Kopitar, Kings top Caps, as Ovechkin scores 200th goal

Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Anze Kopitar registered two goals and an assist as the Los Angeles Kings escaped with a 5-4 win over the Washington Capitals at the Verizon Center.

Patrick O'Sullivan, Michal Handzus and Kyle Calder also tallied for the Kings, who have won five of their last six games. Alexander Frolov, Dustin Brown and Jarret Stoll each collected two assists, while Jonathan Quick made 41 saves.

Mike Green had a goal and an assist, and Alex Ovechkin notched his league- leading 37th goal of the season for Washington, which suffered just its fourth regulation loss at home this season (21-4-1). The goal-scoring leader among defenseman, Green has lit the lamp in five straight games and raised his season total to 17. Green led all rearguards last season with 18 goals.

Jose Theodore yielded five goals on 35 shots in defeat.

The Capitals cut their deficit to 4-3 courtesy of Ovechkin's 200th career goal. The No. 1 overall pick in 2004, Ovechkin spun around in the right circle and snapped a wrister into the far side of the net with 9:28 remaining in the third period.

The "Great 8" became just the fourth player in NHL history to score 200 goals in his first four years in the league, joining Wayne Gretzky, Mike Bossy and Mario Lemieux.

Calder crashed the crease and jammed the puck home to seemingly cement the win with 1:33 left in the game, but Green's long wrister from the right point was redirected by Brooks Laich with 1:06 remaining and Theodore on the bench.

Quick made several excellent saves in the game's dying seconds to preserve the win.

Washington's Alexander Semin opened the scoring just 15 seconds into the game with his 20th goal of the season. Laich came out from behind the enemy cage and spotted the former first-round pick all alone in the slot for a one- timer.

Kopitar pumped in the equalizer at the 8:55 mark of the first period. While on a two-man advantage, the third-year center drifted into the middle of the right circle and unleashed a laser of a wrist shot past the glove of a screened Theodore.

Los Angeles stormed out of the gate in the middle stanza. Kopitar lifted the puck over the catching glove of Theodore 13 seconds into the frame for a 2-1 Kings lead.

Moments later, Handzus netted a short-handed goal to widen the gap. With O'Sullivan off for holding, Frolov snapped a shot that squeezed through the left arm and torso of Theodore and laid in the crease. Handzus followed up the play and banged in the loose puck at the 1:02 mark.

Still on the power play, Green went upstairs on Quick at 1:43.

O'Sullivan restored a two-goal lead at 7:26 of the second. A turnover just inside the Kings' blue line led to an outlet pass from Kopitar to O'Sullivan, who broke in alone and beat Theodore over the glove with a wrister.

Game Notes

Nicklas Backstrom recorded two assists for Washington...Semin has scored at least 20 goals in each of his last three campaigns...Los Angeles has won five of the last seven meetings with the Caps.

Michael Phelps' Contract With Kellogg Co. Will Not Be Renewed

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Cereal and snack maker Kellogg Co. says it will not renew its sponsorship contract with Olympic swimmer Michael Phelps because of the photo that showed him inhaling from a marijuana pipe.

The Battle Creek, Mich.-based company said Thursday that Phelps's behavior — caught on camera and published Sunday — is "not consistent with the image of Kellogg."

The company put Phelps on boxes of its Frosted Flakes and Corn Flakes.

Phelps has kept the backing of many sponsors since the photos surfaced that showed him inhaling from a marijuana pipe.

Phelps's agent was not immediately available to comment.

Kellogg says its contract with Phelps expires at the end of the month.

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Patience May Finally Pay Off For Dallas Mavericks

When life in the NBA seems to be bleak because the competition seems to be so superior, it’s not uncommon for team executives to seek intervention from higher authorities.

"My dear basketball gods," someone like Mark Cuban might say, "please grant me the strength to be patient.

"AND DO IT RIGHT NOW!"

Patience is an important component in competing for a title, and Mavericks fans perhaps understood that a little better after Monday.

In defeating the Magic 105-95 in Orlando, the Mavericks registered their most significant victory since Jason Kidd was acquired at the trading deadline almost a year ago.

No doubt the victory was a bit tainted. All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson had to leave the game with a shoulder injury in the third period, and Orlando played without him for the last 21 minutes.

In the Mavericks’ most impressive victories this season, someone has been hurt. They beat the Rockets with Yao Ming sidelined and the Spurs with Manu Ginobili injured.

But the victory over Orlando was less tarnished because the Mavericks played such good defense.

The Magic leads the NBA in 3-point shooting percentage, but the Dallas defense limited Orlando to 3-of-20 from the 3-point line. Nelson would have undoubtedly helped in that area. He was 3-of-9 when he left the game, which means the rest of the Magic shooters combined to go 0-of-11.

Keep in mind, however, that this is a Dallas team that lost a game to Utah in December when the Jazz was playing without Carlos Boozer, Paul Millsap and Deron Williams.

The Mavericks have had some good victories over decent teams that will be in the playoffs — Phoenix, Atlanta, Portland and Detroit.

Generally speaking, however, they have beaten teams they were supposed to beat but lost to the elite teams in the league. Only four teams have won more than 75 percent of their games this season — Orlando, Cleveland, Boston and the Lakers — and before Monday, the Mavericks were 0-5 against those four.

The question that has faced them the entire season was, could they break through? Finally, they did.

And that’s a product of patience. If there is almost universal criticism of the Mavericks, it’s that they have not made great personnel decisions — particularly in the last couple of years.

Fans and media have had very helpful suggestions: trade Dirk Nowitzki, blow up the nucleus, dump Josh Howard, rescind the Kidd-Devin Harris trade, etc., etc.

The Mavericks, however, have refused to panic. No doubt they were at least flirting with panic when they were 2-7 to start the season. But they won five consecutive games to even the record and since that poor start, they are 26-12.

In making the Kidd trade, Cuban and Mavericks GM Donnie Nelson have made it clear they are going for a championship right now. That has been amusing to some, but what should they be saying? That they are competing for the final playoff spot?

The truth is the Mavericks have two Hall of Fame-potential players, two players who either have been or are close to being All-Stars, and they have done a decent job developing their bench.

They should be in the mix — and, in fact, they are — for home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. It should be expected of them and demanded of them. Anything less, and it is a statement on the players and they should be held accountable.

But writing them off at any time during the first 47 games of the season makes no sense — not with 35 games still left. And look at what’s happened — Andrew Bynum out 8-12 weeks in Los Angeles with a knee injury and Chris Paul day-to-day with a groin injury.

The opportunity is there for the Mavericks, and so are the challenges. They have back-to-back games against playoff-level teams beginning tonight in Dallas against the Blazers and then in Utah on Thursday.

Right now, you could argue that the Mavericks are playing their best basketball of the year. Then again, if we’re being consistent, it’s only a small part of a long season. There is much more to prove.

jhubbard@star-telegram.com Jan Hubbard, 817-390-7760

Phelps’ Free Ride Too Much For Some

Michael Phelps may be getting something of a free pass from his sponsors and fans, but not everyone is as forgiving.

Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, known for his tough stance on drugs, says his narcotics department is investigating whether Phelps violated the law and whether he should be charged.

And a couple of drug experts (one an anti-doping authority) aren’t too happy that Phelps is sliding by.

“For probably the most accomplished athlete in the history of the Olympics to be doing that, I found it very disheartening,” said Gary Wadler, a professor of medicine at New York University and an adviser to the World Anti-Doping Agency. “The message it sent is very sad.”

Mike Gimbel, a substance-abuse expert who served as the Baltimore County drug czar for 23 years, said he has already grown a little frustrated with how casually some people are dismissing it as no big deal.

“The facts are, pot is the No. 1 drug that sends kids to drug treatment in Maryland,” Gimbel said. “It’s really out of control. To make it that it’s an issue about pot is the wrong approach. It’s not. It’s an issue of Michael’s judgment and decision-making.”

| Star News Services