Anze Kopitar’s career continues after Kings clinch playoffs with Kraken win

Los Angeles Kings captain Anze Kopitar announced his retirement before the season, confirming that the 2025-26 campaign would be the final season of his career. He is the only captain in team history to lead the franchise to a Stanley Cup. And he will have a chance to win one more before the end of his career.

Kopitar and the Kings defeated the Seattle Kraken on Monday night. As a result, Los Angeles has clinched a spot in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Their seeding in the postseason remains to be determined. However, they will have extra games to play starting this weekend.

Kopitar provided an assist on Adrian Kempe’s 35th goal of the 2025-26 season. This goal put the Kings ahead by a score of 4-2 at the time. The Kraken did pull it back to one. However, Alex Laferriere scored an empty net goal at the end to clinch a 5-3 victory.

Los Angeles has been playing incredible hockey as of late. With this win, they now have five straight victories. This streak helped them recover from a brutal slump in March that saw them fall out of a playoff spot for a time.

The Kings still don’t know who they will play in the first round. If they finish as the second Wild Card, they would take on the Colorado Avalanche. If they can steal the first Wild Card spot, they would face the winner of the Pacific Division. There is also a scenario in which they finish as high as second in the Pacific.

The Kings will close out the regular season on Tuesday against the Vancouver Canucks.

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