DENVER -- Semyon Varlamov celebrated his new contract with another stellar performance in net. Varlamov had 35 saves, John Mitchell had a goal and an assist and the Colorado Avalanche edged the Minnesota Wild 5-4 on Thursday night. Matt Duchene had two assists for Colorado, which survived a flurry at the end to get the victory. Ryan OReilly, Paul Stastny, Nathan MacKinnon and Maxime Talbot also scored. It was quite a day for the 25-year-old Varlamov, who also finalized a five-year extension with Colorado that runs through the 2018-19 season. "It was a big day for us. Im sure its a great day for Varly as well," first-year coach Patrick Roy said. "He certainly deserved that contract. Were very happy its a done deal." The Avalanche acquired Varlamov from Washington in July 2011, and the Russian turned in a pair of inconsistent seasons under former coach Joe Sacco. He has flourished under the tutelage of Roy, a Hall of Fame goalie, and goaltender coach Francois Allaire, improving to 27-9-5 with Thursdays win. "Thank God the right people came to the team during the summer," Varlamov said. "Patrick, and especially Francois Allaire. Those guys helped me a lot. They changed my game." Colorado needed every bit of Varlamovs talent against Minnesota. He helped the Avalanche win the season series 4-0-1 and move nine points ahead of the Wild in the Central Division. Colorado has a firm grasp on third place and the final automatic playoff seed in the division. "It was a big game for us. We have three games in hand and were up (nine) points in the standings," Duchene said. "That puts us well ahead and we just have to keep taking care of business." Zach Parise had two goals and two assists and Mikael Granlund and Jason Pominville also scored for Minnesota, which went 9-4-1 in January to get into the thick of the post-season race. The Avalanche used a big second period to help cool off the Wild. Mitchell broke a 1-1 tie with his sixth goal of the season at 1:43. Stastny scored his 16th of the season on a rebound midway through the period, and Talbot used the stick of Wild centre Kyle Brodziak to make it 4-1 at 15:26. Brodziak had gathered a rebound in front of goalie Darcy Kuemper when Talbot came in from behind and hit the centres stick to put the puck in the net. "We were so good the first two periods," Roy said. "Offensively this is the best Ive seen our team play. We were cycling the puck, moving it quick. We had tons of chances." A minute later, Niklas Backstrom replaced Kuemper, who had 19 saves. "I let him know it wasnt him," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "I did it to try to change the momentum at that point." "Kuemper played a pretty good game even though he got pulled. He made some amazing saves on us," Duchene said. "It could have been 6-, 7-1 if not for him." Backstrom had nine stops the rest of the way, giving the Wild a chance to get back into it. Parises goal at 7:47 of the third made it 4-2. He then assisted on Granlunds goal at 12:51 that made it a one-score game. MacKinnon appeared to seal the win with his 19th of the season at 17:35 but Pominville scored 11 seconds later. Backstrom went off for an extra skater with 1:07 left but the Wild couldnt get the equalizer. "When you get behind the 8-ball like we did, its tough to get back," Pominville said. "They are a good team for a reason." Colorado took a 1-0 lead on OReillys 20th of the season at 4:41 of the first and Parise tied in on the power play 1:35 later. The Avalanche had three power-play chances to break the tie in the first but couldnt capitalize. Brodziak nearly scored a short-handed goal but Varlamov made a save on the odd-man rush. NOTES: Stastny left in the third period with a leg injury and did not return. ... Avalanche RW P.A. Parenteau was a healthy scratch for the second straight game. Parenteau played in three games after missing 10 with a sprained left knee. ... Wild D Jared Spurgeon skated with the team Thursday. He has been on injured reserve since Jan. 4 with a foot injury. Wholesale Yeezy China . And follow TSN.ca right through Wednesdays 3pm et trade deadline for all the updates. Blue line help for Red Wings? In addition to what he reported in Insider Trading, TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun wrote on ESPN. Yeezy China . As their best player continued to orchestrate his dramatic exit from the club, the Whitecaps added size and creativity at Thursdays Major League Soccer SuperDraft. https://www.yeezychina.us/. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no announcement was made. By releasing Bailey, the Broncos would open up cap space with the 12-time Pro Bowl player scheduled to make around $10 million next season. Wholesale Yeezy Shop . Napoli beat high-flying Hellas Verona 3-0 to keep up the pressure on the top two while AC Milan had another disappointing night as four goals from teenage forward Domenico Berardi saw relegation-threatened Sassuolo come back from two goals down to win 4-3. Clearance Yeezy For Sale . -- During Kansas shootaround on Wednesday before the Jayhawks faced Oklahoma, coach Bill Self told Wayne Selden Jr.CHICAGO -- Anthony Rizzo was responsible for two of Chicagos 17 strikeouts Sunday. He also had the biggest hit of the game for the Cubs. Rizzo hit a game-ending RBI single in the 12th inning, and the Cubs beat the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2 to avoid a three-game sweep. Last-place Chicago struck out 44 times in the weekend series, setting a team record for three consecutive games, but Rizzo and touted rookie Javier Baez had two hits apiece to key a 13-hit attack in the finale. Carlos Villanueva (5-6) pitched a scoreless inning to earn the victory. "We ran into three good pitchers, and their bullpen is very good, too," Rizzo said. "Obviously, we dont see them very often, so that makes it even tougher. Strikeouts are part of the game now. They happen." Baez struck out in the 12th, but reached on a wild pitch that moved Ryan Sweeney to third. Baez moved to second on another wild pitch by Cesar Ramos (2-4) before Rizzo lined a single over a five-man infield and into right-centre field. "It didnt bother me," Rizzo said of the crowded infield. "Im not a ground-ball hitter." The Rays lost for only the fifth time in their last 23 road games. They trail Kansas City by 6 1/2 games in the race for the second AL wild card. Tampa Bay grabbed a 2-1 lead in the seventh inning. Pinch-hitter Brandon Guyer got it started with a leadoff single against Neil Ramirez, who returned from the disabled list before the game. Guyer stole second and moved to third on a groundout before Desmond Jennings drove him in with a double. The Cubs responded with a two-out rally in the bottom half against Grant Balfour. Sweeney doubled and scored on Chris Coghlans triple. Rays right-hander Alex Cobb pitched six innings of one-run ball. He allowed six hits, struck out six and walked none. "Spectacular,"; Rays manager Joe Maddon said of his teams pitching in the series.dddddddddddd Travis Wood matched Cobb with a strong performance for the Cubs. The left-hander allowed an unearned run and four hits in six innings, but remains winless in his last 10 starts. Wood, one of the best hitting pitchers in the majors, also helped himself with a one-out single in the fifth. He moved up on a groundout and scored on Baezs single to centre. Baezs run-scoring hit atoned for an error in the top half that allowed a run to score. Curt Casali started the inning with a double for the Rays second hit of the game. Logan Forsythe walked with one out before Jennings hit a slow roller to second base. The charging Baez retrieved the ball in time to make the play, only to have his off-balance throw sail wide of first base. SO FAR Baez, who was promoted from Triple-A Iowa on Tuesday, hit .276 with three homers and five RBIs in his first five major league games. The 21-year-old Baez also was charged with two errors in the field. "We want him to trust his skill set," manager Rick Renteria said. "We also dont him to feel that he has to carry the team." NO RELIEF IN SIGHT Renteria conceded that bullpen management has been his greatest challenge as a first-year manager, a task made even greater by a slew of close games. Cubs relievers began the day with the third-most innings in the majors this season. "Thats one of the reasons why we carry eight relievers," Renteria said. "It has kind of worked out for the most part, but it is challenging, and well continue to do the best we can." ON DECK Rays left-hander Drew Smyly (6-10) is scheduled to open a four-game series at Texas on Monday night. Cubs right-hander Jake Arrieta (6-3) will take the mound for the start of a four-game set versus the Brewers on Monday. ' ' '