks were whizzing way wide of the net, and clogged shooting lanes led to plenty of thwarted opportunities for both sides. "Theyre probably as tight a team as were going to play all year," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. Haula finally brought the fans to their feet. The rookie centre from Finland, once a standout for the University of Minnesota, started the play from the neutral zone and finished in front of the rush for a tap-in of Justin Fontaines slick pass through the defence. Then less than 3 minutes later, Granlund took a pass from Jason Pominville and went to his backhand to slip a high shot past Corey Crawfords glove for the 2-0 lead. The crowd began to taunt the goalie with a "Craw-ford! Craw-ford!" chant, and Parise put the exclamation point on the night with a power-play goal, the first in 25 chances for the Wild over their last two playoff series against the Blackhawks. Then Granlund tacked on an empty-netter with 1:17 left. "We know when we play like we can, we can beat any team in this league, especially here at home," Granlund said. Crawford stopped only 14 shots for the Blackhawks, who dropped their first two games to St. Louis in the last round before winning four in a row. Since losing to the Blues on April 19, they took the lead in all six games and outscored their opponents 23-9. Despite outscoring the Wild 9-3 in the first two games of this series, the Blackhawks have not been able to test Bryzgalov much. "We cant let it frustrate us. We just have to do something about it," captain Jonathan Toews said, adding: "Theyre a smart defensive team. Give them credit. But its more about what were not doing." The blue liners were in full force early for Blackhawks, who blocked a whopping 25 shots in Game 2, six more than the Wild even sent at the net. Niklas Hjalmarsson bravely took one on the neck Sunday, and while the seventh-year veteran was cleared to play, the Swede wasnt even allowed to talk. Quenneville said before the game he wasnt worried about any communication problems between Hjalmarsson and his teammates. Had he been able to yell, Hjalmarsson wouldve been easy to hear for most of the night. For all the noise this crowd made in the last round, the synergy between vocal fan support and a relentless attack by the Wild was largely missing during the first 40 minutes. Yeo said this was the tightest-checking game hed ever been a part of. The offence came, eventually. Pominville has only one goal in nine playoff games, but he had two assists in this one. Mikko Koivu didnt make the scoring summary, but Yeo said his captain played a critical part in helping stifle the Blackhawks and their top lines. None of the Wilds top six forwards scored in the first two games, with Parise and Pominville managing the only assists. The Wild faced yet another desperate situation after trailing 2-0 in the last round against the Colorado Avalanche. "It was pretty familiar territory for us. We knew we had to win the game," Parise said. NOTES: The Blackhawks scratched defenceman Nick Leddy, his first absence since his rookie season of 2010-11. Quenneville said he wanted Sheldon Brookbank in the lineup for a physical presence. ... Bryzgalov had three shutouts in the 2006 playoffs for Anaheim. Ryan Pressly Astros Jersey .com) - Kam Chancellor bobbed his head in celebration as he crossed the goal line on his game-clinching 90-yard interception return. Cesar Geronimo Astros Jersey .com) - Pittsburgh Steelers running back LeVeon Bell, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Elvis Dumervil and New England Patriots punter Ryan Allen were selected as the AFCs top players for Week 14 of the NFL season. https://www.cheapastros.com/1403o-jeff-kent-jersey-astros.html . TSN 1290s Jordan Cieciwa, Big Marv and Toby are here to give their predictions on who will leave with the belt and who will take some of the other key bouts on the card. Johny Hendricks vs. Don Larsen Jersey . The moves were the first punitive steps taken by the Dolphins since a report on the NFLs investigation of the case was released last week. Investigators found that guard Richie Incognito and two teammates engaged in persistent harassment directed at tackle Jonathan Martin, another offensive lineman and an assistant trainer. Jose Cruz Jersey . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain.RENTON, Wash. - Malcolm Smith tracked the eyes of quarterback Tarvaris Jackson and leapt into the air, snagging the football with one hand for an interception before racing 60 yards in the opposite direction for a touchdown. Earl Thomas, K.J. Wright and other members of Seattles defence chased Smith to the end zone, shouting "MVP! MVP!" Not a bad first full day back on the practice field for Seattles Super Bowl MVP. "That was a terrific play by him," defensive co-ordinator Dan Quinn said. "Its awesome to have him back out here." Smith has been sidelined throughout the entire off-season while recovering from ankle surgery this spring. He showed Tuesday that hes itching to get back to work with his teammates. "You come off a pretty good game — we did some great stuff in the Super Bowl — and then (the off-season) was just a lull for me," Smith said. "A lot of down time. A lot of watching and a lot of learning. Dealing with my own emotions and stuff every day. It was good to get out here today and start moving around a little bit." While Smith had been able to participate in walkthroughs with the team, he was held out of practice until this week. Smith was limited on Monday before taking on a larger workload Tuesday. His leaping interception was the highlight of practice for the Seahawks. "He made a cameo appearance and showed what MVPs do," linebackers coach Ken Norton said. "It was really good for him to get some work, some good positive work, and now his confidence is back where it was before and were excited about putting good daays together for him to play this week.dddddddddddd" Smith may not play this Friday in Seattles third preseason game against the Chicago Bears, but he is on track to be ready by the start of the regular season. "If we had a game today, I feel like I could play," Smith said. "So, you know, Ill just keep building from there and try to get the most out of my ankle." A former seventh-round draft pick, Smith has continued to develop into a trusted member of the Seahawks defence. Norton and head coach Pete Carroll recruited Smith to USC in 2007. After Carroll left USC for the Seahawks in 2010, Smith was again reunited with his old coaching staff when he was selected with the 242nd pick of the 2011 draft. "Hes been with us forever, since like fourth grade it seems," Carroll joked. "Hes a real fixture in our defence. We love his flexibility. Hes such a great playmaker so its great to get him back." Smith played in 15 regular-season games for Seattle last season, making eight starts. He racked up 54 tackles, two interceptions, a sack and a forced fumble during the regular season, but took his game to another level in the playoffs. In the NFC championship against the San Francisco 49ers, Smith hauled in an interception on a tipped pass by Richard Sherman that clinched the 23-17 victory for the Seahawks. Then in the Super Bowl against the Denver Broncos, Smith returned a deflected Peyton Manning pass 69 yards for a touchdown and recovered a fumble by Demaryius Thomas. He also recorded 10 tackles. ___ AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '