Avalanche Ties Wild

Eric Messier scored two early goals Sunday night in Denver to help the Colorado Avalanche gain a 3-3 tie with the Minnesota Wild.

Colorado outshot the Wild, 45-16, but failed to gain ground on Minnesota, the Northwest Division leader. The Wild have an NHL-high 14 points to Colorado’s 10.

In the third period, Minnesota’s Pascal Dupuis beat Patrick Roy on a breakaway at 11:35. Antti Laaksonen scored on a rebound of Willie Mitchell’s shot from the slot at 14:50.

Chicago 3, San Jose 2 -- Sergei Berezin scored twice on first-period power plays and Jocelyn Thibault stopped 34 shots at Chicago as the Blackhawks ended a three-game winless streak.

San Jose goaltender Evgeni Nabokov made 18 saves in his first game since he ended a holdout Tuesday by signing a two-year contract.