Clifford's goal the difference in Kings' win over Lightning

Hockey Betting Lines

02/07/2012 - Tampa, FL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Kyle Clifford scored the eventual game-winner midway through the second period as the Los Angeles Kings skated past the Tampa Bay Lightning, 3-1, at Tampa Bay Times Forum.

Anze Kopitar and Dustin Penner also scored for the Kings, who got 24 saves from Jonathan Quick in the victory to snap a two-game skid.

Steven Stamkos notched his league-leading 35th goal for the Lightning and Dwayne Roloson stopped 17-of-20 shots in a losing effort. The Lightning have now lost two of their last three contests after winning five straight.

Clifford's game-winner came at 10:16 of the second period as a result of a blown coverage by the Lightning.

With the puck deep in their defensive zone, Kings defenseman Rob Scuderi warded off some pressure and spotted Clifford coming out of the penalty box. Scuderi sent a home run pass up the middle of the ice right to the tape of Clifford, who went in alone on Roloson and backhanded it through the legs of the Lightning netminder.

The Kings extended their lead to 3-1 at 17:46 of the second frame when Mike Richards warded off his defender behind the net, wheeled out front and found Penner, who ripped a quick wrist shot past Roloson.

Tampa pulled Roloson with a minute remaining in regulation, but was unable to generate any good scoring chances.

Los Angeles opened the scoring just 2:47 into the game when Justin Williams ripped a slap shot from the right point right to the tape of Kopitar, who cleverly deflected the puck over the left pad of Roloson.

The Lightning tied it up at 7:49 of the second period with some excellent play off the rush.

Teddy Purcell pushed the puck out to the neutral zone and raced up the left wing. He gained the blue line and went in on a 2-on-1 rush with Stamkos. Purcell glided to the left circle before sliding the puck over to Stamkos, who converted an easy tap-in for the goal.

Game Notes

The Kings improved to 11-4-6 under head coach Darryl Sutter, and 19-4-5 when scoring the first goal of the game...Kopitar has 11 points in his last 12 games...The Kings failed to convert on two power-play chances, while the Lightning went 0-for-3 with the man advantage...Los Angeles improved to 15-2-4 when Richards records at least one point...Tampa Bay will visit the New York Rangers on Thursday, while the Kings will face the Florida Panthers, also on Thursday.

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FOOTBALL TRASH TALK

NFL Football Trash Talk

Trash talk has a place in every competitive endeavor (except baseball; those stirrup-wearers are too busy chewing on their sunflower seeds and their supplements to worry about what their opponents are doing).

Fantasy sports is no exception. Any intelligent discussion of the subject would probably start with a thesis statement or a definition of terms. Thankfully, this wont be an intelligent discussion.

Let me just say that I am happy to take a place in this space alongside my talented colleagues, even our commissioner. (You should see how she bleats like a demented paper boy about league fees on our fantasy site).

Trash talking, I would argue, is primarily about amusing your friends, their sheeplike demeanors and sloping foreheads notwithstanding. The best place I have found for football trash talking is at www.SportsAlarm.com.

Beyond the entertainment factor, though, I would recognize that the sophomoric ritual has one advantage, when properly applied. It magnifies your fantasy triumphs and mitigates your fantasy failures by transforming the eventual point total into an afterthought. Winning makes it seem like your opponent really is a truss-owning, lapel-pin-wearing nitwit. And in defeat, trash talk can be the air bag to break the fall from your hyperbolic heights. The plug-necked yahoos on your team, you can say, will be sacking groceries by the end of the season.

The best trash talk, in my view, is layered and nuanced. And it doesnt focus only on your opponents team. It picks apart your opponent. The idea is to create a shock-and-awe-scale blizzard of nonsense, and the goal is to make your opponent drop his hands from his keyboard in exasperation.

What team does your opponent root for? Accuse a Giants fan of having a Joe Namath pillowcase. Wheres your opponent from? Give a look of concern no matter his reply, then say, I'll try to type slower for you next time. Is your opponent into politics? Label everyone a tax-and-spend corporate shill.

Cap all that with a liberal application of irrelevance. For instance, dont just conclude by saying your opponent is a twerp who drafts like my grandmother. Say that your opponent is a sweater-wearing, eyebrow-plucking twerp who drafts his team about as well as Zsa Zsa Gabor gave acceptance speeches at the Oscars. By the time your foe makes sense of that, his starting running back will have had puppies.

But what about you? Hmm? Recall a memorable slam? Have a tried-and-true technique? Know someone who seems impervious to insult? Take a moment and tells us about it. Put together some (fit-for-publication) thoughts. You wont be too busy returning phone messages from your friends, Im sure, to reply.

In addition to the trash talking, the Sports Alarm has a huge gallery of high resolution pictures of beautiful women and models in bikinis. The most popular models are: Lindsay Lohan, Carrie Underwood, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Paris Hilton.