Quincey leads Kings past Wild

Hockey Betting Lines

03/07/2009 - Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Quincey had a goal and an assist as the Los Angeles Kings slipped past the Minnesota Wild, 4-3, at Staples Center.

Anze Kopitar, Kyle Calder and Edward Purcell each had a goal for the Kings, who have won two straight after a four-game losing streak. Jonathan Quick made 21 saves in the win.

"It's great to win at home," said Quincey. "It's a four-point game for us since were fighting Minnesota for the playoffs so this was a big win."

Owen Nolan, Stephane Veilleux and Eric Belanger all lit the lamp for the Wild, who have dropped five of their last six games. Niklas Backstrom started in net, but was pulled after allowing three goals on 13 shots. Josh Harding finished the game between the pipes and stopped 10-of-11 shots.

With the win, Los Angeles has 65 points and is just five points back of a playoff spot in the Western Conference. Minnesota remains three points out of the playoff race in the West.

Los Angeles struck just 2:26 into the game as Quincey picked up a turnover in the neutral zone, skated down the left wing and let loose with a weak shot that got under the right pad of Backstrom.

Minnesota tied the game at the 9:22 mark of the first. Kim Johnsson threw a shot on net from the left point that hit off of a couple of bodies in front and Nolan was able to slam it home from the right side.

The Kings, though, answered just 29 seconds later as Calder flew down the left side and fired a low slap shot under the left pad of Backstrom.

However, the Wild came back to tie the game with a bit over five minutes to play in the opening period. After the Kings hit the post with a shot, the play went the other way. James Sheppard and Veilleux worked a give-and-go with Veilleux's shot from the right circle hitting off the glove of Quick and going into the net.

The Kings made it a 3-2 game 8:45 into the second period when Michal Handzus checked a player off the puck along the deep left boards and threw it to the left circle for Kopitar, who wristed the puck into the right corner of the net.

After the goal, Backstrom was pulled from net and replaced by Harding.

Los Angeles took a 4-2 lead on the power play as Purcell wristed a shot off the post, but the rebound went back out front and he slammed his second attempt home with 4:49 left in the second.

Minnesota cut into the lead just 4:43 into the third on a delayed penalty call when Belanger whipped a shot from a sharp right angle that hit off the left skate of Quick and snuck into the net.

However, the Wild were unable to net the equalizer over the next several minutes and an ill-advised boarding penalty on Dan Fritsche with 3:10 to play allowed Los Angeles to kill off two minutes.

The Wild pulled Harding in the final minute for the extra attacker, but the Kings were able to keep the puck away from Quick to hold on for the win.

Game Notes

The Kings host Vancouver on Monday...Minnesota wraps up its six-game road trip in Anaheim on Sunday...Los Angeles won all four games in the series this season, the first time the team has swept the Wild...Los Angeles went 1-for-3 on the power play while Minnesota was 0-for-2.

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SPORTS BETTING: NFL Football Sportsbook Betting

NFL owners, already life's biggest winners, want to try their luck with the lottery.


That was the news out of their meetings last week, where team bosses voted unanimously to allow stamping state and local lottery tickets with franchise logos, if, ahem, any governments wanted to do a deal.

A shocker: Within days the Pats announced they'd be sponsoring the Massachusetts state lottery, the Skins said they'd slap their sticker on Virginia scratch-offs and the Ravens admitted they were talking to Maryland lottery bosses. In all likelihood, it won't be long before every team is a presenting sponsor of scratch-offs or just plain old pick fives. "The change in policy was approved 32-0," said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello. "So you can expect to see more deals soon."

It's a branding opportunity too big for the owners to ignore, and one a couple of dozen baseball franchises have enjoyed for years. The fact the NFL has been slower to act than those slack-brained Seligites is indicative of its complicated relationship with all forms of gambling. Consider this: Last Thursday, as the Pats and the Redskins finalized their new lottery deals, a lawyer representing the NFL argued before Delaware's Supreme Court that the state's newly signed sports betting law should be repealed.

The NFL betting is the face of opposition to sports gambling . And as much as it would like to share that responsibility with other leagues, that's not going to happen as long as more than 40% of all money legally wagered on games is bet on football. That's why the Brewers can do a multi-million dollar deal with a local casino, or the Celtics can make their own pact with the Mass lottery, and the response is, "Sweet, let's play." But when the NFL does it the stakes are higher, and everyone from NPR's Frank Deford to the Associated Press to the guys blogging at Deadspin will line up to play gotcha.

So I asked Aiello, who surely knew there'd be piling on, how the league can rail against being bait for sports bettors, then allow its franchises to be just that for lotteries, the most insidious and addictive form of gambling around. He emailed me this response: "We are not moral crusaders. NFL personnel are permitted to engage in legal forms of gambling, except for betting on NFL games. We are making a distinction here between the spread of gambling on the outcome of our games and supporting state lottery scratch-off games, that have nothing to do with the outcome of our games."

Here's where I should rip him. But, the thing is, he's right. Not to get Obama on you, but this is a complicated, nuanced issue. As much as lotteries are considered a tax on the poor, the NFL isn't a socially obligated government program -- it's just a business. Scratch-off's help the bottom line, sports betting doesn't. Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors … But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal.

Now, it's okay to call the league hypocritical when it releases injury reports, which players have told me only helps bettors. And it's okay to mutter something obscene when the league pretends gambling doesn't help drive TV ratings and fan interest and put money in owners' pockets. But when it supports other forms of gaming? Big Deal. The Bears should put an orange "C" on every deck of cards dealt at Harrah's in Joliet; the Eagles should slap their logo on roulette wheels at the Borgata in Atlantic City; the Dolphins should hold training camp at the El San Juan in Puerto Rico.

Seriously.

The NFL's problem, when it comes to the gambling world, isn't hypocrisy, it's worse: The bosses lack vision. That's why the league is picking unwinnable fights in Delaware and taking pot shots from critics after making smart sponsorship deals. Roger Goodell and his gang are acting and thinking locally rather than globally, which is rare for them, especially compared to their professional (and amateur) counterparts.

The NBA held its All Star game in Las Vegas and David Stern's kingdom didn't crumble (although the town did bring plenty of players to their knees.) I'd say it's 6 to 5 and pick 'em that Lebron will make a road swing through Sin City before his career is over.

Even the NCAA College Football Betting is more progressive on this issue than the NFL. Several years ago Rachel Newman Baker, college sports' gambling czar, opened a dialogue with Vegas bookmakers to learn about how they do business. She's visited Nevada sports books, studied their operations and listened to how they regulate action. Now she knows she can expect a call from bookmakers, who lose money when sports are fixed, if they think something sketchy is going on in NCAA games. She's not in favor of sports betting, but, as she once told me, "I know it's not going away, either."

The NFL can't seem to accept that. And until it can find peace with the idea, it'll get flack, even when it's right.

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