their first road loss of the

RALEIGH, N. Juan Carlos Navarro Jersey .C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes continued their solid play on their homestand by handing the Colorado Avalanche their first road loss of the season. Jordan Staal and Patrick Dwyer each had a goal and an assist, lifting the Hurricanes to a 2-1 victory over the Avalanche on Tuesday. It was Colorados first loss in seven road games this season, and Carolinas fourth straight win over the Avalanche in Raleigh. "We have a lot of respect for a team thats gotten out to the start Colorado has," Carolina coach Kirk Muller said. "Theyve played good hockey and we know weve been playing good hockey for the past few games. It was going to take everyone tonight to play a complete game in order to beat that club, and I thought everyone was up to the task." Carolina has points in four straight games (3-0-1), all at home, since snapping a five-game losing streak. Carolina goalie Justin Peters stopped 33 shots, while Colorados Semyon Varlamov stopped 26. Paul Stastny scored his seventh goal of the season for Colorado, which had won the teams other meeting this season 4-2 on Oct. 25 in Denver. "I have to give it to (the Hurricanes)," Colorado coach Patrick Roy said. "They played really well at the start of the game. I would say that the second half of the game was ours. We just didnt execute around the net, and I thought that was the only thing that was missing because we had a lot of chances." All seven of Carolinas victories this season have been by one goal. "The D did an awesome job helping me out tonight," Peters said. "(Colorado) was coming fast and hard. We talked about before the game how we wanted to protect the house and we did that. This just shows how well we can play when we stick to the process and do things the right way." Nathan Gerbe had two assists for Carolina. Eric Staal played in his 708th game for the Hurricanes, tying Kevin Dineen for third on the clubs all-time list. The Hurricanes led 1-0 after a penalty-free first period in which they outshot the Avalanche 11-5. Carolina got on the board first at 12:47 of the first, as Staal followed a Gerbe shot by backhanding the puck past Varlamov for his third goal of the season. Colorado outshot the Hurricanes 19-12 in the second. The Hurricanes made it 2-0 on a rush 26 seconds into the second, as from the left boards Gerbe passed to Dwyer for an easy glove-side goal with Staal on the secondary assist. "In the last few games weve been building on those little details," Jordan Staal said. "Weve been talking in the room a lot more and getting the guys aware of what we need to do to. Its been the short shifts, the strong plays at the blue line and all those little things thats keeping the other teams away from big opportunities and wearing them down." Stastny made it 2-1 on the games first power play at 14:34, picking up the loose puck behind Peters in the crease and following Nathan MacKinnons shot. Carolina right wing Radek Dvorak left the game early in the third with a lower-body injury and did not return. NOTES: Carolina will complete its five-game homestand Thursday night against the Anaheim Ducks. ... Colorado will play at St. Louis on Thursday night. ... Hurricanes D Tim Gleason (upper body) missed his fifth straight game and RW Kevin Westgarth (upper body) his fourth. ... Avalanche LW Alex Tanguay (knee) missed his fourth straight and D Ryan Wilson (back) his third. Cheap Grizzlies Jerseys .Manager Brendan Rodgers told the Liverpool Echo on Friday that Sturridge pulled his calf muscle in training as he prepared to return from a five-week layoff due to a thigh strain. Jaren Jackson Jersey . Fognini won 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 after Argentinas Carlos Berlocq had beaten Andreas Seppi 4-6, 6-0, 6-2, 6-1 on the outdoor clay surface. Doubles are set for Saturday with reverse singles on Sunday to decide which team reaches the quarterfinals.VERO BEACH, Fla. -- Chad Johnson made a sharp cut to free himself from a defender, and then hauled in a pass at the 53-yard line. Yes, the 53. Football is going to be a little different now for the former NFL star. The receiver who once changed his last name to Ochocinco might be hearing a lot of "O Canada" this summer, and he insists hes humbled for that opportunity. Johnson was on the field with the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL on Tuesday for the start of their three-day minicamp, and theres a very realistic chance that he will be with them when their season starts for real in June. "Its just football. Its football," Johnson said. "Its not about Montreal. Its about the opportunity to be able to play football again, something I love." Its something he lost two years ago. Johnson last appeared in an NFL game during the 2011 season with New England. He was in training camp with the Miami Dolphins -- his hometown team -- the following summer, but his contract was terminated one day after he was charged with misdemeanour domestic battery. A plea deal was eventually worked out, but after a probation violation Johnson wound up going to jail for a few days anyway after a judge objected to the way he slapped his attorney on the backside in celebration. He hasnt played since. "A horrible mistake," Johnson said. "A dream of mine since I was 4 years old was taken from me, rightfully so, by my wrongdoings and I just want to get back to doing something that I love to do, regardless of where it is. Montreal, flag football, back in the street the way I grew up . I just want to play football." The Alouettes have a history of not judging players by their checkered pasts, as evidenced by how they once gave former Nebraska running back Lawrence Phillips a chance on what became a Grey Cup-winning team in Montreal. "Its all business," Alouettes general manager Jim Popp said. "Its real. Hes in great shape. He wants to play and well see how things are." Popp shrugged off the notion that Johnsons presence is a publicity stunt. "None of you would know it was here unless it got tweeted out," Popp said. JaMychal Green Jersey. And Twitter does play quite a role in this story, since Johnson -- one of the worlds most popular athletes when it comes to social media -- used the power of his 3.6 million followers to help get the Alouettes attention. "Power of Twitter," Johnson said, grinning. The Alouettes were working out at Dodgertown, where some schoolkids were playing baseball on a nearby field. When their game ended, about a dozen of them came over to the football field to chant "Oc-ho-cin-co!" repeatedly. Some fans wearing his old Cincinnati Bengals jerseys watched, as did a couple in Patriots colours. "Like a kid again," Johnson said. He showed Tuesday that he can still run routes, and right there is why Montreal is eager to take a closer look. The CFL game is very much passing-friendly, and that can be at least partially attributed to several rule deviations from the NFL game. Teams in the CFL have only three downs to gain 10 yards instead of four. The field is 10 yards longer from goal line to goal line, is about 10 yards wider, and the end zones are 20 yards deep -- twice as long as those used in high school, college and pro play in the U.S. Montreal quarterback Troy Smith, the former Ohio State standout, said most people dont realize how much talent is in the CFL. And he believes Johnson can make an impact. "I know hes going to bring some fun and excitement to the team," Smith said. In short, even though theres 12 players on the field per team instead of 11, theres plenty of room for offences to manoeuvr. And in Canada, receivers cant be blocked or jammed unless theyre within a yard of the line of scrimmage. Of course, if Johnson heads to the CFL, he wont be exactly getting rich. The salary cap in the CFL is $4.4 million per team -- Johnson has had years where hes made about twice that much by himself. The average salary is around $85,000. "I dont even need a check," Johnson said. "Didnt I give it all away for 12 years straight? Think about it. Did I ever care about money when I played throughout my career? Still dont. I want to have fun. I want to enjoy the game. Thats it." ' ' '