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Tag: Anze Kopitar

  • Anže Kopitar scores, but Kings drop another home game

    LOS ANGELES — Despite missing four players, including their two biggest stars, the two-time defending champion Florida Panthers had more than enough to top the Kings, 5-2, on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena.

    The Kings lost for the third time in four games overall and slipped to 1-4-2 at home this season after being the NHL’s best home team last season. The Panthers continued their step-forward, step-back title defense after losing to the Ducks, 7-3, on Tuesday night. Both teams dangled precariously above a .500 points percentage.

    Anže Kopitar and Corey Perry each scored for the Kings. Anton Forsberg stopped a meager 19 of 24 shots.

    With no Matthew Tkachuk or Aleksander Barkov so far this season, Florida got two goals from Brad Marchand with Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart and Anton Lundell also depositing the puck. Niko Mikkola chipped in two assists. Sergei Bobrovsky made 24 saves.

    The third period saw the Kings build opportunities only to see them evaporate summarily.

    Down a goal they went to the power play, but after Kopitar was foiled on a backdoor play, a Kevin Fiala giveaway led to a shorthanded breakaway goal for Lundell with 11:19 to play. With 7:24 left, Mikkola’s well-timed pinch at the offensive blue line created an Adrian Kempe turnover, leaving Marchand open for a snipe from the inner part of the right circle that threw the game into the refrigerator.

    The Panthers are now 103-6-7 when leading after two periods during the Paul Maurice era, which has seen them win three Eastern Conference crowns and two Stanley Cup titles.

    The Kings trailed 3-2 at the second intermission. Their penalty kill improved to 20 for its past 22, with two shorthanded goals offsetting what little they allowed in that span, but gave up an even-strength goal.

    At 11:45, after Perry nearly set up Alex Turcotte at the other end, the Panthers pulled back in front off a counterattack. Carter Verhaeghe lent speed to the rush and found Reinhart in the slot for a backhand tally shortly afterward.

    The Kings had fallen down by a goal, tilted the ice in their favor to take a lead and then committed a blunder to leave the match tied at 2-2 through 20 minutes.

    With 2:30 left in the frame, Forsberg showed little situational awareness as he casually handled the puck behind the net before being stripped by Marchand. The former Boston Bruins captain scored with total ease. Aaron Ekblad’s assist meant that all three key re-signings this summer for Florida recorded a point Thursday since Marchand and Bennett each had a goal.

    The Kings had taken their first lead off Perry’s tally 6:30 earlier. Mikey Anderson’s stretch pass eluded a diving Ekblad, finding Perry at the blue line. He dashed in and roofed the puck far side for his sixth goal of the season. That placed him in a three-way tie for the team lead, despite Perry’s having played six fewer games than either Kempe or Fiala.

    Perry, who fought A.J. Greer in the waning moments Thursday, drew the penalty that led to the Kings’ first goal, 9:23 into the contest. They had gone 1 for their previous 22 on the power play and gotten just two goals from their centers in a combined 52 games played, until Kopitar scored his first of the season. He deflected Kempe’s shot past Bobrovsky to finally break the seal for 2025-26.

    Just over two minutes into the match, the Panthers took advantage of some defensive discombobulation. A turnover by Phil Danault inside the offensive blue line was compounded by multiple pinches in the neutral zone, including by both defensemen, Brian Dumoulin and Cody Ceci. That ultimately left Andrei Kuzmenko alone at the net front, where Bennett easily out-battled him for a rebound that he popped past Forsberg.

    Several members of the back-to-back World Series champion Dodgers were the Kings’ guests at the game, receiving multiple loud ovations.

    More to come on this story.

    Andrew Knoll

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  • LA Kings Captain Anze Kopitar to Retire After 2025-26 Season

    It’s been a fun 20 years on the ice

    Credit: AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

    The LA Kings have stated that long-tenured team captain Anze Kopitar will enter retirement after the upcoming 2025-2026 season. 

    Kopitar was the 11th overall pick back in the 2005 NHL draft, and quickly became a core centerpiece for the franchise over the course of his 20-year career. He played a crucial role in leading the Kings to both the 2012 and 2014 Stanley Cup Championships, earning the respect of his teammates and peers from around the league. 

    Currently, Kopitar is second all-time in scoring for the Kings franchise with 1,278 points over a franchise-leading 1,454 games played, but he has a real chance to climb to the #1 spot during his final season. He also currently sits at third all-time for franchise goals made, is a 2x recipient of the Selke trophy, and 3x Lady Byng award winner. 

    While it’s a bittersweet announcement, we should cherish Kopitar’s final season in the league and give our captain one last big applause into the sunset.

    Preseason for the Kings begins this Sunday against the Anaheim Ducks, and week 1 is slated for October 7th against the Colorado Avalanche.

    Vahe Baghdoyan

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  • Anze Kopitar reaches 1,200-point milestone as Kings thrash Wild

    Anze Kopitar reaches 1,200-point milestone as Kings thrash Wild

    LOS ANGELES — Kevin Fiala lit up his former team, Viktor Arvidsson scored in his first game back from injury, Andreas Englund backed up a big hit with a fight, the Kings built a 3-0 lead over the Minnesota Wild … and that all happened in the first period alone.

    By the end of Wednesday night, the Kings had rolled to a 6-0 victory over a depleted Minnesota club that snapped its eight-game points streak with a loss in regulation at Crypto.com Arena. Both teams had won a night earlier, and the Kings have captured three of their past four games.

    “We were ready to play, and we looked pretty good doing it, with Arvy back in and the full lineup and lots of energy,” Kings interim coach Jim Hiller said. “We got rewarded. We got a couple lucky goals, we understand that, but it just felt right.”

    Kings captain Anze Kopitar’s assist was career point No. 1,200 and his goal was No. 1,201. Fiala, Arvidsson and Phillip Danault matched Kopitar’s contribution with a goal and an assist apiece. Matt Roy and Jordan Spence each added a goal from the blue line, where Drew Doughty chipped in the same two assists that Trevor Moore and Adrian Kempe both did up front. David Rittich had 30 saves to earn his third shutout one night after Cam Talbot picked up a win in a romp over the Chicago Blackhawks.

    Marc-Andre Fleury wobbled and also bore the brunt of the Wild’s tired legs, weary minds and bad bounces before being relieved by Filip Gustavsson. Minnesota was at the end of its road trip and without arguably its three best defensive players: center Joel Eriksson Ek as well as defensemen Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin. Brodin was injured in a 4-0 victory over the Ducks on Tuesday.

    The Kings’ opening salvo began with a hit by Danault on the former Kings prospect at the center of the Fiala swap, defenseman and certain Calder Trophy finalist Brock Faber. As the Wild attempted to break out, Fiala disrupted Ryan Hartman’s pass with a deft defensive deflection that went to Moore. Moore promptly fired a shot that Danault tipped past Fleury 5:08 into the contest for his 17th goal of the season.

    Englund and Jake Middleton scrapped in the middle of both the game and the ice after Englund had checked Marcus Johansson.

    The Kings extended their lead on a power play that proved patience to be a virtue. Not only did they score with less than five seconds remaining on Minnesota’s minor penalty, but it was Fiala ignoring the pleas of “shoot!” from the crowd to make a pass, adjust his position, receive the puck anew, change his shooting angle and pick his spot against a highly vulnerable Fleury. It was goal No. 23 of the season for Fiala, with 4:57 to play in the period.

    “Kevin’s always hungry, he wants to be an elite player, and he is an elite player,” Moore said of Fiala’s focus against his former cohorts.

    Their next goal, 1:23 later, was as uplifting as it was fluky. Arvidsson, who missed 50 games to start the season (back surgery) as well as the past 14 (lower-body), scored his first goal of the campaign. He was trying to slide the puck across for Danault but Dakota Mermis, who was filling in for the injured Brodin, broke up the pass in fortuitous fashion for the Kings as the wayward puck slid between Fleury’s legs for a serendipitous score.

    “It was amazing. It was a relief, and just a happy moment,” said Arvidsson, who confirmed that his recent injury was unrelated to his two back surgeries in less than two years. “My daughter was in the stands and it was just an awesome feeling.”

    Momentum and puck luck alike carried over into the second period, when Quinton Byfield’s centering attempt was inadvertently rerouted by Faber’s skate, directly to the trailing Roy for his fourth goal of the season to make it 4-0 just 28 seconds into the frame.

    They extended their lead with a second power-play goal at the 7:34 mark and a de facto man-advantage tally nearly 10 minutes afterward.

    Spence went his first 54 games without a goal but scored his second in five days when Moore found him alone above the inside portion of the left circle. His far-side fling beat Fleury and chased him from the contest.

    From the fourth goal of Spence’s career to old hat for one of the most prolific goalie-center tandems in NHL history, Doughty located a seam from the top of the circle to the right dot, where Kopitar was waiting to rip a kneeling one-timer past Gustavsson for a 6-0 advantage. Kopitar scored his 23rd goal just two seconds after Marcus Foligno’s penalty expired for Minnesota.

    Andrew Knoll

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  • Jaret Anderson-Dolan help Kings beat Sharks 5-2

    Jaret Anderson-Dolan help Kings beat Sharks 5-2

    SAN JOSE, Calif. — Jaret Anderson-Dolan had a goal and an assist for his first two points of the season and the Los Angeles Kings beat the San Jose Sharks 5-2 on Friday night.

    Phillip Dananult, Victor Arvidsson, Anze Kopitar and Rasmus Kupari also scored for the Kings, and Jonathan Quick made 29 saves.

    “I think we’re all just working, doing the little things right and it was paying off,” Anderson-Dolan said. “It turned into opportunities and we capitalized on a couple of those tonight.”

    Kevin Lebanc and Alexander Barabanov scored for the Sharks, and James Reimer stopped 24 shots.

    “It’s unfortunate that my performance wasn’t up to par tonight,” Reimer said.

    Anderson-Dolan scored his first goal of the season midway through the first period with a shot that beat Reimer to the glove side.

    “Feels great. It’s been a while so it definitely felt good,” Anderson-Dolan said.

    Anderson-Dolan also assisted on Kupari’s goal early in the third.

    “I thought our first period got better as it went on, and then they got the power play,” Sharks coach David Quinn said. “And you know, listen, that’s a good team. They’re hard. They’re quick. At times we matched them and at times we didn’t.”

    Kings coach Todd McLellan was thrilled with his fourth line’s performance.

    “I couldn’t be happier for that group. That line played their best game of the season together. They were firm, they were hard, and they won a lot of puck battles,” McLellan said.

    INJURY UPDATE

    Reimer returned to the lineup after a one-game absence.

    Sharks defenseman Radim Simek was activated off IR and played his first game since Nov. 13.

    UP NEXT:

    Kings: Host Ottawa on Sunday night.

    Sharks: Host Vancouver on Sunday.

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    More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Mark Stone’s last-minute goal sends Vegas past Kings 4-3

    Mark Stone’s last-minute goal sends Vegas past Kings 4-3

    LOS ANGELES — Mark Stone scored the tiebreaking goal with 24.9 seconds to play, and the Vegas Golden Knights punctuated coach Bruce Cassidy’s debut with a 4-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night.

    Arthur Kaliyev tied it for the Kings with 7:02 left, but the Knights capitalized in the waning seconds after the Kings made an ill-advised move up the ice instead of running out the clock for overtime. Chandler Stephenson controlled a turnover at mid-ice and carried it in for Stone, who whipped a shot past Jonathan Quick to cap Vegas’ three-goal third period.

    “We had our breakdowns, but that’s just learning curves,” Stone said. “If we can cut those in half, we’ll get it done. Power play got a little talking-to in between periods there. We stepped up for it in the third.”

    William Karlsson had a goal and an assist as the Golden Knights put a whopping 51 shots on Quick, including 20 in the final period. Jonathan Marchessault and Jack Eichel also scored, while Alex Pietrangelo had assists on Vegas’ last two goals.

    Cassidy spent the past six seasons with the Bruins, who fired him in June even though Boston made the playoffs in every year of his tenure. The Golden Knights hired him eight days later to get the NHL’s model expansion franchise back to the postseason.

    “I thought we showed a lot of resilience,” Cassidy said. “We kept pushing back whenever something didn’t go our way. … For a coach, you’re always worried that when you don’t know your team that well — it’s our first league game — what will happen when things don’t go well? It’s always, to me, a sign of good character in the room when a team is resilient, so that’s a big plus for me no matter how the score turned out.”

    Logan Thompson made 27 saves in his first game since becoming Vegas’ first-choice goalie in the absence of injured Robin Lehner and Laurent Brossoit.

    Quick made 47 saves while starting on opening night for the 14th time in the Kings’ last 15 seasons. Gabe Vilardi and Adrian Kempe also scored for Los Angeles, but coach Todd McLellan lamented his team’s poor game management and overall defensive intensity while saying the Kings’ last-minute turnover “makes no sense” and “was just stupidity.”

    “We’ve preached and preached about it,” McLellan said. “Sometimes you’ve got to get hit pretty hard with a two-by-four. Maybe this was it. … That is all game management. That’s getting engaged and being ready to go. Their team did a better job of it than we did tonight.”

    Vegas’ impressive entrance into the NHL in 2017 coincided with the Kings’ decline from the best times in franchise history, but the momentum shifted last season between two teams separated by about 3 1/2 hours of desert freeway.

    Los Angeles ended its three-year playoff drought and stretched Edmonton to seven games in the first round after finishing the regular season five points ahead of the Golden Knights, who missed the postseason for the first time.

    In their first meeting of the new season, the Knights showed they’ve got more than enough offense to break through the defense-minded Kings.

    “We wasted an outstanding goaltending night by not at least getting a point,” McLellan said. “That’s disappointing.”

    Eichel put Vegas ahead early in the third with a rebound goal, but Kempe tied it 2 1/2 minutes later with a one-timer on a sharp pass from captain Anze Kopitar, who is beginning his 17th season with the Kings.

    After Eichel and Kempe traded goals early in the third, Karlsson expertly redirected Pietrangelo’s soft pass from the point with 12:43 to play. Los Angeles answered moments after a power play expired, with Kaliyev hitting an open net after a scramble in front.

    QUIET DEBUTS

    Phil Kessel didn’t score in the 35-year-old forward’s Vegas debut, and prolific Swiss forward Kevin Fiala didn’t score in his first game with the Kings.

    BARNSTORMING BETTMAN

    NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman attended the game and said he was pleased with the renovations and additions to the Kings’ downtown arena. Although the league has no active expansion plan, Bettman said he has received numerous inquiries from parties interested in getting a new franchise in the NHL, which currently has a symmetrical 32 teams.

    Bettman also said the league is still investigating the separate sexual assault allegations against Tampa Bay’s Ian Cole and the 2018 Canadian world junior championships team.

    UP NEXT

    Golden Knights: Host Blackhawks on Thursday.

    Kings: Host Kraken on Thursday.

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    More AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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