SOCHI — Hayley Wickenheiser not only will carry the Canadian flag in the opening ceremonies on Friday, the hockey legend also carries high hopes for a fourth-consecutive Olympic gold medal and for the womens game as a whole. But before her work on the ice begins, shes going to savour a special moment at Sochis Fisht Olympic stadium on Friday. "Just going to enjoy it and take it all in and, you know, honour the fact that I have this opportunity and that my family is going to be in the building," said Wickenheiser, who hails from Shaunavon, Sask. "So its going to be a fun night, said the Olympic veteran," who will have 11 family members in Sochi. The 35-year-old Wickenheiser is well aware that if the womens tournament evolves as presumed with a Canada-United States gold-medal final on Feb. 20, the scrutiny will continue as to whether womens hockey belongs in the Olympics. But shes been around the international game for two decades, when she cracked the Canadian roster as a 15 year old in 1994, and she sees progress. Womens game in good shape “I always worry about the future of womens hockey, mainly because of the fact that most of the world pays attention to womens hockey only for two weeks out of every four years,” Wickenheiser said. “I dont worry about the womens game when I look at every game and what goes on internationally. “I look at Team Japan and what [current coach and former Canadian player] Carla MacLeod has been able to do to get that team to an Olympic Games, which is a huge accomplishment for a country. You look at Finland and how they centralize their under-18 and national teams. You look at Sweden and you look at Russia what Alexei Yashin [the teams general manager] has been able to do with his team.” Still, the Russians, Swedes, Finns and Swiss need to exhibit that they have closed the gap. But that wont be easy because Canada and the U.S. continue to elevate its level of play. “This is a dilemma womens hockey is always going to face. But the reality is were so much further ahead in this time span than say where mens hockey was in [after the first five Olympics]. I think the [womens] game has really come a long way in five Olympics.” Will this be Wickenheisers final Olympics? She wont decide on whether to continue or conclude her decorated career, that includes three Olympic gold medals, seven world championships and playing pro mens hockey in Finland and Sweden, until after the final buzzer sounds in Sochi. So what keeps Wickenheisers competitive clock ticking? “The No. 1 thing is a love of sport,” said the six-time Olympian said, who also competed for Canada in softball at the 2000 Sydney Games. “Ive loved hockey since the day I first put on skates when I was five years old. I have had a passion to play all these years. “I love being part of Team Canada and having the opportunity to win, and thats the main driving force now.” Nagano loss still hurts She forgot to mention that shes never been a good loser. At a team gathering on Monday evening, Wickenheiser and Hefford and assistant coach Daniel Goyette described the emptiness and hurt they felt when they finished second in 1998. “The worst thing in the world is to stand on the blue line with a silver medal around your neck,” she said. “It stays with you for a while.” There was some speculation that Wickenheiser wouldnt be around for the Sochi Games. There was some thought her game had dropped off and she was dealing with some injuries. “You battle injuries and you go through a lot of things as an athlete, but I could picture in my mind what I needed to do to get ready to play in these Games,” she said. “I guess its always a fragile existence as an athlete. Any day something can happen and your games are over, like we saw yesterday with the snowboarder (Norway slopestyle gold-medal contender Torstein Horgmo broke his collarbone during a trail run). “Im very grateful to be sitting here … and to have had the longevity Ive had.” (With files from CBC Saskatchewan) T... Lockett Womens Jersey . Isner, ranked No. 14, won his eighth career singles title and took the title in New Zealand for the second time after his victory in 2010. The match was similar to Isners quarterfinal victory over fifth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber which went to three sets, all tiebreaks and contained no breaks of serve. .R. Smith realized how easily basketball can be taken from him, and he wasnt going to take his place in the NBA for granted anymore. [url=http://www.authenticseahawksshoponline.com/seahawks-k-j-wright-super-bowl-j... . 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Raanta made 26 saves in his first NHL shutout, Brandon Saad scored in the first period, and Chicago beat Los Angeles 1-0 on Monday night, sending the Kings to their first three-game losing streak in nearly a year. "There was only one goal for us, so I knew if we wanted to win the game, I had to stop all the pucks," Raanta said. "I thought about it maybe the last two or three minutes." With Crawford nearing a return, Raanta improved to 10-1-3 while bouncing back from one of his worst performances. He allowed two late goals in Chicagos 6-5 shootout loss at St. Louis on Saturday. Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville was non-committal when asked about the teams goalies after Crawford returns. But it is hard to imagine Raanta returning to the minors after the impressive start to this NHL career. "Its a nice situation," Quenneville said. "He really, really helped solidify something that looked a little bit concerning at that time." Saad scored his sixth goal in his last 11 games. Chicago, which leads the NHL with 158 goals, played its lowest-scoring game since a 2-1 shootout win at Dallas on Nov. 29. Los Angeles Martin Jones made 29 saves in his second straight loss after beginning his career with eight consecutive wins, tying the NHL record. The Kings, who have yielded a league-low 80 goals, played a tough, physical game after losses to Dallas and Nashville. But they are on their first three-game slide since dropping the opening three games of last season in January. "We had our chances. They had some chances," Kings centre Mike Richards said. "We just didnt capitalize on our looks at the net." Chicago forward Patrick Kane had a career-best point streak snapped at 14 games. He had eight goals and 17 assists in the surge. Last seasons Western Conference finalists faced off for the second time this season.dddddddddddd The Blackhawks scored three first-period goals, and Raanta made 21 saves in a 3-1 victory over the Kings on Dec. 15. Raanta lost his shutout chance in that one when Kings defenceman Alec Martinez scored with 3:54 remaining. This time, he finished the job. Raanta faced his biggest test in the second period when Dustin Brown made a strong charge to the net. The 24-year-old Finn turned away the rush by the Kings captain, and then stopped him again when he was awarded a penalty shot. "Its nice to have a great 60 minutes," Raanta said. "Last game in St. Louis, it wasnt so great the last three minutes, so its nice to bounce back like this." Anze Kopitar also had a chance in front of Chicagos net with 2 minutes to go, but Raanta was there when the centre tried to stuff the puck into the net. The Kings had a couple of chances to stop the Blackhawks scoring chance that produced the only goal. Bryan Bickells pass to Saad went off the stick of Los Angeles defenceman Matt Greene, and Richards had an opportunity to knock away the puck before Saad flipped it in at 7:05 for his 14th goal. "It was just a broken play, and their guy was able to pick up the loose puck," Jones said. "I mean thats the difference in the hockey game right there, a broken play like that. The little things make a big difference." The Blackhawks appeared to have a second goal in the third, but Andrew Shaws tip-in was waved off because his stick was above his shoulders. NOTES: Browns penalty shot was Los Angeles first this season and the sixth against the Blackhawks. ... Crawford participated in the morning skate, but didnt play. He has missed 10 games. ... Kane is the only NHL player with multiple point streaks of at least 10 games. ... The Kings scratched Martinez and forwards Daniel Carcillo and Matt Frattin. ... The Blackhawks also scratched defencemen Michael Kostka and Sheldon Brookbank. ... The teams will meet once more on Feb. 3 in Los Angeles. [url=http://www.cheapjerseyscustom.us.com/]cheap custom jerseys wholesale jerseys store cheap jerseys Cheap Jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '