he U.S. men in an Olympics.I have learned so much from the Americ

RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes have been playing their best hockey of the season during the past week and theyre likely to need more of that when they take on the NHLs top team.The Montreal Canadiens visit PNC Arena on Friday night.It doesnt change for us, Carolina coach Bill Peters said. Its about what we do.Yet while the Hurricanes have been on a brief uptick to move out of the Eastern Conference basement, the Canadiens have encountered their first sustained glitches of the season.Montreal has failed to win its last two games, marking the first time this year it has gone that long without a victory. The Canadiens are coming off Tuesday nights 4-3 overtime loss at home to the Florida Panthers.We need to win battles for the puck and protect the pick, said Canadiens coach Michel Therrien, whose Montreal team has a league-best 13-2-2 record.With back-to-back wins against Washington and San Jose, the Hurricanes have been particularly successful on defense. Theyve given up one goal across the last two games, including posting their first shutout of the season by blanking San Jose 1-0.Its starting to come together, Peters said. We want chemistry and we want continuity. We have an identity were trying to get to. I like the direction were headed.Peters said the Hurricanes (5-6-4) have shown good discipline and that has allowed the team to flourish in several areas.Its a combination of a lot of different things that have been working for the lines, Peters said. The execution has been very high. ... Weve got to get seconds and thirds (attempts on goal).The Hurricanes, who are 15-for-15 on penalty kills across the last seven games, have dominated at times with faceoffs, giving them extra possessions.Faceoff execution, not only winning it but doing something with it, Peters said.Fridays game will mark the fourth in a five-game homestand for Carolina.We need to get some points in the bank, Peters said. This is a big homestand for us and we have two left.The Canadiens are playing their only road game during a five-game stretch.Montreal forward Alexander Radulov will miss the Carolina game because of illness, meaning hell skip his second game in a row.The goalie matchup is listed as Montreals Al Montoya and Carolinas Cam Ward.He has made the big saves at the big moments, Peters said of Ward. Were better in front and hes better.Ward credited teammates for tying up sticks and limiting rebounds.You just try to keep a quiet mind, Ward said. Youve got to build some momentum. These last two games have been our best two games of the year. We did it in real good fashion. ... Its not going to get any easier.The Hurricanes will need to keep watch on Montreal center Alex Galchenyuk, who holds a six-game points streak. To Therrien, that kind of production seems just about right.Hes working hard and hes getting his reward for that, Therrien said. His positioning (has been good). ... Thats a process. Swell Water Bottle Clearance . -- Peyton Manning will have all of his wide receivers available for the first time in a month when the Denver Broncos begin their playoff run Jan. Swell Bottles Sale . After the whistle, Thornton skated the length of the ice, pulled Orpik to the ice from behind and punched him in the face several times. http://www.swellwaterbottlesale.com/ . The visitors took a deserved lead in the 16th minute with midfielder Yohan Cabaye curling the ball beyond Adrian from inside the penalty area. Swell Water Bottle Wholesale .C. -- Glenn Howard needed an extra end to move into the Masters Grand Slam of Curling final. sWell Bottle Sale 17oz . Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck of the Vancouver Giants were each charged with assault causing bodily harm on Aug. 18, according to the B.C. court services. RIO DE JANEIRO -- When Beijing gold medalist Phil Dalhausser teamed up with Nick Lucena less than one year ago for a longshot run at the Olympics, it was more out of friendship -- and a lack of alternatives -- than anything else.Dalhausser was coming off two straight seasons with injuries. Lucena had never been to the Olympics, struggling to find a partnership that worked.We were playing with the houses money, Dalhausser said Monday after losing in three sets to Brazilian world champions Alison and Bruno in the quarterfinals on Copacabana beach.Its been a lot of fun, Dalhausser added. I couldnt have done it without him. I wouldnt have wanted to do it with anyone else.At 6-foot-9 and already an Olympic champion, Dalhausser is one of the most feared players in the sport. He won his gold medal with Todd Rogers in 2008, and the pair returned to the London Games, finishing ninth.But last August, already a year into the two-year qualification cycle, his partnership with two-time Olympian Sean Rosenthal had stalled -- in part because of Dalhaussers abdominal and calf injuries. So he went back to Lucena, his partner for a couple of dozen events when they were first starting out.Im pretty fortunate to play with him, Lucena said after the 21-14, 12-21, 15-9 loss to Brazil left them in fifth place. Hes one of the best players in the world. I wanted to win this for him.Lucena and Dalhausser first teamed up in 2003, a time when they were travelling all night to play in domestic tournaments and sleeping on the beach outside the gates to save money. After they split in 2005, Lucena played with four different partners that year; Dalhausser went on to become a world and Olympic champion.But Dalhaussers injuries left him with little chance of making it back to the Olympics -- or so he thought.Nobody gave us a chance to qualify, he has repeated often.I gave us a chance, Lucena interrupted playfully, just hours after their Olympic elimination. I dont know what hes talking about.ddddddddddddThe two played their way to No. 3 in the international standings and a spot on Copacabana beach with a whirlwind of 13 tournaments in 12 months -- just one event above the minimum. They cruised through Olympic pool play with a 3-0 record.And that was the problem.When Alison and Bruno lost in the preliminary round, they wound up second in their group. The blind draw lined them up with the Americans in the quarterfinals in a match that could have easily been the final.In the second quarterfinal match, the Dutch team of Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen advanced with a 25-23, 21-17 victory over countrymen Reinder Nummerdor and Christiaan Varenhorst.Fans waving Brazilian flags had to struggle to hold onto them in a stiff breeze that began just as play began on Monday. The Brazil and Olympic flags on the poles ringing the top of the stadium came partially loose and fluttered wildly while the poles shook in the wind.Trash swirled around the arena.The Brazilians dominated the first set against the United States and then -- just as decisively -- struggled in the second. The Americans fell behind 12-6 in the third, and then the 6-foot-8 Alison and the crowd took over.With a block to force match point and then a spike off Dalhausser for the winner, the man known as the Mammoth moved within one win of a second-straight Olympic medal.Brazil will play the Netherlands in one semifinal match and Russia will play Italy in the other. The fifth-place finish for the Americans, combined with the 19th-place finish by Jake Gibb and Casey Patterson, ties with Athens for the worst finish by the U.S. men in an Olympics.I have learned so much from the Americans. They are good friends outside of the court, Alison said. Theres respect for them, and they must be celebrated. ' ' '