CHICAGO -- During his tenure with the Chicago Blackhawks, Corey Crawford has played a pivotal role in helping deliver three Stanley Cup championships since 2010.So as the Blackhawks ride a three-game winning streak into a Thursday home test against the Colorado Avalanche, it is no secret that Crawford has been at the center of Chicagos recent success.Crawford, who made 33 saves in the Blackhawks 5-1 win over the Calgary Flames on Tuesday, boosts the level of play of those playing in front of him on a nightly basis.He gives us confidence, Blackhawks forward Artemi Panarin said after Tuesday nights victory. We were calmer (against the Flames). We made those little bit risky plays knowing we have a great goalkeeper behind us.Over his career, Crawford has grown more consistent in net, which, in turn, made him among the NHLs best. But over Chicagos three-game win streak, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville is seeing that consistency became a staple of Crawfords game much in the way it did throughout last season.Crawford registered at least 32 saves in each of the three wins, leading to a save percentage of .926 this season. Crawford owns a 4-3-1 record.Like the Blackhawks (6-3-1), Crawford is raising his game up a level of late.Im feeling better and better every game, Crawford said Tuesday night. Im feeling quicker out there reading plays, thats a big part of it, too, being able to read a play and get out and be aggressive when its time. Just everything is coming together each game and just went out there and battled.While Crawford has the Blackhawks moving in the right directions, the Avalanche find themselves struggling. Colorado dropped a 5-1 decision to the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night in Denver.The defeat was Colorados third in its past four games, dropping the Avalanche back to .500 for the season, 4-4-0.Its not at all how we want to play, coach Jared Bednar said after the Tuesday loss. Its pretty bad. ... We didnt find the intensity we needed for the game. It was disappointing because it was a chance for us to go a couple of games above .500, and now were just spinning in the mud again.As Crawford has experienced at times earlier this season, the Avalanche are struggling with inconsistent play. That will be put to the test Thursday night when they face a Blackhawks team that is looking to keep its positive momentum.Colorado, meanwhile, will look to reverse its course and get things back on track.Were trying to make sure we get certain things out of our group every night, Bednar said. When we get them, we give ourselves a good chance to win. When we dont get them, right now its almost a guaranteed loss.To that end the Avalanche held a team meeting after the loss to Nashville.Colorado captain Gabriel Landeskog said, To a man, we have to be honest and look at ourselves in the mirror and reflect the way we come to work every day. Im not going to go into details about the meeting. Were going to come to the rink ... with a good attitude. Tonight, its got to be said, this was embarrassing. Nike Air Force 1 Low . Fred Couples, captain of the U.S. side, put it all into perspective. "We know whos in charge," he said. Nike Air Force 1 Low Mens Sale . -- Timbers coach Caleb Porter didnt stray from his business-like approach to the season even after Portland downed the two-time defending league champion Los Angeles Galaxy to gain crucial playoff position. http://www.airforce1shoescheapsale.com/ . LOUIS -- Attorneys for the St. Nike Air Force 1 Online Store . Nathan MacKinnon, Jamie McGinn and Jan Hejda also scored for the Avalanche, who won despite being outshot 38-23. MacKinnons goal, also on the power play, came with just over a minute remaining. Nike Air Force 1 Mens . LOUIS -- St. CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Harvard center Zena Edosomwan pulls out his cellphone and scrolls back to the photos from his last trip to China. There, he finds a picture of himself at a Chinese market with a small boy of about 6 years old sitting high on his shoulders.Theres so much love and positive energy there, Edosomwan said last week as he prepared to return to China -- this time with the Crimson basketball team for its game against Stanford on Friday night. A lot of Stanford and Harvard players are going to be surprised. Theyre going to be like rock stars there.Two of the top academic universities in the United States, Harvard and Stanford are visiting Shanghai this week to open their mens basketball seasons -- and do a little brand-building while theyre at it. The schools are already well-known internationally -- Harvard has 1,802 students and scholars from China, according to its website -- but few there think of basketball when they think of the two prestigious institutions.Its an amazing chance, and were proud to be a part of it, proud to represent this great brand, this great school in China, Harvard coach Tommy Amaker said last week as he prepared to visit the country for the first time. Were not just thinking just for us; were representing Harvard. We try to do that wherever we go.For Stanford, its the third in-season international trip in the programs 102-year history (Mexico, 2009; Bahamas, 2012), though the team visited Rome, Florence, Venice and Como during a summer tour of Italy in 2015. This years visit by the Pac-12 follows one last year, when Washington beat Texas, and completes a two-year deal. The Pac-12 announced Friday a new two-year deal to play in China, with UCLA and Georgia Tech to play there next year.Visiting Harvard last week, Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said the trip reminded him of the ping pong diplomacy of President Richard Nixons administration and hoped it would help break down barriers between the nations.College sports diplomacy is a great trend, he said. Its a great game, and I think its a great entr?e for people to interact.For sure, it wont just be basketball on this trip.The Crimson arrived in Hangzhou on Sunday night and -- after sleeping off the 30-hour trip -- had a meet-and-greet at the online commerce company Alibaba. They visited some ancient temples on Tuesday and a museum on Wednesday before playing Jiao Tong University in an exhibition. On Thursday, they were scheduled to appear in the Shanghai Disney parade and make an appearance with students from a school funded by the Yao Ming Foundation.dddddddddddd Friday is back to work to prepare for the game, which is scheduled for noon Saturday local time, or 11 p.m. back on campus.The Cardinal had a shorter flight -- a mere 14 hours -- with many of the same activities planned, adding a Huangpu River Cruise and an exhibition against Tsinghua.All the while, players will have to keep up with their school work. Amaker said a half-dozen players have exams they will need to take on the trip -- scheduled to coincide with the time their classmates are taking the tests back home. A handful of China scholars and other Harvard officials made the trip with the team.Studying is part of the travel, Amaker said. Its going to be a lot thats put into it, but were hoping were going to gain a lot from it.Asked if there was anything special he was looking forward to on his first trip to China, Amaker said, Other than beating Stanford?Amaker arrived at Harvard in 2007 to find a basketball program with no past and not much of a future. The Crimson had never won an Ivy League championship in mens basketball before winning five straight, starting in 2011. Twice they have advanced in the NCAA Tournament by beating a higher-seeded first-round opponent.With that success has come a highly regarded recruiting class and new opportunities, like trips to the Battle for Atlantis in the Bahamas and the Great Alaska Shootout and now China.This is another layer that we can add to the growth of our program. The success that weve had in the past allows us to be invited and thought of for moments like this. And were proud of that, Amaker said. How lucky are we to have this opportunity in front of us, and to be able to thank basketball for something like this? This is where sports and athletics can provide opportunities that most people wont have.Edosomwan has been to China twice before, running an educational conference there last summer. He has taken six semesters of Mandarin and six other classes on China at Harvard, making him a bit of an expert among his teammates.I guess in a way I know a little bit more, Edosomwan said.And what did his teammates want to know?Mostly, he said, whats the deal with the internet?---AP Sports Writer Janie McCauley contributed to this story from Stanford, California. China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '