EL SEGUNDO, CALIF. Bob Gibson . - It was a moment that had Los Angeles Kings fans holding their collective breath. Drew Doughty yelped in pain after taking a slash from Ducks defenceman Francois Beauchemin to the back of the knee Monday night. He slowly skated off the ice struggling to put weight on the injured leg. "It was just a numb feeling," said Doughty, who has logged a team-high 27:14 of ice time per game in the playoffs. "It hits a little nerve and just goes numb for three minutes, four minutes and then its fine. Ive had it happen before so I wasnt scared, but its numb so its awkward to skate on." Doughty, who returned to the ice a few shifts after the slash, doesnt believe Beauchemin hit him in the sensitive spot on purpose. But that doesnt mean hell forget what happened. "Well, I always keep it in the back of my mind," Doughty said. "I know exactly who it was. Im not going to take any runs at him, but if hes coming down [the ice] Im not going to shy up on a hit." The Ducks are eager to make Doughty pay a physical price in this series, because his presence on the blue line is absolutely crucial to the Kings success, especially considering they are down two regulars (Willie Mitchell and Robyn Regehr) due to injury. "I know teams are going to target me," said Doughty. "Theyre going to target other guys on the team too. Its just part of the game. If anything, that makes you hungrier. It makes you want to work harder to avoid those hits and make a difference. When theyre targeting you and youre still being successful, thats the most frustrating thing for them." Anaheim is also doing its best to get Jonathan Quick off his game. Corey Perry crashed into the Los Angeles crease during the second period of Game 2, which led the soft-spoken Kings keeper to give him a shot and take a roughing penalty. "Some people think you get him off his game by doing those types of things, but you dont," said Kings forward Jarret Stoll. "If anybody knows Quickie, hes a very, very competitive, determined guy in the net and hell do anything to win and hell back up his teammates even when we dont want him to sometimes. We dont want him in the scrums, but sometimes hes in there like he was in round one [when he went after big San Jose Sharks centre Joe Thornton]. "Its no secret: we want to target their best players too. If their best players are the best players in the series then theyre going to win the series and were going to lose. If Drew Doughty and Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter and Marian Gaborik are the best players in the series, were probably going to win." For his part, Darryl Sutter thinks all the targeting talk is a bit much. "Every game he plays he gets extra attention, but I dont think anyone is going out of their way to hit Drew Doughty," the Kings head coach said. "Theyre a big, physical team. The reason Drew may get touched more than other guys is he plays half the game. Quite honest, we need some of our other defencemen to get touched that much." Thats just one adjustment the Kings can make. There will be others. Despite stealing the first two games of the series in Anaheim, Sutter and his players are far from content. There are certainly ways they can improve. "Hopefully lots of ways," Sutter said, "but Im not going to give you that little secret." The tight-lipped coach did admit he felt the Kings were lucky to be in such a commanding position in the series. "We had to use a short bench [in Game 1] because some guys werent up to standards. We were fortunate to win that game." One area where the Kings can be better is in dealing with the Anaheim forecheck. "Theyre quick. They read off each other really well," Stoll explained. "Theyre very aggressive. They get two guys down to the goal line very quickly on our defencemen. If were not going to support our defencemen like we should, were going to get outmanned and out-supported. The key is to out-support their forecheck in those situations. Come up with the pucks, and get it going the other way. Everybody wants to play in the offensive zone. Thats the whole battle. Thats the whole series right there." So there are issues to be addressed, but at the same time there are reasons to believe coming back on the Kings will be a very, very difficult task. The Kings were outshot by the Ducks 37-17 in Game 2, but they have done well to prevent second-chance opportunities. "Our D have done a really good job of defending," said Doughty. "We maybe havent been the best at moving the puck or as good as we usually are, but our defending has been really, really good. Were playing physical. Were boxing guys out, getting under sticks, clearing pucks and thats our job in the D zone. When were doing that, when were clearing the bodies, Quickies going to make the first save." Doughty had a four game point streak snapped on Monday and he has the same number of penalty minutes (two) as shots on net in the series so far. And yet he remains a key reason why the Kings are in such a good spot. "I thought we controlled him pretty good," said Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau. "I dont think he made many rushes [Monday], but hes a smart player and hes very good defensively when he has to be. Thats based on the individual. Theres not much we can do about the fact were playing against a good player. I mean, hes good and hes going to make good plays. We try and disrupt him as much as we can, but youre not going to do it all the time." Doughty believes he is "10 times the player" he was during the 2009-10 season when he racked up a career-high 59 points en route to a Norris Trophy nomination. He says he is much better in his own zone now and all-around more mature. "I feel Ive improved as a player and been a better leader for this team and Ive played a lot better. I make a difference in every game." The other major thorn in Anaheims side, other than Doughty and Quick, is Anze Kopitar. The Selke Trophy nominee is the leading scorer in the playoffs with 14 points despite being matched up consistently against other teams top players. Kopitar has registered at least one point in all nine of the Kings playoff games this spring. "When Im on the ice with Kopi Im playing completely different," said Doughty. "When I get the puck rather than maybe trying to rush it or something like that, if Kopis open Im just giving it to him no matter what and Im joining the rush. "When Kopis there you have full trust in him. He just makes things happen when he has the puck so I figure why not give it to the guy that makes things happen and try and get open for him." Despite their success, the core players on the Kings arent about to start feeling too good about themselves despite the current six game win streak. This is a veteran team just two years removed from a championship. And theyre way too smart to feel satisfied. "We know how quickly a series can change," said Doughty. "It just takes one moment sometimes. It can be a fight, just a big goal or anything like that. A series can change so quickly so you got to keep that foot on the gas pedal. We cant let them back in the series. "We have that killer instinct and we have to show that in the next game. If we let up for any second that [can be] the difference in the game, the difference between winning and losing." Only a couple weeks ago, the Kings appeared dead in the water after dropping the first three games against the Sharks. They dont want to give the Ducks a chance to author their own comeback story. "A 2-0 lead is great, but its not four," Stoll said. "Its not four wins and we know that better than anybody and we also know we havent played our best hockey to date." Tony La Russa . “Momentum is only as good as the next days starter,” the long-time Baltimore Orioles manager famously quipped. Vada Pinson . Kelli Stack and Alex Carpenter also scored for the Americans, who avoided a repeat of Finlands upset at the Four Nations Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y., in November. Finnish goalie Noora Raty made 58 saves in that one, but the three-time Olympian could stop just 40 of 43 U. http://www.custommlbcardinalsjersey.com/custom-yairo-munoz-jersey-large-1211q.html . Top-seeded Djokovic, who is making only his second appearance this year after reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, was a 6-3, 6-3 winner over 54th-ranked Istomin of Uzbekistan. "It wasnt as easy as the scoreline indicates," said Djokovic, who has won in Dubai on four occasions.LOS ANGELES -- Matt Kemp is making a case for himself, regardless of where hes playing the rest of the season. With his name being bandied about ahead of Thursdays trade deadline, Kemp hit a pair of two-run homers to power the Los Angeles Dodgers over the Atlanta Braves 8-4 Tuesday night. His four RBIs were a season high as he surpassed 600 career RBIs with 603. Kemp is hitting .400 in 10 games since the All-Star break. "Im not worried about any rumours," he said. "Im just worried about helping my team win." Kemp is playing right field, where he began his career, having been moved from centre field in the Dodgers crowded outfield. "Id play anywhere right now," he said. "Im just happy to be in the lineup." Yasiel Puig had four hits with two runs scored for the first-place Dodgers, who won their season-high fourth straight. Adrian Gonzalez is also hitting .400 since the break. He had two doubles, two runs scored and two RBIs. "Thats what we envision offensively," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "We got contributions from all over." The Dodgers trailed twice in their first meeting with the Braves since eliminating them in a National League division series last season. Puig came up a home run short of hitting for the cycle, lifting his team-leading average to .317. He struck out in his final at-bat after tying his career high in hits. Los Angeles rallied from a two-run deficit to tie it 4-all on an RBI double by Gonzalez and an RBI single by Carl Crawford in the fifth. That set the stage for outfielders Crawford and Kemp to put the Dodgers ahead in the seventh. Crawford had an RBI groundout to second base and Kemp followed with his second two-run shot over the centre field fence for a 7-4 lead. Gonzalez doubled in another run in the eighth. Brandon League (2-2) got the victory in one inning of relief, allowing one hit and one walk. Kenley Jansen got four outs for his 31st save. Kemps first two-run shot in the second briefly gave the Dodgers a 2-1 lead. "Matt did a good job hitting that curveball," Braves starter and former Dodger Aaron Harang said. "Thats the Matt Kemp I remember from the first half of 2012." Freddie Freeman, who went 2 for 4, put Atlanta back in front 3-2 in the third with his own two-run homer. Tommy La Stella tied a career-best with three hits and scored a run as the Braves three-game winning streak ended. Anthony Varvaro (3-3) took the loss, giving up three runs and four hits in one relief inning. Dodgers starter Josh Beckett struggled through another outing. The right-hander gave up four runs and nine hits in 4 1-3 innings,, struck out two and walked one in dropping to 0-5 in his last six home starts. Lane Thomas. . Harang faced his old team for the first time since being traded in 2012. The right-hander yielded four runs and nine hits in six innings, struck out three and walked one after going 4-0 in his previous six outings. TRAINERS ROOM Braves: Right fielder Jason Heyward was out of the lineup with lingering soreness in his lower back after straining himself while chasing a foul ball last Thursday. Rookie reliever Shae Simmons was placed on the 15-day DL with a sore shoulder. The team recalled reliever Juan Jaime from Triple-A Gwinnett to take the roster spot of Simmons, who accompanied the team for the start of an eight-game, three-city road trip. Dodgers: Left-hander Scott Elbert was reinstated from the 60-day DL and designated him for assignment. He made 15 rehab appearances, including two starts for Rookie-advanced Ogden, Class-A Rancho Cucamonga and Triple-A Albuquerque as he worked his way back from Tommy John surgery last year. Elbert was 0-1 with a 4.26 ERA for those minor league affiliates. He last pitched in the majors in August 2012. ON DECK Braves: Left-hander Alex Wood (7-8) starts for the Braves in the middle game of the series. He has pitched 2 2-3 scoreless innings in two career games against the Dodgers, allowing one hit and striking out three. Dodgers: Zack Greinke (12-5) starts for the Dodgers. The right-hander is 6-1 at home with a 2.73 ERA and holds opposing batters to a .222 batting average. He is 1-1 with a 3.50 ERA in three career starts against the Braves. WHERES BARNEY? Newly acquired second baseman Darwin Barney could join the Dodgers by Wednesday. He was acquired in a trade with the Cubs on Monday for a player to be named. Barney will give the team depth off the bench. He won a Gold Glove in 2012, but was let go by Chicago after hitting .230 with 16 RBIs in 72 games this season. A PLEASANT GOOD EVENING Dodgers fans will continue hearing that opening line from 86-year-old Hall of Fame announcer Vin Scully, who will return to the booth for his record 66th season in 2015. The announcement was made by a trio of players on the stadium video board during the game. HEAD FIRST Braves right fielder Jordan Schafer hit Puig, sliding headfirst, in the head with a throw in the seventh inning with the scored tied 4-all. The throw knocked Puigs helmet off before he barely got his hand safely on the base. QUOTE OF THE DAY "I made some bad pitches over the middle of the plate that he could hit," Harang said of Puig. "He has the power to drive the ball with authority and his speed helps him to get those extra bases." ' ' '