SOCHI, Russia – Gabriel Landeskog was a 13-year-old kid in Stockholm standing on his couch and cheering emphatically when Henrik Lundqvist helped secure gold for the Swedes at the 2006 Olympics in Italy. Cheap Jerseys . "My dad was kind of yelling at me to sit down and relax," recalled Landeskog, now 21 and a member of the Swedish Olympic squad here in Sochi. "Im like what do you mean, sit down and relax? We just won the Olympics!" Prominent in those memories for the budding Colorado Avalanche captain was the performance of a then-23-year-old Lundqvist, who stopped 25 shots in the final with Finland, preserving the second Olympic gold for Sweden. "He pretty much singlehandedly won that final game," said Landeskog of the 3-2 victory. Hes known as the King and stands as perhaps the biggest obstacle to a gold repeat for Team Canada at these Olympics. Not only the face and cornerstone of the New York Rangers and one of the top goaltenders in the NHL, Lundqvist makes a strong case as one of the best Olympic goaltenders ever and a major obstacle for the Canadians in Sundays 94 gold medal rematch with Sweden. "Hes a tough guy to beat," said Rick Nash, a teammate of Lundqvist with the Rangers, but an opponent with gold on the line. Unbeaten in Russia (5-0-0), Lundqvist enters the afternoon affair at Bolshoy Ice Dome with the second-most career wins by an Olympic goaltender – trailing only the great Vladislav Tretiak with 17 – and the second-best career goals against average (1.71). He made 25 saves Friday, including all eight in the final frame, to preserve victory for the Swedes in their semifinal matchup with Finland. "Hank has been playing unbelievable for us," said Erik Karlsson afterward. "In that part, we feel pretty confident." And in a one game scenario for all the marbles that can be the difference. Sweden may not boast anywhere near the talent of Canada – especially with injuries to Henrik Sedin, Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen – but they might not need it if Lundqvist delivers a masterpiece. "He can stand on his head for us," said captain Nicklas Kronwall. "Thatd be good." Led by Carey Price, who has sizzled in his first test on the Olympic stage, the Canadians have had no trouble defending here in Russia, but scoring has been another matter. They managed (and ultimately needed) just a single marker against Jonathan Quick and the Americans in the semifinal and have scored a mere four goals in the past nine regulation periods. Chances have been aplenty, but few have ended up in the back of the net, a concern when Lundqvist lies on the horizon at the top of his game. "I get to see him every day," said Nash of the soon-to-be 31-year-old, a winner in 12 of 14 Olympic starts. "Hes a guy that plays kind of a different style – deep in his net. Hes a tough guy to figure out even when you shoot on him every day. He doesnt play like regular goalies." And he seemingly doesnt prepare like regular goalies either. Swedish teammates have been struck by the preparation of the 2012 Vezina Trophy winner. "Im really impressed the way he prepares for the games off the ice and how hes mentally prepared for each game," said Niklas Hjalmarsson. "To see his preparation has been pretty impressive and the way hes been playing has obviously helped our team a lot." "You dont want to bother him game-days," Jonathan Ericsson observed. "You see that hes in his own bubble." Ericsson described Lundqvist as "standing, focusing and doing his own thing". Winning 10 of his final 14 starts with the Rangers before the Olympic break with a sparkling .937 save percentage, Lundqvist has picked up right where he left off in Sochi, stopping 117 of 123 shots in a perfect run for Sweden. He is a barrier that Canada will have to overcome to claim a second consecutive gold and third in the past four Olympics. "He makes saves that you think you have an open net and he finds a way to smother that puck," said Patrick Sharp. "Hes definitely a guy thats going to be key for them." Cheap NFL Jerseys . The Rangers said Ortiz had surgery Friday and will be out for three months. The left-hander was 2-2 with a 4.32 ERA in 32 appearances last season. Cheap Jerseys UK . -- Packers cornerback Tramon Williams has been fined $26,250 for contact with an official, per NFL guidelines.SAN DIEGO - The San Diego Chargers got a harsh taste of reality from Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.If theyre going to hold on and make the playoffs, the Chargers are going to have to do a lot better than they did Sunday night.Brady threw a 69-yard touchdown pass to Julian Edelman midway through the fourth quarter, and New England beat the San Diego Chargers 23-14 for its eighth win in nine games.San Diego (8-5) was shut out in the second half.We just didnt get it done, collectively, safety Eric Weddle said. The teams coming up are going to be just like this.The Patriots (10-3) clinched their 12th straight 10-win season for the second-longest such streak in NFL history. They spent the week in San Diego following a loss at Green Bay in order to cut down on late-season travel.New England went ahead 16-14 on Stephen Gostkowskis 38-yard field goal with 10:34 left.After forcing the Chargers to punt, the Patriots started on their 31. Brady faked a handoff and hit Edelman on a slant at about the 45. He broke two tackles and was gone.That was the back-breaker for us, Weddle said. We had to make a tackle and maybe we hold them.Brady completed 28 of 44 passes for 317 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. Edelman caught eight passes for 141 yards.The Chargers dropped from the No. 5 playoff seed to No. 6. Up next is a home game against Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos, who lead the Chargers by two games in the AFC West.Philip Rivers was off all night, completing 20 of 33 passes for only 189 yards. The offence scored only one touchdown.We just didnt play well, Rivers said. They were the reason for a lot of that. But we had some things that were self-inflicted as well. Cheap NFL Jerseys UK. It wasnt our best day, obviously. Anytime you score seven points in this league youre not going to win any games.The game had several momentum swings.After Stephen Gostkowski kicked his second 22-yard field goal of the first half, Brandon Bolden blocked a punt by Mike Scifres to give New England the ball on the San Diego 28. Scifres hurt his left shoulder on the play and was carted off the field.Four plays into the drive, Rob Gronkowski caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Brady to pull the Patriots to 14-13.Gronkowski became the first tight end in NFL history with four seasons of 10 or more scoring receptions.The Chargers scored twice in 2 minutes, 33 seconds in the second quarter.Safety Darrell Stuckey returned a fumble 53 yards for a touchdown and Malcom Floyd made a diving catch of a 15-yard touchdown pass from Philip Rivers.Safety Jahleel Addae forced Brandon LaFell to fumble after a reception and Stuckey picked it up and ran it in.Manti Teo leaped to make his first career interception just before halftime, preserving the Chargers 14-13 lead.With the Patriots looking to go ahead, Brady tried to hit Gronkowski on second-and-10 from the Chargers 18. But Teo, the second-year linebacker from Notre Dame, picked off the under-thrown pass at the 4.There are no excuses around here. We didnt do enough to win the game, outside linebacker Dwight Freeney said.Were hurting, Weddle said. its a tough loss for us. We fought and battled and were so close but we couldnt get a stop or get as score and find a way to win.It will sting for a few days.___Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll cheap nfl jerseyscheap jerseys ' ' '
