91-90. Davis then took matters into his own hands, going strong to t

LOS ANGELES -- Jonathan Quick and the Los Angeles Kings have returned from the Olympic break with a revitalized game and a sharpened playoff focus. The Carolina Hurricanes have neither, and they realize theyre running out of time to get it. Alec Martinez scored the tiebreaking goal on a power play with 11:45 to play, Quick made 24 saves, and the Kings beat the Hurricanes 3-1 Saturday for their third victory in four days since the break. Mike Richards scored his second goal since late November and Justin Williams added an empty-net goal for Los Angeles, which has roared out of the break with three wins in three cities in about 70 hours. The low-scoring Kings put up eight goals at Colorado and Calgary before holding off Carolina in their return to Staples Center. After five scoreless power plays in the first two periods, the Kings finally converted on their sixth. Captain Dustin Brown got the puck behind the Carolina net and fed it to Martinez, who blasted a shot from the slot for his first goal since Jan. 9. "Its no secret we werent happy with our game before the break started," Martinez said. "We worked on a lot of things, and we knew that when we came back, this would be crunch-time, playoff hockey." After two straight trips to the Western Conference finals and a Stanley Cup championship in 2012, the Kings know a few things about post-season grit -- and they know theyll need it just to reach the playoffs this time. Los Angeles had a 1-8-1 stretch shortly before the Olympic break, falling back to the pack in the conference playoff race. The Kings are thoroughly revived after their time off and an eventful Olympics, which included gold medals for Drew Doughty and Jeff Carter along with two surprising victories for Slovenia and Anze Kopitar. The rest of the Kings got several days off and several more days of practice, and both appear to be paying off. "Weve got to bring our best every night right now," Quick said. The Kings have won four straight overall, and Quick appears to be in top form after starting for the U.S. Olympic team in Sochi. He followed up his shutout of the Flames on Thursday with another strong performance against the Canes, including a handful of spectacular saves over the final two periods. Andrej Sekera scored and Anton Khudobin stopped 28 shots for the Hurricanes, who have lost three straight on their five-game road trip out of the break. Carolina has lost four straight overall, and the Hurricanes must visit NHL-leading Anaheim and powerful San Jose over the next three days. "We didnt have a lot of good scoring chances, but the ones we did, we didnt capitalize on them," Carolina coach Kirk Muller said. "Weve played nine periods now (since the break), and I think were happy with seven of the nine, but we havent gotten any points. Were playing hard and playing well defensively, but were not generating the offence we need to get ahead in these games." Carolina played without forward Alexander Semin, who was scratched with a lower-body injury. The Russian Olympian was hurt Thursday at Dallas, but might return Sunday in Anaheim. "Hes one of our best players, so it hurts having him out," Carolina centre Riley Nash said. "But guys have to fill (the void)." Los Angeles had a fruitless 4-on-3 advantage for 1:09 during the first period, but went ahead in the final minute on a sharp-angled shot by Richards, the veteran centre whose scoring touch has deserted him this season. The goal was his first in 13 games since Jan. 18 and just his second in 37 games since Nov. 25. The Hurricanes tied it up just 41 seconds later on a goal by Sekera. The Slovak Olympians floating shot banked off Kings defenceman Robyn Regehr and beat Quick with 15 seconds left in the first. "We played well and didnt give them a whole lot," Nash said. "It just seems like were finding ways not to win games and not to get points." NOTES: Carolina visited Staples Center for the first time since Oct. 21, 2010. ... Carolina D Jay Harrison was a healthy scratch. He had played in 13 straight games. ... Los Angeles scratched C Jordan Nolan and dressed young F Tanner Pearson for his 10th career NHL game. ... Wayne Gretzky watched from a seat on the glass. San Francisco Giants Shirts . A spokeswoman for the NLRB says its "a very incremental move" and does not necessarily indicate the board is close to a finding in the case. NFL owners filed an unfair labour charge against the players union in February, arguing that the union was not negotiating a new collective bargaining agreement in good faith. San Francisco Giants Gear . - The Seattle Seahawks have signed nine players to 2014 future contracts, including quarterback B. https://www.cheapjerseysgiants.us/ .Y. -- Syracuse guard Trevor Cooney was mired in a shooting slump, and his woes coincided with a late-season swoon by the Orange. Cheap Giants Jerseys . Others describe it as taking the parrot for a walk. Custom San Francisco Giants Jerseys . Inter Milan ended its five-match winless streak in all competitions by beating 10-man Bologna 3-1 on new manager Claudio Ranieris debut, while injury-plagued AC Milan edged Cesena 1-0 with an early goal from Clarence Seedorf.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Houston Rockets will try to build some momentum Friday night when they visit the Smoothie King Center to face the New Orleans Pelicans. The Rockets ended a two-game slide in impressive fashion on Wednesday. They clobbered the over-matched Charlotte Hornets, 102-83, thanks to a big night from James Harden. The MVP candidate made a career-high eight 3-pointers and scored 36 points to lead the Rockets. Harden also had seven rebounds and six assists for the Rockets and has scored at least 28 points in his last five games. He leads the NBA with 27.7 ppg. I felt real comfortable. My shot felt good all night, Harden said. Patrick Beverley and Donatas Motiejunas added 14 and 12 points, respectively, for Houston, which went 17-of-43 from beyond the arc. Dwight Howard contributed 11 points and eight rebounds. The newest Rockets - Josh Smith and Corey Brewer - didnt do much on Wednesday. They scored five points each on a combined 4-for-15 shooting, but the Rockets did the job on defense. Houston held the Hornets to 38.2 percent from the field and 16.7 percent from long range. The Rockets forced 18 turnovers and are third in opponents scoring and fifth in opponents field goal percentage. Their defense is good, really good actually, Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. The Pelicans have alternated wins and losses over their last eight games to stay at .500. New Orleans has won two straight in the Big Easy, but lost last time out. The Pelicans fell Wednesday in San Antonio, 95-93, in overtime against the defending champion Spurs. New Orleans had taken an 84-82 edge on Anthony Davis seconnd-chance slam with 0.dddddddddddd7 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, but the Pelicans Omer Asik inadvertently tipped in Boris Diaws inbounds pass for Tim Duncan as the buzzer sounded to force extra time. The Pelicans recovered to start the overtime strong, putting forth a 7-2 run capped by Davis steal that led to a run-out layup by Jimmer Fredette that gave New Orleans a 91-86 advantage. Manu Ginobili scored the next five points, however, and Danny Green blocked Tyreke Evans going to the hoop and was fouled on the rebound with 40.3 seconds to play. He hit 1-of-2 free throws to put San Antonio up 91-90. Davis then took matters into his own hands, going strong to the basket and converting a layup while being fouled with 36.7 seconds on the clock. He missed the free throw, however, and Tim Duncan found a cutting Ginobili on the ensuing possession for the go-ahead points. Evans then misfired on a 3- point try and Duncan came down with the rebound to seal the outcome. I just feel bad for our guys, said Pelicans head coach Monty Williams. To fight like we did on a back-to-back and have the game in your hands and losing it in regulation like that, then fighting like heck in overtime and not be able to pull it out. Davis had 21 points, 12 boards and four steals to pace the Pelicans. Ryan Anderson also recorded a double-double for New Orleans, amassing 18 points and 11 rebounds. Jrue Holiday posted 13 points and nine assists in the loss. The Pelicans beat the Rockets in Houston on Dec. 18 and have won two straight in this series. New Orleans has won four of its last six hosting Houston. ' ' '