it hurts. But if you get that ball-on-bone sound -- that

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Nathan MacKinnon had been waiting for the puck to go in for him. The Colorado Avalanche center entered his fourth NHL season with plenty of promise, only to score just twice in the seasons first 15 games.The top overall draft pick in 2013 was feeling a bit better Saturday night after scoring the game-winning goal.MacKinnon brought the puck up the center of the ice and used a Wild defenseman to screen his shot, scoring with 10 minutes left to finish off Colorados third-period comeback. He added an assist in the Avalanches 3-2 win at Minnesota.MacKinnon has scored in back-to-back games to rekindle hopes of a big season after he signed a seven-year, $44.1 million contract extension in the offseason.I feel like Ive had a lot of good chances the first 17 games, MacKinnon said. When I went 10 straight without a goal, I felt like, you dont deserve goals, but you feel like youre around the net and it should start going in. It was tough there for a while and its nice to finally see a couple go in, for sure.Calvin Pickard stopped 41 shots in beating the Wild for the second time this season. Hes allowed two goals on 73 shots.If youre sharp, they throw a lot of pucks to the net and both games weve played weve been good at boxing out rebounds and letting me see the puck, Pickard said. We did that again tonight, with big efforts from our D and our forwards helping out down low as well.The Avalanche trailed 2-0 heading into the final period, but goals by Mikko Rantanen and Carl Soderberg just 3 minutes apart tied the game.Devan Dubnyk made 31 saves for Minnesota, but his shutout streak was snapped at 156 minutes, 6 seconds. Charlie Coyle and Tyler Graovac scored for the Wild, who had been 6-0-1 when leading after two periods.We stopped playing, Dubnyk said. I dont know what happened. Thats not like us. Things are going to happen, and they might get one or two, but we just stopped playing in our end. I dont know if we thought it was going to be an easy third with the way the game was going, but we had a pretty good game going and thats a waste of a game.Colorado earned its first victory of the season when trailing after two. The Avalanche were 0-9-0 when entering the second intermission with a deficit.Third periods havent been our friend this season, MacKinnon said. Weve been struggling late in games. For whatever reason, we cant seem to tie it up and get the win. Were going to feed off this. Scoring three goals in the third period is big, after being shut out after two. Beating a goalie like Dubnyk is no easy task.Dubnyk had allowed just nine goals in his previous nine starts.The flurry of goals came in the third, but the teams traded shots in the first. They combined for 41 shots in the period, setting a Minnesota record for one period. The Wild had 21 shots, a franchise mark for the first period.Game notes Minnesota forward Zach Parise was scratched prior to the game with an illness. He had returned to play two games after missing six because of a lower-body injury. ... Colorado C Matt Duchene (concussion) missed his fourth straight game, while F Gabriel Landeskog (lower-body injury) missed his second game in a row. ... The Avalanche were fifth in the NHL in most penalty minutes per game coming in and proceeded to take five minor penalties. The Wild went 1 of 4 on the power play. ... Minnesota started a stretch of three straight games and four of five against Central Division opponents. ... Wild D Marco Scandella (high ankle sprain) returned to practice Friday. Scandella has missed eight games and is eligible to return from long-term injured reserve next week.UP NEXTAvalanche: Colorados three-game road trip ends Monday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.Wild: Minnesota has a one-game trip to Dallas on Monday. 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CHICAGO -- The Kansas City Royals will try to preserve their slim hopes for the postseason when they open a three-game series against the host Chicago White Sox on Friday night.The defending World Series champion Royals (72-67) have lost five of their past eight contests and trail the Baltimore Orioles by four games for the American Leagues second wild-card spot. Three other contenders -- the Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros and New York Yankees -- are ahead of the Royals in the wild-card pursuit.A matchup against the underwhelming White Sox (67-72) could help Kansas City gain ground in the standings. The Royals are 9-3 against Chicago this season after winning 12 of 19 games against the South Siders in 2015.Right-hander Yordano Ventura (10-9, 4.22 ERA) will start the series opener for the Royals. The hard-throwing, hot-tempered 25-year-old started the season poorly but has proved to be much better in recent weeks. In his previous six starts, he is 4-0 with a 2.23 ERA.Ventura ignited a bench-clearing incident with the White Sox last season after he exchanged words with outfielder Adam Eaton. However, he showed no signs of losing his composure in his most recent meeting against Chicago on June 12 as he struck out a season-high 10 batters in seven innings to earn the victory. He is 3-3 with a 4.33 ERA in nine career starts against the White Sox.Opposing Ventura will be White Sox left-hander Carlos Rodon (6-8, 3.90 ERA), who also has been on a hot streak. The 23-year-old is 4-0 with a 1.91 ERA in his past six outings. He has walked eight and struck out 31 in that span.Rodon has fared well against Kansas City durinng his brief career.dddddddddddd In three starts, he is 1-1 with a 2.55 ERA.Kansas City hopes to have one of its best players back in the lineup to face the White Sox. Catcher Salvador Perez could return after missing a game because of a bruised right wrist. Perez was hit by a fastball Tuesday and sat out Wednesdays series finale against the Minnesota Twins.The four-time All-Star is hitting .254 with 20 home runs and 59 RBI in 122 games this season.Im hoping that hes ready to play, Royals manager Ned Yost told the Kansas City Star before the team traveled to Chicago. Most of the time, you get hit by a pitch and it hurts. But if you get that ball-on-bone sound -- that crunching sound -- its not a good sound.For the White Sox, first baseman Jose Abreu will look to continue his torrid hitting. The Cuban slugger is hitting .447 (17-for-38) with five home runs and 15 RBI during his past eight games. He has boosted his season totals to a .298 average with 23 home runs and 88 RBI in 136 games.Ive been having some ups and downs during this season, Abreu said. I think everybody knows that. But I think fighting through all those stretches (has helped). ... Right now, Im having my best moment in this whole season, and thats part of all my work and all the advice that Ive been getting from different people, especially from the hitting coach.This is a long season. No matter what, how good or bad your first half was, you still have the second half to do better. Thats what Ive been trying to do. ' ' '