SEATTLE - Over the final month of the season, Carolina took advantage of its opportunities to make a surprising entry into the NFL playoffs.Against the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, the Panthers had few opportunities.The Seahawks scored 17 points in the fourth quarter and advanced to the NFC championship game with a 31-17 victory.The Panthers turned the ball over three times, setting up two Seattle touchdowns, while the Seahawks didnt commit a turnover.Well, certainly, we needed them to make some mistakes and that would help, Panthers head coach Ron Rivera said. But it didnt happen, again credit to them. They did some really good things, we made some mistakes. We missed some opportunities. They did some things that lead to winning championships.The Panthers (8-9-1), who finished the regular season with a losing record, essential had been in a playoff mode since early December. They beat New Orleans, Cleveland and Atlanta to win the NFC South title then knocked off Arizona last week in the first round of the playoffs.They played together, they came together and they deserved to be here, Rivera said. Again, I know a lot of people dont agree with me, but thats too bad. Thats the way it is.It took Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson throwing for three touchdowns — all on third downs — to make the difference.Thats big. Third down is the money down, Carolina middle linebacker Luke Kuechly said. They do a good job running. And when you run well, that opens it up for them. He (Wilson) knows whats going on. Hes an intelligent guy, a smart guy. He knows where he wants to go with the football, he makes quick decisions.That first touchdown fit Russell Wilson to a T right there.The Seahawks (13-4) never trailed and became the first defending Super Bowl champion to win a playoff game the following season since New England in January 2006.Since that Patriots victory, three defending champions have earned byes only to lose in the divisional round, the last being Green Bay in the 2011 playoffs.Seattle will host either Green Bay or Dallas next Sunday for a trip to the Super Bowl.Carolina quarterback Cam Newton threw a pair of touchdowns to Kelvin Benjamin, but Carolina couldnt overcome the turnovers. The biggest blow was Kam Chancellors 90-yard interception return midway through the fourth quarter that gave Seattle a 31-10 lead.I dont know if a strong safety can have a better game than Kam did tonight, Seattle coach Pete Carroll said.After knocking off Arizona in the wild-card round last week, Carolina was trying to be the first team to reach a conference championship game after having a losing record in the regular season.Much like the previous three regular-season games between the two teams, Carolina made it difficult on Seattle. The best running team in the NFL this season was held to 100 yards rushing by the Panthers defence.Marshawn Lynch was mostly a non-factor aside from a 25-yard run in the third quarter that helped set up Steven Hauschkas 37-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter.But Wilson was outstanding, especially on third down. Wilson hit Doug Baldwin on third-and-9 on his TD catch in the first quarter.Jermaine Kearses 63-yard TD reception came on a third-and-7. And Luke Willsons 25-yard catch-and-run TD was on third-and-10.Wilson finished with a passer rating of 149.2, the second-highest for any game in his career. He passed for 199 yards on third downs.They just made big plays. It wasnt like they drove. It was just big plays that came back to bite us defensively, Carolina safety Roman Harper said. We will be better because of this. Everything is always something to learn from and we got to do that.Newton played well, but the turnovers overshadowed his performance. Newton finished 23 of 36 for 246 yards and added 37 yards rushing. Jonathan Stewart had been a key to the Panthers late-season surge, and rushed for 70 yards on 13 carries.Newton got away with testing All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman in the first quarter and watching Sherman dance away with his first career post-season interception.But Seattle took the lead after Carolinas second turnover of the first quarter. Michael Bennett disrupted the handoff between Newton and Stewart and Tony McDaniel fell on the loose ball at the Carolina 28. Wilson connected with Baldwin to take the lead and Carolina never pulled back even.NOTES: Seattle won its eighth straight home playoff game. ... Carolinas 132 yards rushing were fourth-most of any team vs. Seattle this season. ... Benjamin had two TDs in a game for the second time this season.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFLCheap Blank Jerseys . - Buffalo Bills running back C. Wholesale Blank Jerseys China . The Argentine midfielder made the announcement himself on Twitter on Tuesday and posted a picture of his swollen left foot. His message said he would be out "at least three weeks. http://www.wholesaleblankjerseys.com/.com) - Matt Beleskey has helped give the Anaheim Ducks some scoring depth and hell look to stay hot on Wednesday night when his club hosts the struggling Philadelphia Flyers. Cheap NFL Blank Jerseys . Adam LaRoche will take that. "I like our position in the standings and I like how our team is playing," LaRoche said after Washington swept a day-night doubleheader from the Cubs on Saturday. Wholesale Jerseys . The Laval Rouge et Or defensive back/kick-returner gained the invitation following his showing Sunday at an NFL regional combine in Baltimore.Uniondale, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Kyle Okposo notched his first career hat trick, including the game-winner in the third period, and totaled four goals as the New York Islanders rallied for a 6-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Ryan Strome and Michael Grabner had the other goals, while Josh Bailey and John Tavares each posted three assists for the Islanders, who have won four straight games. Jaroslav Halak turned away 21 shots in the win. Sidney Crosby had two goals and an assist, while David Perron also scored for the Penguins, who had a two-game winning streak snapped. Marc-Andre Fleury was tagged for five goals on 34 shots. Final Score: Vancouver 3, Carolina 0 Raleigh, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Ryan Miller made 28 saves to record his fifth shutout of the season and second in as many nights as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 3-0 on Friday. It was the first time in franchise history the Canucks recorded back-to-back shutouts on the road in consecutive days. Derek Dorsett, Shawn Matthias and Alexandre Burrows all scored in the second period and Kevin Bieksa supplied two assists for the Canucks, who beat Philadelphia 4-0 on Thursday. Cam Ward allowed all three goals on 13 shots over the first 40 minutes and Anton Khudobin turned aside all four shots fired his way in the third. Vancouver has won its last four games against the Hurricanes. Final Score: NY Rangers 2, Columbus 1 Columbus, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - Henrik Lundqvists 35 saves got the New York Rangers back on track with a 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. After being shut out by the Islanders and Boston over their previous two games, the Rangers received second-period goals from Marc Staal and Chris Kreider to support Lundqvists sharp effort. Derek Stepan assisted on both markers. Scott Hartnell produced Columbus lone goal and Sergei Bobrovsky finished with 24 saves in the loss, the Blue Jackets fourth straight. Final Score: Nashville 4, Washington 3 Nashville, TN (SportsNetwork.com) - Barry Trotz received a warm welcome back from the Bridgestone Arena crowd in his return to Nashville. His former team didnt quite return the generosity, however. James Neal scored his second goal of the night with 1:40 remaining, capping a furious late comeback froom the Predators that produced a 4-3 triumph over Trotzs Washington Capitals.dddddddddddd Nashville overcame a 3-2 deficit by scoring twice in the final 4 1/2 minutes, with Mattias Ekholm netting the equalizer on a power play to help the Predators to their first five-game win streak in three years. Trotz was behind the bench for that run, as well as many others while serving as the Predators head coach for the franchises first 15 seasons of existence. That tenure came to an end when he was fired at the conclusion of the 2013-14 campaign, shortly before taking over in Washington. Seth Jones added a goal and an assist for Nashville, while Carter Hutton came up with 31 saves in his first start since the Predators announced standout goaltender Pekka Rinne would miss 3-to-5 weeks with a sprained knee. Alex Ovechkin notched a pair of goals in the loss, which halted a stretch of 10 straight games of recording at least one point for the Caps. Braden Holtby finished with 26 saves. Final Score: Winnipeg 4, Chicago 2 Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - Chris Thorburn and Bryan Little scored 28 seconds apart in the third period to lead the Winnipeg Jets to a 4-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday. Andrew Ladd and Zach Bogosian each posted a goal and an assist, while Michael Hutchinson stopped 31 shots for the Jets, who have won three straight. Brandon Saad and Teuvo Teravainen each notched a marker for the Blackhawks, who have dropped two of their last three. Corey Crawford allowed three goals on 34 shots. Final Score: Anaheim 5, New Jersey 1 Anaheim, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Jakob Silfverberg scored twice as the Anaheim Ducks closed out an eight-game homestand with a 5-1 win over the New Jersey Devils on Friday. Patrick Maroon and Hampus Lindholm each tallied a goal and an assist, Corey Perry also lit the lamp and Ilya Bryzgalov made 14 saves in his third start of the season for the Ducks, who went 6-2-0 over their residency. Martin Havlat scored the lone goal for the Devils, who have dropped three of their last four games. Keith Kinkaid allowed four goals on 25 shots in relief of starter Cory Schneider, who appeared to suffer an upper-body injury after stopping a Matt Beleskey shot during the first period. Schneider turned aside 14 shots over the first 20 minutes. ' ' '