t, Tavares said. He does such a good job of not

OEIRAS, Portugal -- Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., is through to the quarter-finals of the Portugal Open after posting a 6-3, 6-2 win over Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay on Thursday. It will be the fourth consecutive quarter-final appearance of the season for Raonic, who is looking for his first ATP Tour win on clay. Raonic, the world No. 9 and second seed at the tournament, will face Argentine Carlos Berlocq on Friday. Raonic lost just 11 points on serve in his 67 minute victory over Cuevas, five of which came on double faults. In womens action, Montreals Eugenie Bouchard was defeated 6-4, 6-1 in the quarter-finals by two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova of Russia. Bouchard, ranked 18th in the world, took a 4-1 lead in the opening set, but went on to lose 11 of the final 12 games. In other matches, mens top seed Tomas Berdych strolled to a 6-3, 6-2 win over Somdev Devvarman of India. Other mens winners included Leonardo Mayer of Argentina, Gastao Elias of Portugal and Victor Hanescu of Romania. Top-seeded woman Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain beat Polona Hercog of Slovenia 6-1, 6-3 to reach the semifinals. Jeremy Kerley Bills Jerseys . -- Theres nothing like winning to bring hope for a struggling team. Buffalo Bills Jerseys .Y. -- It was as if Matt Moulson never left the New York Islanders. http://www.officialauthenticbillsshop.com/authentic-customized.html . Im very excited about the playoffs, particularly in the Western Conference with amazing match-ups, as well as the wonderful local story in the Toronto Raptors. It should be a blast. Here are my predictions, but based upon my lousy prognostications during the NCAA Tournament, you might be better off going the other way on some of mine - particularly with the Raptors, who I hope and pray are able to win an incredibly difficult match-up. Trent Murphy Jersey . Ronaldo netted his 14th goal of the season in Europes top competition to give Madrid a clear advantage ahead of next weeks quarterfinal return leg in Germany. But it came at a price as the Portugal forward, who came into the first-leg nursing a sore left knee, came off in the 80th minute. Harrison Phillips Bills Jerseys . They kicked off the still-going trend of host cities winning the Grey Cup and sent Hall of Fame head coach Wally Buono to the front office a champion.OTTAWA - Maybe Jaroslav Halak just needed to feel wanted.First the goaltender was second fiddle to Carey Price in Montreal then got pushed out in St. Louis for Ryan Miller. Nothing more than a rental in Washington, Halak last June heard from a team that wanted to turn the reins over to him and invest in him for the long term.Now the New York Islanders are atop the Metropolitan Division, riding the wave of Halaks all-star-calibre play during his franchise record 11-game winning streak.This team showed interest in me and interest in signing me, Halak said. Interest was on both sides, and Im glad it worked out well.It has worked out for the first-place Islanders because general manager Garth Snow was willing to trade a fourth-round pick for Halaks rights two weeks after the regular season ended and even more willing to give him a long-term contract. Halak did his homework on the Islanders, talking to current and former players, and ultimately signed a US$18-million, four-year deal.The season is only 26 games old, but so far that looks like a bargain. At 14-4-0 with a 2.05 goals-against average and .926 save percentage, the former Canadien has stabilized the goaltending position that has gone through so much recent change and fits of inconsistency.Since Ive been here, weve gone through a lot of goalies, and theyve been quality goaltenders, coach Jack Capuano said. But to know that we have a couple guys now back there and hopefully we can stay healthy, its been a big plus for our hockey club.Capuano is referencing backup Chad Johnson, too, but the onus really has been on Halak to shoulder the load for New York. The way the schedule sets up — the Islanders only have one back-to-back for the next month — the fifth-year head coach cant help but want to keep putting Halak on the ice.On Thursday night, the 29-year-old Slovak beat the Ottawa Senators to break Billy Smiths franchise record of consecutive victories with his 11th.Its great to see him break the record and he deserves it, Capuano said. Hes working real hard and hes enjoying himself between the pipes right now.Halak has an intense demeanour on the ice, something captain John Tavares notices when Cal Clutterbuck shoots high on him early in practice. Halak doesnt take too kindly to that.I think you can just tell by his facial expressions, Tavares said.Maybe Halak doesnt smile too much, but hes loving life with the Islanders, who are a world away from where they were a year ago. Back then they were losers of 10 in a row during a season in which they didnt get great goaltending from Evgeni Nabokov, Anders Nilsson or Kevin Poulin.These Islanders underwent significant off-season changes. Snow signed former Maple Leafs forwards Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin, then a few days before opening night traded for defencemen Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy.ddddddddddddQuite simply, this is a better team all over the ice.We just play a good poised game, and we have a lot of depth, so were able to come at teams with every line and all our D, Tavares said. We just want to put teams on their heels. We want to play with the puck, obviously. I think the more energy youve got to spend to try to get it back, I think it makes it tough for the other team to generate offence, generate opportunities.Tavares pointed out theres no panic in Halaks game and likewise no panic on the bench or in the locker-room in difficult situations, unlike last season. Theres little doubt the Islanders feed off their No. 1 goaltender.Everyone sort of plays like Jaro a bit, defenceman Thomas Hickey said. Hes quiet in the net and I think it rubs off on us. ... When any goalie’s playing on their game it makes it really easy on the team.Things havent exactly been easy lately, even as the Islanders have been on a roll. Just four of their past nine victories have come in regulation.That speaks to some strong play in close games but also to New Yorks slim margin for error. Halak plays a part in that because hes not prone to giving up soft goals.He makes every save he should, Hickey said. You dont see him making the 10-bell save because hes always in position, he doesnt need to.During this winning streak, which will be on the line Saturday against the St. Louis Blues, Halak has stopped 275 of the 289 shots he has faced (.952 save percentage) and put up a 1.24 GAA.Capuano said Halak was dialed in. Some athletes feel momentum building, but not this one.I dont think about it, Halak said. I go game-by-game. Im always trying to focus on the game thats ahead of me. Whatever happened in the past, happened in the past. Thats great. But back to work tomorrow.Halaks work never stops. Earlier in the season Capuano and goaltending coach Mike Dunham talked to Halak about managing his emotions, and he has done that.I just thought mentally he was a little frustrated, and right now hes in a good place, Capuano said. Hes got high expectations of himself, which is good. Thats what you want.Its no different than a quarterback or different than a starting pitcher. Youre the last line of defence back there. I like the fact that he puts that pressure on himself, but how he channelled in a different way.Halak isnt out of control. In fact, Tavares called him pretty calm.The Islanders have followed that lead.The consistency he brings in his game and the calmness he brings, of course we feed off that, Tavares said. He does such a good job of not giving up second, third chances and swallowing pucks and pushing them off to the side. 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