The Athenaeum Forum

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. KeiVarae Russell Jersey . -- With the Memphis Grizzlies struggling to find their offensive rhythm, O. Boomer Esiason Jersey . Neither player was available Saturday for the Knicks 107-98 loss in Atlanta. "Were going in a different direction and weve got to figure out another spot or two for our ballclub," coach Mike Woodson said before the game. http://www.bengalsauthenticproshop.com/ ... ls-Jersey/. So he and his Toronto FC teammates say they will have no problem getting up for their Amway Canadian Championship final against rival Montreal Impact, even if the result doesnt count toward Major League Soccer standings. A.J. Green Jersey . -- Arizona coach Sean Miller rose from his seat every time Roberto Nelson touched the ball and yelled "Shooter!" He could have been talking about his own team, too. Andrew Billings Jersey .com) - Pittsburgh Steelers running back LeVeon Bell, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Elvis Dumervil and New England Patriots punter Ryan Allen were selected as the AFCs top players for Week 14 of the NFL season. PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies chances of making the playoffs are nearly impossible, but they havent given up on the season. Domonic Brown hit a game-ending RBI single to give Philadelphia a 5-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Thursday night. The Phillies scored two runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth for their second come-from-behind win in as many days. They have won four of five to improve to 4-3 under Ryne Sandberg, who became the interim manager when Charlie Manuel was fired last Friday. "Were just out there having lots of fun, feeding off the energy we have in the clubhouse," Brown said. "Were trying to make a statement going into next year." Colorado carried a 4-3 lead into the ninth, but Rafael Betancourt (2-5) blew a save opportunity for the second straight game and the third time in 19 chances. "That was a tough loss," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "The Phillies kept fighting." Jimmy Rollins started the winning rally with a two-out double. He then stole third and scored on Michael Youngs slow roller to third that went for a hit. Young had the game-winning hit off Betancourt in Philadelphias 4-3 win on Wednesday night. "Were deep back in the standings, but five weeks is a ton of time to play good baseball," Young said. "Everybody looks forward to the opportunity to show what they are made of." Betancourt departed after Youngs at-bat with an elbow injury, heading to the dugout after a visit from Weiss and a trainer. The right-hander had lunged for Youngs grounder that went just out of his reach. After the game the team said he sprained his right elbow. Jeff Francis came in and walked Chase Utley before Browns grounder to right scored Young. Brown was mobbed by the Phillies, who took three of four games from the Rockies for just their second series win since the All-Star break. "Theres a sense in the games," Sandberg said, "that good things can happen with the positive energy and the guys pulling for each other." Before its recent winning stretch that began with Sundays victory over the Dodgers, Philadelphia had lost 21 of 25 games. "It was a very difficult strretch," Young said, "but we flat-out knew we were better than that and we look forward to showing that.dddddddddddd." Cesar Jimenez (1-0) pitched a scoreless ninth for the victory. Wilin Rosario homered for Colorado, which has dropped five of six. The Rockies have won nine of 39 games against Philadelphia since the start of the 2008 season. Darin Ruf homered and Carlos Ruiz had three hits for the Phillies. Colorado rookie Chad Bettis allowed one run and six hits over 5 1-3 innings in his fifth career start. He was in line for his first win before Philadelphias late rally. "The first one is never easy and you can never count the other team out," Bettis said. "I felt real good tonight. Everything was working pretty well. I had better location than my last start. I had the same stuff but my command and location were better." Cody Asche doubled home a run in the second for Philadelphia, but Dexter Fowler had a tying sacrifice fly in the fifth. The Rockies then scored three runs in the sixth on four straight hits, chasing right-hander Kyle Kendrick. Rosario had the big blow, a line drive to left for a three-run shot. It was the third homer in the last four games for Rosario, who extended his hitting streak to 13 games. "Hes been swinging the bat well for a few weeks," Weiss said. "Hes an impact offensive player." The Phillies pulled within one on Rufs two-out, two-run homer off Matt Belisle in the eighth. Kendrick continued his recent struggles. The right-hander avoided his third straight loss, but he gave up four runs and eight hits in five-plus innings, raising his ERA to 8.14 in his last six starts. NOTES: Michael Cuddyer and Troy Tulowitzki each had a pair of hits for the Rockies. ... Ruiz is batting .625 (10 for 16) in his last five games. ... Colorado opens a three-game series at Miami on Friday night, with Rockies RHP Jhoulys Chacin (11-7, 3.24 ERA) opposing RHP Tom Koehler (3-8, 4.66 ERA). ... The Phillies open a three-game set at home versus Arizona on Friday night. LHP Cole Hamels (5-13, 3.61 ERA) gets the ball for the Phillies, with LHP Wade Miley (9-8, 3.56 ERA) going for the Diamondbacks. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '