After getting outplayed in a pair of close road losses, the Colorado Avalanche hope to regain a series lead when they return home to face the Minnesota Wild in Game 5 tonight. Caris LeVert Jersey . Colorado scored nine times en route to winning the first two games of this Western Conference first round series, but the Wild evened the best-of-seven set with a pair of defensive-minded victories on home ice. The game can be seen live on TSN at 9:30pm et/6:30pm pt. Minnesota notched a 1-0 overtime victory in Game 3 at Xcel Energy Center and then posted a 2-1 win on Thursday to knot the series at two games apiece. A switch in net has been part of the equation in getting Minnesota back in this series, but a better overall team effort on defense also has helped. Ilya Bryzgalov, the loser in Games 1 and 2, faced 45 shots in 99 minutes of action over Games 1 and 2, while Darcy Kuemper has seen just 48 pucks fired his way in 150 minutes of work. Kuemper relieved Bryzgalov in Game 2 and posted a 22-save shutout when called upon to start Game 3. The 23-year-old rookie then faced only 12 shots to post the victory on Thursday. The 12 shots allowed were a postseason club record for the Wild and the second-fewest amount of shots yielded by a team in a playoff game since 2008, behind only the 10 given up by Calgary on April 15, 2008. "We spent a lot of time in their zone, but I think were doing well without the puck. Were doing a better job of denying their speed," Wild forward Zach Parise said. Charlie Coyle and Jared Spurgeon each scored once to help Kuemper earn the win. "Ive kind of learned the importance of showing confidence in yourself because I think the players feed off that a little bit," Kuemper said. "It relaxes them in the defensive zone, but its easy to do when theyre playing the way they are in front of me." Ryan OReilly registered the lone goal for Colorado, while Semyon Varlamov stopped 30 shots in the setback. Avalanche forwards Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Paul Stastny each were held without a point in Games 3 and 4 after giving Minnesota fits in the first two contests. Stastny had three goals and four assists in Games 1 and 2, MacKinnon notched a goal and six helpers in those outings and Landeskog posted three goals. Landeskog, Colorados young captain, hopes a change of venue can get the clubs offense back on track. "We know that were strong at home," Landeskog said. "Were just going to go home and regroup and get back to work on Saturday." Matt Duchene took part in an optional morning skate Saturday but will not play tonight. The Avalanches leading scorer has been out since damaging the MCL in his left knee when he ran into a teammate against San Jose on March 29. Head coach Patrick Roy will wait to see how Duchenes knee responds after todays initial practice and will have a further update on Sunday. The Avs, Central Division champions and the second seed in the West, were 26-11-4 on home ice during the 2013-14 regular season. Minnesota was just 17-17-7 on the road. Minnesotas Matt Cooke served the first contest of his seven-game suspension for kneeing Colorados Tyson Barrie in Game 3. Barrie is out four-to-six weeks with a sprained medial collateral ligament in his left knee. Game 6 of this set is scheduled for Monday in Minnesota. If necessary, Colorado will host Game 7 on Wednesday. Custom Brooklyn Nets Jerseys . Top-seeded Djokovic, who is making only his second appearance this year after reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, was a 6-3, 6-3 winner over 54th-ranked Istomin of Uzbekistan. "It wasnt as easy as the scoreline indicates," said Djokovic, who has won in Dubai on four occasions. Kyrie Irving Jersey . - Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Jason Babin is now a free agent. https://www.netsrookiesshop.com/Taurean-Prince-City-Edition-Jersey/ . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers.Now the Olympic hockey tournament begins for the Canadian womens hockey team. And it wont be as easy as Saturdays one-sided laugher against Switzerland; a game in which Canada outshot its opponents 69-14 en route to a 5-0 victory. Mondays game (10 a.m. ET) against Finland promises to be tougher. That said, the strategy for Canada remains the same according to Melodie Daoust. “I think we need to keep shooting the puck like we did against Switzerland,” Daoust said. “And I think using our speed will be a big part of our game.” Finland is a formidable opponent and is coming off a hard-fought 3-1 loss to the United States. The Finns have finished third or fourth at every Olympics and world championship they have competed in. They won the Olympic bronze medal in 1998 and 2010 in Vancouver. American Jessie Vetter was complimentary of Team Finland after she and her teammates won Saturday. “Its not easy playing a team like Finland,” Vetter said. They are a tough team with a goaltender who keeps them in the game. Im just happy we won the opening match.” Finnish goalie has game The Finnish goaltender, Noora Raty, is capable of winning games on her own. The 24-year-old, who has been with the national team since she wass 15 and played four years at the University of Minnesota, shut out the United States 1-0 at the 2008 world championship. Garrett Temple Jersey. Canada knows all about coming up against a hot goaltender. Swiss stopper Florence Schelling played brilliantly Saturday, making 64 saves as Team Canada held a huge territorial edge in play, but were unable to score on many of their chances. It likely wont be any easier against Raty. “We know we have to be better as we move forward,” said Canadian veteran Hayley Wickenheiser. “But these countries are getting harder to play against. The difference between the countries is narrowing, but it comes down to fitness and conditioning, and the fact that we are able to train and play together more.” Vetter had some words of advice for Team Canada about facing the Finns. “Youve got to be mentally in it,” Vetter said. “Finland is a great side who play great transitions and you need to make those saves. Their conditioning and speed makes them a team you cant look past.” Rebecca Johnston paced Canada with a goal and two assists against Switzerland. Wickenheiser scored a short-handed goal and other singles went to Jocelyne Larocque, Tara Watchorn and Marie-Philip Poulin. ' ' '