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ST. PAUL, Minn. - Nino Niederreiter snagged the puck off the boards and rushed toward the net, deftly setting up a wrist shot with a slick deke to each side. The puck whizzed past Nashville goalie Carter Huttons stick to give Minnesota an overtime victory but, before it got there, it had to elude Niederreiters good friend. Niederreiters goal with 2:44 left in the extra period lifted the Wild past the Predators 3-2 on Thursday night, and the tipped shot went between the legs of Roman Josi, who will play with Niederreiter next week for Switzerland in the Olympics. Theyll be roommates, actually. "I might mention it to him right now, but Im not sure if hell be happy about it," Niederreiter said. "At the same time, like I said, it was a big win for us and we needed those points. It felt like a playoff game out there because it was a pretty tough one." Jonas Brodin and Zach Parise scored early to offset two goals for the Predators by Craig Smith, who raised his team-leading total to 18. Hutton made 33 saves and helped thwart a Wild power play in the waning minutes of regulation, but that wasnt quite enough. All three goals Hutton gave up were to his stick side. "It was like a knuckle puck," Hutton said of Niederreiters winner. Josi was impressed by his buddy but not happy with him. "We didnt play that well in the first. We played a little slow, and they got on us quick. After that we played a good game. We obviously wanted two points, but its good to get a point on the road," Josi said. Smith tied the game midway through the second period when he redirected defenceman Victor Bartleys shot past Darcy Kuemper, who made his 12th straight start in goal for the Wild. The Predators hit the post twice in that middle frame and with another try in the third period. "A little bit of puck luck goes a long way," Kuemper said, adding: "I was just trying to do my part to battle and help the guys out because they were sure helping me out." Kuemper made 16 saves to improve to 7-3-2 since Jan. 1, and the Wild raised their home record to 21-7-2 this season. Coach Mike Yeo stressed to his players this week the danger of looking ahead to the break and not letting up against a team behind them in the standings, and their performance suggested the message was received. "I was real impressed with our guys, the way that they approached this game," Yeo said. "I asked them for a playoff-type mentality coming into the game, and thats a lot to ask for in February when youre about to go on a long break, but they brought it." Parise wasnt worried about a letup. "I think were all mature enough that we understood we have a game still before, and I dont think that was ever a concern about guys thinking about their flights tomorrow or their plans for the break," he said. The Predators had a jarring start to their day, when television announcer Pete Weber was taken for emergency heart surgery and general manager David Poile was hit by an errant puck that flew off the ice during the morning skate and hit him in the face where he was standing behind the bench. Poile was staying in a hospital overnight for observation and evaluation, the team said, and was unable to be present for the pregame ceremony the Wild held for all the Olympians in attendance for each team. Poile is the general manager for Team USA. "There was some bad stuff that happened today, but weve got to come out and find a way to get two points," Hutton said. "Good for them. We werent able to do it." The Predators are in last place in the Central Division but still within striking distance of the playoffs. "It was a good road point considering all the stuff that went on today," coach Barry Trotz said, adding: "We grind them out." NOTES: Wild D Marco Scandella sat out due to a sprained knee sustained the previous game. LW Stephane Veilleux cleared waivers and was sent to AHL affiliate Iowa. ... Smith has 20 points and 12 goals in his last 23 games. ... Niederreiter has 12 points and a plus-six rating in his last 19 games. Heath Miller Youth Jersey . Canada will host the second stop on the circuit, the 2014 Skate Canada International in Kelowna, British Columbia from October 31 - November 2, 2014 at Prospera Place. Diontae Johnson Youth Jersey . Thats when the eight-time champion revealed that a painful back is slowing his serves -- and, all in all, giving him more trouble than his opponents so far. http://www.steelersrookiestore.com/Steelers-Heath-Miller-Jersey/ . PETERSBURG, Fla. Mike Wagner Womens Jersey . -- Masahiro Tanaka knows that first appearance in a spring training game for the New York Yankees will be scrutinized. Kevin Greene Steelers Jersey . Hes the same player he always was, only now his efforts are being rewarded. The rookie manager has made a habit of heaping praise on others when things are going well, and accepting criticism when they arent. But in the case of Hurtado, its what the coach is NOT saying that may be the secret to a superb run of form.Irving, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - Alabama and Florida State were predictably the top two teams in the latest installment of the BCS standings. Thanks to Oregons loss to Stanford this past Thursday, the Crimson Tide and Seminoles figure to stay atop the poll should they both win out, since their BCS averages are considerably higher than third-ranked Ohio State. Alabama (9-0, .996) stayed No. 1 for the fourth straight week following a convincing 38-17 victory over nationally-ranked LSU on Saturday. The Crimson Tide, who have outscored their last seven opponents by an average of 34.4 points, have relatively easy tests against Mississippi State and Chattanooga the next two weeks before taking on arch-rival Auburn. The Seminoles (9-0, .962) also have a manageable remaining slate with games against Syracuse, Idaho and Florida prior to the ACC title game, which they secured a berth in with Saturdays 59-3 thumping of Wake Forest. Stanford certainly deserves an assist in keeping FSU at No. 2 after dumping Oregon in a 26-20 final that appeared closer than it was. For their effort, the Cardinal (8-1, .869) moved into the fourth position behind unbeatenn Ohio State (9-0, .dddddddddddd893). The Buckeyes were off last week, and their remaining schedule -- Illinois, Indiana and Michigan -- will likely not be enough to vault them anywhere close to the coveted second spot if Alabama and FSU stay undefeated. The only other unblemished program from a power conference, Baylor (8-0, .862), came in at No. 5 after a dominating win over Oklahoma on Saturday, while Oregon (8-1, .767) fell three spots to sixth. Auburn, Clemson, Missouri and South Carolina round out the top-10. No. 14 Fresno State (9-0) and No. 15 Northern Illinois (9-0) are the nations top two squads from outside the automatic qualifying conferences. This is the final year the national championship will be determined by the BCS standings, which factor in the USA Today Poll, the Harris Poll and six computer rankings. A highly anticipated four-team playoff will be installed for the 2014 season. Alabama and Notre Dame played in the BCS final last year, and the Crimson Tide won handily, 42-14, en route to their third championship in four years. The win also extended the SECs streak to seven consecutive national champions. ' ' '