Kings’ Anze Kopitar joins exclusive club with 1,300th-career point

The Los Angeles Kings captain, Anze Kopitar, recorded his 1,300th NHL point in a 4-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday. The achievement came five minutes before the end of the first period, when Kopitar assisted on Trevor Moore’s seventh goal of the season, a play that began with Kopitar and Joel Armia springing Moore down the right wing.

Kopitar’s 1,300 points are composed of 446 goals and 854 assists over 1,495 regular-season games, placing him 39th on the NHL’s all-time points list and 28th in assists. The Slovenian-born center is only the eighth player born outside North America to reach the milestone, joining the ranks of other elite active players such as Evgeni Malkin and Alex Ovechkin. Within the Kings’ history, Kopitar sits second on the franchise’s all-time points list, behind Marcel Dionne by just seven points (Dionne: 1,307).

Selected 11th overall in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, Kopitar has amassed at least 60 points in 16 of his 20 NHL seasons. He reached his offensive peak in 2017-18, racking up career highs of 35 goals, 57 assists, and 92 points. In the playoffs, Kopitar has garnered 27 goals and 62 assists in 103 games, helping Los Angeles win the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014. He has earned multiple individual honors, including two Selke Trophies, three Lady Byng Trophies, and the Mark Messier Leadership Award.

The Kings got off to a slow start Thursday, as Vegas took control in the opening period. Jack Eichel opened the scoring at 8:22, capitalizing off a faceoff win to beat goaltender Anton Forsberg for his 21st goal of the season. Mark Stone followed with his 21st goal at 11:49, assisted by Ivan Barbashev, who stretched his points streak to five games. Pavel Dorofeyev and Mitch Marner quickly added to the Golden Knights’ advantage, scoring within 20 seconds to make it 4-0. Moore’s late first-period goal, assisted by Kopitar, made it 4-1, and that score held through the remainder of the game

Vegas goaltender Adin Hill made 32 saves for his 100th career victory, while Forsberg stopped 18 shots for Los Angeles. The Golden Knights took six trips to the box but still held the game together, while the Kings came up empty on five power plays. Having dropped four of their last five games, Los Angeles will host Vegas again on February 25.

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