MINNEAPOLIS -- Aaron Rodgers has the Green Bay Packers rolling, even without three of his best receivers. Theres a powerful running game on his side now, as if Rodgers needed any more help. Ignoring the injuries around him, Rodgers picked apart whats left of Minnesotas depleted defence by throwing two first-half touchdown passes to Jordy Nelson and guiding the Packers to a 44-31 victory Sunday night. "I think this is really shaping up to be one of Aarons best years," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "Aarons had a lot of challenges Monday through Saturday that dont show up on the stat sheet, just trying to get on the same page with younger players and trusting the game plan." Missing Randall Cobb, James Jones and Jermichael Finley, Rodgers finished 24 for 29 for 285 yards to help the Packers (5-2) stay in first place in the NFC North. "We expect greatness out of our guys," Rodgers said. Christian Ponders encore went poorly for the Vikings (1-6), who sent out a different starting quarterback for the third straight week. Adrian Peterson gained a quiet 60 yards on 13 carries, Greg Jennings had just one catch against his old team and the Vikings offence counted only three plays in the third quarter as the Packers pulled away in their final game at the Metrodome, now known as Mall of America Field. Ponder didnt turn the ball over, but he was again out of sorts under pressure in the pocket all night. He finished 14 for 21 for 145 yards against a defence missing three starting linebackers to injury and added a late touchdown run. Coach Leslie Frazier said he wasnt sure yet whether Ponder would keep the job for another game. The Vikings beat the Packers 37-34 last December to make the playoffs. But they needed 199 yards rushing from Peterson and the best game of Ponders career to do it, because Rodgers has rarely found resistance from this defence in purple. In his last eight games against the Vikings, he has 22 touchdowns and only three interceptions while completing roughly three-quarters of his passes. The Packers have won seven of those. "I wasnt going to let this team beat us," Rodgers said, adding: "A lot was on my shoulders." Micah Hyde had a punt return for a touchdown for the Packers, who never punted and held the ball for more than two-thirds of the game to counteract Cordarrelle Pattersons opening 109-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. The Packers have won 15 of their last 16 games against NFC North teams. "Weve got a great team, very well-coached," Rodgers said. "Guys are ready to play. It was loud in here. It was a tough environment, but guys stepped up." The Packers scored on their first two possessions, running a total of 31 plays for 160 yards that drained 15 minutes and 48 seconds off the clock. Eddie Lacy finished with 94 yards and a touchdown and James Starks ran for 57 yards and a score. "Everybody wants a 1,500-yard rusher. Ive always wanted an 1,100-yard rusher, because I plan on being in the playoffs, so I want him running the same way in January and February as he is in September and October," McCarthy said. The way Lacy has been pounding the ball, as the leading NFL rookie rusher, Rodgers hasnt had to come up with as many clutch throws with his top targets missing. Lacy and Starks took turns trampling an exhausted Vikings defence, with each guy contributing a touchdown on the ground and the Packers reaching a season-high 182 yards rushing. "When the heck is the last time the Green Bay Packers rushed for 200 yards on somebody?" defensive end Jared Allen said, slightly exaggerating the total. "If thats not a punch in the gut and a wake-up to people, something needs to be." The Packers converted 13 third downs and two fourth downs. The only time they had the ball and didnt score was the kneel-down at the end of the game. "These are the guys we have," Frazier said. "So weve got to figure out schematically what we can do with the guys that we have to be better." NOTES: The two longest plays in NFL history have happened here: Pattersons plus a 109-yard return by Antonio Cromartie of a missed field goal for San Diego in 2007. ... The Vikings finished 16-15 here against the Packers. ... Rodgers and Jennings embraced on the field after the game. Jennings made some critical comments about the quarterback in the off-season but Rodgers said Sunday night: "We had a lot of good memories together." Bob Cousy Jersey . Anderson is scheduled to have neck surgery April 8 to repair the injury, which occurred when he collided with the Celtics Gerald Wallace during a game in Boston on Jan. 3. The 6-foot-10 Pelicans forward, who had been averaging 19. Boston Celtics Jerseys . 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The Blackhawks have matched a season high with three straight losses, going 0-1-2 since a win at New Jersey on Jan. 3. They did earn a point in last nights setback, falling 2-1 in overtime to the hosting Montreal Canadiens. Marian Hossa had a goal and Corey Crawford made 36 saves, giving up the game- winner at 1:28 of overtime. Crawford had come up with a couple of big saves early in the bonus frame, but could not handle Andrei Markovs blast from the left point that found room inside the far post. "There were stretches when we were getting favorable bounces," noted Chicago head coach Joel Quenneville. "We were playing the right way, but it just seems the last few games that we played loose and with little support on puck pressure." Chicago, set to play its next four at home, is looking to avoid its longest losing streak since a nine-game slide from Jan. 21-Feb. 14, 2012. It is unknown if Quenneville will turn to Crawford again tonight in an effort to get the netminder his first win since Nov. 29, or go with rookie backup Antti Raanta. Limited to just three games in December due to injury, Crawford is 0-3-3 in his last seven starts and has gone 4-5-0 with a 2.96 goals against average in 11 career games (7 starts) versus the Oilers.dddddddddddd The rookie Raanta has never faced Edmonton and has gone 11-1-3 with a 2.27 GAA in 16 games (14 starts) on the season. Chicago has beaten Edmonton twice already this season -- once at home and once on the road -- and has taken three straight and seven of the last 11 meetings. The Blackhawks won a 5-4 home decision over the Oilers on Nov. 10. Edmonton begins a four-game road trip tonight having won just twice in its last seven games. However, the Oilers most recent victory was a big one as they bested the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 in overtime on Friday. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored twice and had an assist, netting the winner 61 seconds into overtime. He one-timed a feed from Jordan Eberle to the right of the net on a power play for his 13th goal of the season. "A really nice pass from Eberle, backdoor and he left me with a lot of net to work with," Nugent-Hopkins said. Taylor Hall scored and defenseman Anton Belov netted his first career NHL goal and sixth career point, while Devan Dubnyk made 25 saves. Edmonton could start Ilya Bryzgalov tonight and he is 8-6-4 with a 2.55 GAA in 20 career games versus the Blackhawks, all but two of those starts. His Oilers debut came in relief at home on Nov. 25 versus Chicago and he stopped 12 of 13 shots faced in the clubs 5-1 setback. Wholesale HoodiesNFL Shirts OutletJerseys NFL WholesaleCheap NFL Jerseys Free ShippingWholesale Jerseys CheapCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaWholesale JerseysWholesale NFL JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '