MONTREAL -- When the Montreal Impact left Thursday morning to start the Major League Soccer season in Dallas, defender Heath Pearce was on the plane. The 29-year-old American international, who is coming off hip surgery and who was released by the New York Red Bulls after the 2013 campaign, has agreed to a contact with the Impact. The length of the deal and his salary were not disclosed. Coach Frank Klopas said this week that if Pearce can regain full fitness, his signing "could end up being a steal." Pearce has played 106 MLS games over the last five seasons, including 100 starts. He has two goals and 12 assists. He also played two seasons each in Germany and Denmark and has been selected 35 times to the U.S. national team. "Hes played in the league and in Europe and he brings a lot of experience," said assistant coach Mauro Biello. "Its someone that understands. He brings leadership. These are all important qualities he can bring to the team." When he is ready to play full games, he will give Klopas options on the back line. Pearce mainly plays left back, a position held last season by Jeb Brovsky, but can also play in the middle and Brovsky can also play on the right side. The Impact open the season Saturday in Dallas and will stay in Texas to play at Houston the following week before returning for their home opener March 22 at Olympic Stadium. "Having played over 100 games in this league, his experience and soccer savvy will bring a lot to the team," sporting director Nick De Santis said in a statement. "He is a natural left back, who will give us more depth on defence and who can contribute to the offence as well. "Heath is highly motivated to get back to the level that saw him on the national team at one point in his career." Pearce became the top signing by the Impact, who made few off-season moves after finishing fifth in the Eastern Conference in 2013. He joined the Impact during training camp in Orlando, Fla. He played parts of two pre-season games and said he is getting close to match fit. The Modesto, Calif. native underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip in July. The injury had been nagging at him for a couple of seasons before he went to get it fixed. He said he had offers from other MLS clubs, but chose Montreal because he liked Klopas coaching style and felt the Impact were a "multicultured team with a ton of experience." Pearce, a three-time MLS all-star, joined FC Dallas in 2009 and later played for Chivas USA before joining the Red Bulls in 2012. He was a fixture on the U.S. team earlier in his career, especially at the 2009 Confederations Cup and the 2009 Gold Cup, but has been overlooked in recent years. Alex Goligoski Jersey . Serves hit by her surgically repaired shoulder often missed the mark, resulting in 12 double-faults. 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Paul Stastny was the hero for the Avalanche in Thursdays opener, scoring with 13.4 seconds left in the third period to knot the score at 4-4 and then tallying the game-winner at 7:27 of overtime. The 5-4 decision was the first victory in the postseason for Colorado since taking Game 3 of a first-round series against San Jose on April 18, 2010. The Avs lost that set in six games and havent won a postseason series since beating Minnesota in the opening round of the 2008 playoffs. Meanwhile, Minnesota, which lost to Chicago in the opening round last spring, hasnt won a playoff series since beating Vancouver in the 2003 Western Conference semifinals. Colorado claimed its first division title since 2003 this season and is the second seed in the West. After Thursdays win, the Avalanche are now 5-0-1 against the Wild since the start of the 2013-14 campaign. The comeback triumph in Game 1 also marked Patrick Roys first playoff win as an NHL head coach. Of course, the legendary goaltender won four Stanley Cup titles in his playing days, including two with Colorado in 1996 and 2001. With his team trailing 4-3 late in regulation, Roy made a bold decision to pull goaltender Semyon Varlamov in favor of the extra attacker with 3:01 remaining in the third. The early pull paid off with Stastnys tying goal, but not before Avs defenseman Erik Johnson made a terrific hustle play to prevent an empty-net score that could have clinched the win for Minnesota. The Wild had a chance to extend their lead to two goals with Varlamov on the bench. Minnesota forward Erik Haula cleared the puck the length of the ice and the disc was headed for the net before Johnson hustled down and swept it away mere inches from the goal line. His play paid off a bit later as the Avalanche peppered Wild goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov with shots late in regulation and finally got one through. Holding the puck behind the net, Avs rookie Nathan MacKinnon sent a pass to the left point where Johnson blasted a shot with Stastny putting home the rebound under the crossbar from the right side to send the game to overtime.dddddddddddd "Its just like every goal, theres four or five guys that make it happen," said Stastny. "There was so much spin on that shot I didnt even see it go in." On Stastnys OT winner, Colorados Tyson Barrie kept the puck in at the left point and was able to elude Minnesota forward Jason Pominville before pushing the puck to the low left side. From there, MacKinnon picked up the puck and skated around the right side where his pass was one-timed in by Stastny for the win. "We are confident in ourselves and we always play to win," said Stastny. "Its just a bit different pace out there, theres a lot more grinding and a lot more tedious. We have to get our rest and get ready for Saturday." Jamie McGinn and Ryan OReilly each posted a goal and an assist for the Avalanche, who are in the playoffs after a three-season absence. Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog also had a goal in his postseason debut. Varlamov made 29 saves for Colorado to improve his career postseason record to 11-9. The Avs played Game 1 without star forward Matt Duchene (knee) and defenseman John Mitchell (concussion). Both players will miss Game 2 as well. Charlie Coyle, Ryan Suter, Kyle Brodziak and Haula scored for the Wild, who are back in the playoffs for a second straight season after missing out four straight years. Zach Parise had two assists and Bryzgalov stopped 26 shots for Minnesota, which claimed the top wild card spot in the Western Conference. "I think despite the outcome of the game we did a lot of good things out there tonight," said Parise. "We made some mistakes in the third that resulted in the puck being in our net, and it cost us." The Wild hope to pick up a win Saturday so it can head back to St. Paul with the series tied 1-1. Minnesota is hosting Games 3 and 4, with the next meeting scheduled for Monday at Xcel Energy Center. This is the third all-time playoff meeting between the clubs. The Wild won a 2003 conference quarterfinals matchup in seven games, while the Avalanche knocked off Minnesota in six games during the same round in 2008. 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