Kontakt » ailed a 3 and Matt Costello scooped in a reverse

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Anze Kopitar politely disagrees with the idea that the Los Angeles Kings top line has dominated the Anaheim Ducks best scorers in their second-round playoff series. Since its Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau who suggested the idea, its clear Kopitar and his linemates are doing something right to put the Kings in control of the series so far. Boudreau didnt hesitate to spotlight the ineffectiveness of centre Ryan Getzlaf and longtime linemate Corey Perry after Los Angeles 3-1 victory in Game 2 on Monday night, putting the Kings up 2-0 heading home to Staples Center for Game 3 on Thursday. Boudreau began the game matching up Getzlaf, Perry and Matt Beleskey against Kopitar, Marian Gaborik and captain Dustin Brown. By the third period, he was sending out his former Hart Trophy winner and current Hart finalist against anybody else. "I did it because Kopitars line was dominating them," Boudreau said. "When theyre dominating them, I could be stubborn and leave them out there all day, but we had to move something around to get away from it, and maybe his line could get something accomplished." Kopitar isnt exactly enjoying a breakthrough season, given that he has been one of the NHLs best centres for several years. Yet with a point in every post-season game and his first Selke Trophy nomination, Kopitar is clearly in top form as the Kings chase their second championship in three years. And Kopitar has been playing against Getzlaf long enough to know he shouldnt claim a shutdown victory just yet. "I dont know about dominating them," Kopitar said Tuesday when told of Boudreaus statement. "I think they were playing good, and they hemmed us in our zone for a little bit, too. We know as a line that we can play better, and were going to have to play better." Even when he raised the Stanley Cup as the playoffs co-scoring leader two years ago, Kopitar never got as much international attention as he did this winter. Kopitar is the Kings leading scorer for the seventh straight year, but he also led Slovenia to the quarterfinals of its first Olympic tournament before becoming a first-time finalist for the Selke as the leagues best defensive forward. Kopitar began Tuesday as the leading scorer in the NHL post-season again, with four goals and 10 assists during his nine-game scoring streak. "Hes been doing this for years, and this might be as good as Ive ever seen him play," Kings centre Mike Richards said. Getzlaf knows the pressure is on him to match Kopitars effort when the series moves to downtown Los Angeles for the next two games, and the Ducks captain has met every challenge so far this season. Getzlaf was the NHLs second-leading scorer in the regular season while developing into an impressive leader. He has assisted on all three of Anaheims goals in the series, but Perry has yet to find the back of Jonathan Quicks net. The Ducks meagre offensive output in the first two games against Los Angeles isnt shocking, given the Kings status as the NHLs best defensive team in front of their dominant goalie. Yet Getzlaf and Perry have been able to score on almost anybody this year, and theyre determined to get their teammates going at Staples Center. "I was mad, and Im still mad," Getzlaf said Tuesday. "I want to win, and when we dont win, I get mad. Thats just the nature of my well-being." Even if Kopitars line was as dominating as Boudreau said, the Kings clearly arent overpowering the Ducks in this series. Anaheim was 7 seconds away from winning Game 1 when Gaborik tied it with the goalie pulled, and Los Angeles sat on a one-goal lead for 46 minutes in Game 2 before an empty-net goal in a 3-1 victory. The Ducks are getting most of the series scoring chances, but theyre not getting the second chances and grind-it-out goals that are usually the only way to beat Quick. Boudreau is emphasizing the importance of getting in front of Quick, whose aggressiveness can be used against him by a team with Anaheims four-line skill. "I think weve got to start using Quick against himself a little bit," Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano said. "He challenges the pucks very well. He sprawls out, and sometimes there is room for shooting pucks off his pads and getting rebounds. ... Now its all about dirty goals. Were not scoring enough goals. Guys are getting good looks, but were not scoring." Wholesale Air Max 97 . Viewers in the Canadiens region can watch the game on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt and listen on TSN 690. The Canadiens have won three in a row and four of their last five games and recently put the finishing touches on a 3-1-0 road trip. Air Max 97 Clearance .com) - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quickly found themselves a new offensive coordinator, and one thats quite familiar with the NFC South. http://www.airmax97ukcheap.com/.com) - Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer were among the third-round winners Friday at the French Open. Air Max 97 Uk Sale . PETERSBURG, Fla. Air Max 97 Sale Outlet . -- Southern Illinois coach Barry Hinson couldnt hear himself amid the roar in Koch Arena, so he kept stomping on the floor in a fruitless attempt to get his teams attention.EVANSTON, Ill. -- Gary Harris sees the wins piling up for No. 4 Michigan State. What he doesnt see is a finished product. The Spartans hardly looked like one against Northwestern on Wednesday night. They still prevailed 54-40, with Harris scoring 14 points to lead them to their ninth straight victory. "We know that we werent playing as well as we can offensively," Harris said. "We had to do something defensively to kind of get us going. Get stops and get the lead. Thats what we did. Thats how we pulled away from them." The preseason favourite to win the Big Ten, the Spartans (16-1, 5-0) continue to roll along, although it was hardly an easy night for them. They overcame a sluggish start and pulled away down the stretch even though they struggled in a big way from the outside. They were 2 of 16 on 3-pointers with six airballs, by coach Tom Izzos count. Harris missed all six from long range and Keith Appling was 0 for 3. Harris did have four steals, and Appling managed to score 11 points. Branden Dawson, fighting an illness, had 11 rebounds and three blocks, and the Spartans came away with the win even though they were missing one of their top players in Adreian Payne. The 6-foot-10 forward sat out his second straight game because of a sprained right foot and will have more X-rays on Friday. "Frustrating for him," Izzo said. "Although I have to admit he actually had better suggestions on the bench than he had in the games. I appreciated him as an assistant. I thought he did a good job in the huddles, and sometimes guys grow when they dont play. They appreciate playing." Izzo said Payne spoke in the locker room afterward. "That kids grown up so much. Its been a good year for him," Izzo added. Its been a great one for Michigan State, too, even if this game was a bit ugly. Tre Demps did his best to keep Northwestern (8-10, 1-4) in the game, scoring 10 of his 12 pooints in the second half.dddddddddddd. But leading scorer Drew Crawford never got going. He managed just six points with Denzel Valentine guarding him most of the game. Point guard Dave Sobolewski missed his second straight game because of a concussion, and the Wildcats came up short after beating then-No. 23 Illinois on Sunday night to give new coach Chris Collins his first Big Ten victory. They havent knocked off a top-five team since they took out fourth-ranked Michigan State on Jan. 27, 1979. But Izzo insisted Collins has them on the right path, even if its been a bumpy one. The Wildcats are moving to a more free flowing offence after running the Princeton set under former coach Bill Carmody, and it hasnt been the easiest adjustment. But they see the progress even though theyve failed to hit the 50-point mark the past two games. "Were really on the verge of something good," Crawford said. Coming off back-to-back overtime wins against Ohio State and Minnesota, Michigan State probably could have used a breather. The problem was, the Spartans had trouble sustaining a run. They looked as though they were poised to put this one away after Travis Trice nailed a 3 and Matt Costello scooped in a reverse layup to make it 40-31 with 11:36 remaining. But Demps answered with a basket for Northwestern. It was 44-37 when Alex Gauna banked in a shot to start a six-point spurt that gave the Spartans a double-digit lead. Harris hit two free throws and stripped Demps, leading to two more foul shots for Appling that made it 50-37 with 4:59 left, and the Spartans hung on from there. "(Northwestern) got loose balls," Izzo said. "They did the things theyve got to do. Its a sign of a good young team thats playing hard. Its the sign of a good coach whos getting them to play hard. I think theres a lot of positive things here. We have a good team. Were not playing real good right now." ' ' '