regain his place among the NBAs best centre

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- The Los Angeles Kings relied too much on their goalie, but Jonathan Quick was up to the task against the Minnesota Wild. Quick made 27 saves, and Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter scored shootout goals for the Kings, who rallied to beat the Wild 3-2 on Thursday night in the season opener for both teams. Carter and Drew Doughty scored regulation goals for Los Angeles, which had just 18 shots. Quick stopped Zach Parise and Mikko Koivu in the shootout. "He was huge," Kopitar said. "Over the course of the past three or four years weve gotten pretty familiar with his play. Hes always been back there holding strong for us, and tonight was no different. "He held us in there and we found a way to score a goal at the end of the game, and finished it off in the shootout." Matt Cooke and Jonas Brodin scored in regulation for Minnesota, which had never lost a home opener in its first 12 seasons (11-0-1). After Quick stopped Parise to begin the shootout, Kopitar made a deke on Niklas Backstrom to score for the Kings. Quick then poked the puck away from Koivu on Minnesotas second attempt before Carter beat Backstrom with a backhand to complete the comeback. With the Kings trailing 2-1, Carter scored on a rebound of a shot by Matt Frattin at 13:14 of the third period to tie it. "We had two periods where it felt like we were in our D zone the whole time," Doughty said. "That takes a toll on you. We were tired but the boys didnt give up in the third. We kept taking it to them and trying to get more chances." A fashionable pick to win the Pacific Division and go deep into the playoffs, Los Angeles made relatively few off-season changes to its roster. The Kings stayed with the core that helped them advance to the Western Conference finals last spring and win the Stanley Cup in 2012. Quick is a key part of that nucleus. He had to be at the top of his game as the Wild had little resistance much of the night when they crashed the net looking for rebounds. Quick made 13 of his saves in the second period, including a glove stop to rob Parise on a power play. "We dont ever come into a game thinking we have Quick back there," Doughty said. "We know that in the back of our heads, but we want him to have the least amount of work possible. We gave him too much work." Despite the loss, Minnesota players took a positive look at their performance. "They were a little bit better getting out of their end. They had a few more chances. In the end, I think we deserved two points," defenceman Keith Ballard said. "With the shootout, that happens. We played a pretty solid hockey game. "If we keep replicating that game over and over again, I think well be all right this year." Minnesota got on the board just 64 seconds into the game when a centring pass from Kyle Brodziak deflected off Cookes skate in the crease and past Quick. After a video review, it was determined there was no kicking motion. Doughty tied it with a power-play goal at 7:40 of the first period with a one-timer from the top of the left circle that clanked off the far post and went in. Minnesota got its own power-play goal 10 minutes later to go up 2-1. Nino Niederreiter corralled a loose puck near the right boards and cut to the middle before backhanding a pass to Brodin, who was coming down the slot. His quick shot beat Quick high on the glove side. The defenceman had just two goals last season. But the Wild couldnt muster any more offence. "You know that that next goal is important," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "You know that extending that lead makes a huge difference and not giving them hope. At the same time we were playing pretty strong. "It didnt work out in our favour tonight, but playing like that you should have the confidence to bring it home." NOTES: Minnesota RW Jason Pominville signed a five-year, $28 million contract extension. ... Kings D Willie Mitchell played his first game in more than 15 months. He missed last season following two knee operations. ... This was the Kings only appearance in Minnesota this season. The teams are scheduled to meet Jan. 7 and March 31 in Los Angeles. ... Los Angeles will play at Winnipeg on Friday. Minnesota will host Anaheim on Saturday. Nate Herbig Jersey . The Union looked to have grabbed a big win in the 88th minute when Amobi Okugo finally put the hosts in front. But a terrible giveaway by Union goalkeeper Rais Mbolhi handed Earnshaw the equalizer in the second minute of stoppage time, keeping the Union two points back of fifth-place Red Bull New York for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Jason Kelce Jersey . -- The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have released veteran guard Davin Joseph, a mainstay on their offensive line over the past eight seasons. http://www.cheapeaglesjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-brandon-graham-jersey .com) - New England Patriots starting center Bryan Stork will not play in Sundays AFC Championship against Indianapolis due to a knee injury the rookie sustained last week. Donnel Pumphrey Jersey . -- At the beginning of training camp, Andrew Bogut set a goal to play all 82 regular-season games and regain his place among the NBAs best centres. Jerome Brown Jersey . - Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Percy Harvin has cleared league-mandated concussion protocol and has returned to practice as a full participant. MADRID, Spain -- David Villa earned two penalties and leading Spanish league scorer Diego Costa converted one of them as Atletico Madrid won 2-1 at Granada on Thursday to continue its early-season momentum. Granada defender Diego Mainz barged into the back of Villa to send the Spain striker to the ground inside the area and Costa stepped up to the spot to score his 12th league goal in the 38th minute. Costa showed no effects of the news that his Brazilian citizenship may be revoked after he elected to play for Spains national team, as the forward was a constant threat for Atletico and forced several saves from goalkeeper Roberto. Villa then went down easily from Jeison Murillos challenge to draw the second penalty in the 78th, which he scored himself for his fifth goal of the season. "Penalties are part of the game, but winning away from home is difficult," Atletico coach Diego Simeone said. "I like that the team knows how to suffer when it needs to suffer, because were going to need to know how to maintain the position were in." But Atletico nearly paid the price for not putting the game away earlier as Odion Ighalo pulled a goal back with a header in the 90th, moments after Filipe Luis was shown a second yellow card, ensuring a nervy finish at Los Carmenes Stadium. "We should have put the game away earlier," Simeone said. Atletico moved back to within one point of leader Barcelona while movving five points above Real Madrid.dddddddddddd Barcelona leads with 31 points after 11 rounds. Atletico has 30 points and Madrid, which beat Sevilla 7-3 on Wednesday, has 25. Also on Thursday, Ciprian Marica scored early and substitute Pablo Sarabia added another goal in stoppage time as Getafe handed Villarreal its first loss at its Madrigal Stadium, 2-0. Levante goalkeeper Keylor Navas saved Jorge Molinas 75th-minute penalty to preserve a 0-0 draw at Real Betis, which played the last hour with 10 men following Chica Torres sending off. Meanwhile, Athletic Bilbao rallied from a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2 against Elche. David Lomban powered a corner kick past goalkeeper Iago Herrerin after nine minutes to put Elche ahead, and the visitors doubled their advantage at the San Mames two minutes after the break when three Bilbao players failed to clear a loose ball which fell to Aaron Niguez to score. But Athletic is used to falling behind early and quickly rallied starting in the 54th when Markel Susaeta met Iker Muniains perfectly weighted floated pass across the area to sidefoot beyond Manu Herrera. Substitute Aritz Aduritz timed his run perfectly to head home a 69th-minute equalizer as the Basque club pressed for a winner and came close on several occasions, with Gaizka Toqueros header going wide with five minutes to play. Athletic joins Villarreal in fourth place with 20 points, one better than Getafe. 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