GREEN BAY, Wis. - Ted Thompson is happy to have Julius Peppers in the fold. But the Packers general manager insisted Thursday that landing the eight-time Pro Bowl defensive end from the rival Chicago Bears wont have an effect on what Green Bay does with its nine selections in next weeks NFL draft. In his first public comments since Peppers surprising signing on March 15, Thompson said he believes the 34-year-old lineman has plenty left in the tank and that he expects him to have an impact on the Packers up-and-down defence. "Theres no evidence of any decline in his play, in our opinion," Thompson said Thursday. "He still has the same athletic traits that he had coming out (of college). Hes had a remarkable history in the NFL in terms of durability. Were looking forward to it. I think he is, too." The 6-foot-7, 287-pound Peppers certainly has been durable, playing in 186 of a possible 192 games. Hes also been productive, registering the second-most sacks (118.5) in the NFL and forcing the fifth-most fumbles (39) since he entered the league. He leads all NFL defensive linemen with nine interceptions over that span. But playing 855 snaps for the Bears last season, Peppers managed only 7.5 sacks, the third-lowest total of his 12-year NFL career. The Packers envision him as a hybrid defensive end/outside linebacker in their 3-4 defence, and their hope is that by playing him fewer snaps, they will not only increase his production but give opposing offences another pass-rushing threat to worry about opposite four-time Pro Bowl outside linebacker Clay Matthews. Matthews, who missed six games last season with a twice-broken thumb, is expected to be fully healthy for training camp. "When I view him as a football player, hes an individual youd like to create targeting problems," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said of Peppers in March. "He has the ability to play from the two-point stance, has the ability to play on the move." In 10 career games against the Packers with Carolina and Chicago, Peppers has recorded 9.5 sacks, his fourth-highest total against a specific opponent. The Packers finished tied for eighth in the 32-team NFL last season in sacks with 44 despite Matthews absence. Their hope is that Peppers, who reported for the first day of the off-season program last week, will have an impact on more than just that one category. Last season, the Packers finished tied for 24th in scoring defence (26.8 points per game), 25th in yards allowed (372.3), 25th in rushing yards allowed (125.0), 24th in passing yards allowed (247.3) and tied for 20th in takeaways (22). "Its fun to see Julius. Hes a specimen. He looks great," Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said last week. "Itll be fun to get him really into the fold and get him feeling like hes part of the team, encouraging him to be a leader for us. I think he brings a lot to the table -- on the field and in the locker room. Im just excited about not having to run away from him anymore." As hopeful as the Packers are of Peppers contributions, Thompson insisted that he wont approach the No. 21 overall pick - or any of his other picks - differently with Peppers on board. "We talked about this before. I might sound like a broken record, but we feel that the draft is a long-term investment," said Thompson, whose teams most immediate needs appear to be at safety, linebacker, tight end, offensive line and cornerback. "We dont get too carried away with what our perceived needs are at the moment. We think thats good business. If you can marry those things up thats fine but if you stretch to try to fill quote unquote need somewhere then you end up messing up a couple of spots, so we try to stick to the best player available." Cheap Swingman Warriors Jerseys . Floundering in the English Premier League, United has delivered better performances in Europe this season and stunned Bayern by taking the lead against the run of play through Nemanja Vidics header in the 58th minute. Bayern had dominated possession but struggled to create a clear-cut chance before Schweinsteiger arrowed a half-volley high into the net in the 67th to give the German side a slight advantage ahead of the second leg in Munich next week. Andre Iguodala Jersey . -- Arizona coach Bruce Arians says there "were obviously very, very many problems" with the officiating in the Cardinals 24-21 loss at Philadelphia. http://www.cheapwarriorsjerseysstore.com/ . Its been two seasons in one for both parties and neither will look back on the first 18 games fondly. "I think I took the fall for a lot of things," said Gay, reflecting on his short time in Toronto ahead of Wednesdays game against his former club. Cheap Warriors Jerseys China . PETERSBURG, Fla. Kevin Durant Jersey . In the opener of the World Group first-round series, world No. 18 Kei Nishikori defeated Peter Polansky of Thornhill, Ont. EDMONTON -- The Los Angeles Kings are looking very much like a team that has hit its stride heading down the stretch. Jeff Carter had two goals and an assist as the Kings stretched their streak to seven wins in a row with a 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday. Alec Martinez and Trevor Lewis also scored for the Kings (37-22-6), who are now on their longest win streak since taking nine in a row in 2010. "It feels good to feel like you are contributing on an individual level, but the most important thing is that we are winning games right now," Martinez said. "This is the crunch time of the year and we have to be playing playoff hockey. Its been good to be getting these two points consistently." Kings forward Jarret Stoll said the wins dont always have to be pretty. "Tonight wasnt our best game by any means, not even close, but we found a way and just stuck with it," he said. "We didnt really have our legs at some points, but you have to find ways to win. Dirty ways, ugly ways, whatever. Thats the biggest thing right now. We are getting timely saves from our goaltenders like we usually get and we are finding goals." Taylor Hall and Sam Gagner responded for the Oilers (22-35-8), who had a two-game winning streak snapped. Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins said that the game wasnt as one-sided as it may have seemed and his team was somewhat the victim of bad luck with two goals going in off of odd deflections. "I thought our guys were in the battle, they were sticking together, they were playing hard," he said. "There was no standing around watching them play. We made our mistakes and then they had two goals like that. The first one is a heart-breaker, its not a good way to start, it goes off a guys foot. That gets you down against a team I consider one of the best in the league." Los Angeles was all over Edmonton, outshooting the Oilers 50-27. Gagner tried to downplay the stat. "If you look at the shot differential you draw conclusions from that, but I didnt think it was as one sided as the shots suggested," Gagner said. "I thought it was one of those games where we battled against that team and we held our own physically. Were obviously not happy with the result, but we have to move forward." Kings goalie Jonathan Quick said he felt for his former teammate Ben Scrivens in the Edmonton net, but said his 46-save performance only shows the kind of goalie the Oilers acquired when they traded for him in mid-January. "He has done it all year, he did it with us too," he said "I think he is just what this team needed here in Edmonton. He consistently gives you a solid effort and a chance to win evvery night.dddddddddddd We put 50 shots on him and they still had a chance at the end there. "For a few years now I think it is an area the Oilers needed improvement, not to knock the goalies they had before. The team defence could be better as well. But (Scrivens) has really stepped in since he came here and given them a chance to win every night." The Kings got off to a quick start, scoring a gift goal on the games first shot 1:36 into the contest as a Carter shot that was going wide hit the skate of defender Philip Larsen and got past a surprised Scrivens in the Oilers net. Edmonton tied the game seven-and-a-half minutes into the opening period as David Perron made a nifty no-look backhand pass to Hall, who made a move before sending a backhand shot through Quicks legs. It was Halls 22nd goal of the season and 60th point. Los Angeles outshot Edmonton 12-5 in the first period. Scrivens continued to be tested, making a huge kick save on a Marian Gaborik blast eight minutes into the second period -- the Kings 20th shot of the game. Los Angeles took the lead less than a minute later as a Martinez point shot seemed to hit something in front on its way into the Edmonton net. Carter got another odd goal midway through the second period as Scrivens blocked an Anze Kopitar shot, but the rebound caromed off of the back of Carters leg and in. It was Carters 24th goal of the season. The Kings made it 4-1 with four minutes left in the second as Carter fed a pass to a hard-charging Lewis, who fluttered a shot that Scrivens could only wave his glove at. It was just Lewis third goal in 56 games this season. The shots favoured the Kings 33-19 after 40 minutes. It was Edmontons turn to get a lucky bounce early in the third with the teams playing four players a side. Gagner tried to feed Ryan Smyth at the side of the net, but it hit defender Drew Doughty in front and went into the Kings net to make it 4-2. It was Gagners first goal in 16 games. The Kings conclude a three-game road trip in Calgary on Monday. Edmonton embarks on a four-game trip, starting in Minnesota on Tuesday. Notes: It was the third of four games this season between the Oilers and Kings. The Kings won the two previous encounters, both played in Los Angeles. The Kings held a 13-1-4 in their past 18 games against Edmonton. ... The Oilers have had their troubles against Pacific Division opponents, coming in with only four wins against them this season, two of those wins coming against Calgary. ... Los Angeles has been a very strong defensive team all season, allowing a league-low 2.05 goals per game. ... Remaining out for the Oilers was defenceman Anton Belov (partially torn oblique). The Kings had no injuries to report. 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