Brian Burke expressed on Monday he would be in favour of

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. Cheap Vapormax 2019 China . -- Having already fallen behind because of the NFL lockout, Blaine Gabbert couldnt afford a lengthy holdout. Discount Vapormax . 98 jersey in a game yet, and already its a big seller. http://www.clearancevapormax.com/cheap-vapormax-2019-clearance.html .7 million, one-year contract.The deal, announced Friday, includes a $50,000 performance bonus if the left-hander appears in 60 games. Cheap Vapormax Plus . Louis still looking for a way out of Tampa Bay, the 38-year-old NHL veteran isnt showing his cards. Vapormax 3 Clearance . It is unclear how long Kallstrom, who was brought in to alleviate the teams midfield problems, will be sidelined. Arsenals communications director, Mark Gonnella, says the club decided to proceed with Kallstroms signing despite the injury.BOCA RATON, Florida - It will be minor tweaks, not major overhauls, to come from this weeks general managers meetings in Boca Raton, Florida. While a number of more radical ideas, including the implementation of three-on-three play in overtime were discussed, none gained much traction. Instead, the GMs intend to put forth recommendations that they believe will enhance the product without dramatically overhauling it. "The big take away from this meeting is the managers are really happy with where the game is right now,"said NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly. Throughout the week, GMs have expressed an interest to lessen the number of games decided in a shootout. To that end, a recommendation is expected to be put forth to have teams switch sides to begin overtime (the same as in the second period), hoping that a teams bench being further from their defensive zone will lead to more goals. "I would say thats going to be recommended for sure," St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong confirmed. So far, 18 of 30 teams have scored their largest number of goals under these conditions in the second period. Also given consideration was doing the dry scrape of the ice prior to the overtime period to provide for better ice conditions instead of waiting until before the shootout; however, due to the potential of lengthening games, that item will continue to be discussed. "Do we dry scrape the ice after the sixty minutes or can the ice crew (with shovels) accomplish the same thing, saving two or three minutes? One of the concerns of the dry scrape is the continuity in the game," said Armstrong. "We want to keep the fans attached to it and were not sure if we want to slow the game down four or five minutes to get that dry scrape in." Armstrong indicated that the NHL will consult with Senior Director of Facilities Operations, Dan Craig, regarding the most optimal course of action to enhance the ice for overtime while mitigating the amount of time spent on the task. The GMs also intend to table a recommendation to widen the hash marks on faceoff circles to IIHF standards in an effort to separate opposing wingers, preventing immediate scrums along the boards after draws. "Everyone thought that was a good idea," said Armstrong. "It eliminates the scrums along the boards and it allows the quicker player to get to loose pucks to generate scoring opportunities." Additionally, it is expected that a recommendation to alter the face-off procedure somewhat will be put forward. As it stands currently, if a player is removed from a face-off, another teammate will come in to take the draw.ddddddddddddIf a second infraction is committed, a team will be assessed a two-minute minor penalty. The intended recommendation provides tha,t instead of replacing the offending player, he would simply be forced to move back 12-18 inches (exact distance still being considered), lessening his ability to win the draw. "By doing that, the player loses leverage," explained Armstrong. "We think the referees will be more comfortable calling a (two-minute) penalty on the same guy (who has now cheated twice)." The NHL will also table a recommendation to redefine what a "distinct kicking motion is" allowing for pucks to be directed in by skates where the blade remains on the ice. Daly indicated, though, that the interpretation wont be implemented until next season so that the relevant people can be educated as to the change to avoid confusion. A lot of discussion regarding expanding video review took place, as well, largely focused on whether to allow for the review of plays where goals were scored that may have been affected by goaltender interference. Adding video monitors in the penalty box to allow for officials to review calls impacted by goaltender interference, an item that Calgary Flames President and GM Brian Burke expressed on Monday he would be in favour of, will not be recommended at this point, though Daly suggested it is something the league will further consider. "One specific thing that was talked about, not necessarily recommended but certainly studied further, is adding monitors to penalty benches to allow on-ice officials to review potential interference calls for good goals versus not good goals," Daly confirmed. He also explained that there was an appetite among general managers for the Toronto hockey operations situation room to be given expanded latitude in ruling on situations like the one that occurred on January 18 in a game between the Detroit Red Wings and Los Angeles Kings. In that example, a puck clearly went into the netting and out of play but was missed, leading directly to a Red Wings goal and, subsequently, a Red Wings win after the game was being led by the Kings in regulation prior to the missed call with less than thirty seconds left in the third period. "I think the managers feel something thats egregious and obvious like that, there should be some latitude to make those calls and get the calls right," said Daly. ' ' '