BOSTON -- Brad Marchand tried to poke the puck through the defenders legs and then, to his surprise, found that he still had the puck. The Bruins forward took a couple of more strides and wristed it into the net, giving the Bruins a 3-2 overtime victory over the Nashville Predators. "He was shocked that it worked," Bruins coach Claude Julien said after Marchands goal 54 seconds into overtime. "Give him credit for that and he was smart enough to throw it at the net. Maybe I was a little surprised, too." Jarome Iginla and Johnny Boychuk also scored in regulation for Boston, and Marchand faked out Predators forward Mike Fisher at the point to score the game-winner. That gave goalie Niklas Svedberg a victory in his NHL debut. "Fish knows better than that," Predators coach Barry Trotz said. "He cant play as light on guys one-on-one as that." Svedberg stopped 33 shots for Boston, which avoided its first three-game losing streak of the season. Julien said the 24-year-old rookie would go back to the teams AHL affiliate in Providence, R.I., but "hes a guy we need to keep an eye on." "Ever since I started playing, this is where I wanted to be. So Im real happy with this win," Svedberg said. "Its just one game but its real fun to get the win in my first game." Svedberg had been scheduled to play last weekend, but he was sent back to Providence so the Bruins could call up a defenceman after Zdeno Chara needed a night off. Svedbergs mother flew in from Sweden for that game, but his parents couldnt get a flight to Boston this time. "It was a little bit too short of a timeline," he said. "So they were all watching TV back in Sweden." Viktor Stalberg and Shea Weber scored for Nashville, and Marek Mazanec made 22 saves as the Predators lost for the first time in three games. "We showed a lot of character getting the point back, because the crowd was into it," Trotz said. "So its a big point. But Im really disappointed that we didnt get the two." The Bruins were lacklustre in the first two periods -- managing just three shots to Nashvilles 16 in the second -- but tied it 1-1 when Boychuk, trailing a 3-on-2, took a drop pass and wristed into the net with 5 minutes gone in the third. The Bruins took the lead with 7 1/2 minutes to play when Milan Lucic centred it from the left boards and Iginla, crashing the net, tipped it in. Iginlas goal, along with assists by Lucic and David Krejci, gave all three a scoring streak of six games. But the Predators tied it less than 2 minutes later when Weber slapped in a rebound after Roman Josi outbattled Marchand for the puck behind the net. Nashville scored first in the second period when Fisher was waiting at the blue line for the long breakout pass and he drew both defenders to him as he skated in on the right side. When his shot bounced off Svedberg into the slot, Stalberg had an open net to shoot at. It was Stalbergs first point in five games and his first goal since Dec. 14. Notes: Svedberg was 13-5-3 with a 2.87 goals-against average in 22 games for Providence of the AHL this season. ... It was Game 1 of a three-game road trip for the Predators. They had previously planned to fly to Florida on Friday for Saturdays game against the Panthers; it was not clear if the snow would affect their plans. ... The Predators had been 15-1-2 when scoring first. . The UFC confirmed a bantamweight title defence by Renan Barao, who was to face No. 4 contender Eddie Wineland, is now off because Barao was injured during training. [url=http://www.throwbackonlineshop.com/boston-red-sox-jim-rice-throwback-jersey... Rice Jersey . Alfredsson says he wont even begin contemplating whether hell play next season for at least a week as he recovers from an exhausting season that ended Friday with a playoff loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. .m. Commerce City, CO (Sports Network) - Colorado is on the verge of Major League Soccer history, but the defending MLS Cup champion Rapids might be pleased if they fail to accomplish the feat Saturday against the Philadelphia Union. [url=http://www.throwbackonlineshop.com/new-york-yankees-roger-maris-throwback-j... Maris yankees Jersey . Catch the action live on TSN, beginning at 10:30pm et/7:30pm pt. Bryant, of course, missed the pre-game shootaround on Thursday for Game 6 with a stomach illness, but started and performed admirably nonetheless; tallying 31 points on 13-of-23 shooting in a 113-96 setback in Denver.And then there were four. Thirty-two teams started this National Football League season and the best four are left standing. In Seattle, the Seahawks first-half defence was outstanding . The New Orleans Saints offence only managed 34 passing yards for Drew Brees and just 42 rushing yards. The Seattle defence conceded no points in the first half and held tight end Jimmy Graham to not a single reception until the games final minute. Russell Wilson did not have a dominant game, but the starting 11 without the ball won the game for Seattle. And so did Marshawn Lynch . Of all the running backs in the league, I dont think there is another who gives a greater effort than Marshawn Lynch, play after play. It is impressive for me watch his willingness to absorb physical punishment for an extra yard or even less. Logic says it cant last, that his time is coming or maybe he just has a body type impervious to what normally slows and limits other running backs. In any case, he is not the fastest, quickest or even most skilled, but he never gives up on a play or any opportunity with an intense disregard for possible injury. Marshawn Lynch is a great running back. Seattle has a combination of speed, attitude, confidence and resolve . The intensity of the NFC championship San Francisco at Seattle will be a battle of wills as much as any skills. In New England, the Patriots went with 42 running plays and just 25 passing plays. The play-calling served a dual purpose. Firstly, when you run that much, you dictate aggressive energy to an opponent. After a while, you can wear a defence out because, like all human beings, you get tired of hitting. So, in a moment where you lose emotional concentration at "point of attack," what would normally be a two or three-yard play becomes a 70-yard touchdown run like LaGarrette Blounts 73-yard run in the fourth. Understanding football is one thing, but understanding the psychology of hitting is really unique. You can wear people out and the Patriots achieved that. The second part of that dual purpose was keeping the ball away from Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck. If you dont limit the his time with the ball and his number of plays, Andrew Luck is going to beat you. It is not as if Luck has a great team around him, quite the opposite, but he is a classic example of a player as a quarterback who makes those around him look better than they are. Once the Colts protect Andrew Luck with a higher degree of consistency, he will be as good as any quarterback on any team in the NFL. As for the Patriots, Logan Mankins at left guard was outstanding and Jamie Collins at linebacker is the next defensive star in New England. Without Vince Wilfork, Brandon Spikes, Jerrod Mayo and Tommy Kelly on defence, the Patriots should not be in the AFC championship game, but here they are. It was an emotionallly heated game in Carolina between the Panthers and San Francisco 49ers, especially early on, and it has been a while since I have seen that much confrontational talk and verbal exchanges.ddddddddddddIt seemed like on every play, someone was threatening someone elseabout something . I am sure that all week, the Panthers grew intensely tired of hearing how tough and physical the 49ers were and made a collective agreement to not allow any intimidation, but be the aggressor and not the participant. Now, I dont think Carolina backed down for one moment, but seven plays inside the five-yard line and only three points means that, in the toughest part of football - short yardage and goaline plays, the Niners won. In playoff football, the smallest of mistakes mean the biggest of consequences and the Panthers gave the 49ers four first downs on penalties in the first half and it seemed that all four were the result of excessive emotion. The Panthers will learn from this and, if they find themselves in the same position next year at this time, they will not make the same mistake of losing self-control. After a last-minute win over the Arizona Cardinals to close the season, a win over the Packers in the brutal cold of Green Bay in the NFC Wild Card playoff and a tough, physical win over the Panthers, right now, no team believes more in each other than the San Francisco 49ers. In Denver, the one word to describe the Broncos win over the San Diego Chargers is "methodical." I think the Charger made one key mistake to lose the game and Denver made the opposite to win . By the end of the third quarter, the Chargers had 79 total yards. In the fourth quarter alone, they had 180. I guess common sense says to play the time of possession game again for San Diego to win, but it was not working . I wonder what would have happened if the Chargers took their fourth-quarter approach all game long and just went for broke, because when they did in the fourth, the game became a game because of it. San Diego was simply way too conservative. With Denver, they did to the Chargers what the Chargers did to them back on that Thursday night game. Manning must have completed 80 per cent of his passes within the first 10 yards down field. They just incrementally kept moving down field with the shortest of distance created using a series of line of scrimmage screens, five-yard crossers, and check downs - no big plays, just little little plays of success and result. One interesting question that has already been asked is, in one game to win it all , who would be your quarterback - Brady or Manning? Given history, I would say Brady, but given ability to control a defense pre-snap, I would say Manning. To pick between that pair is a never-ending discussion. The season began with 32 and now it is down to four and, giving consideration to all discussion and analytical evaluation, it truly is the best four. cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys Ra... Ramos Jersey ' ' '