Kopitar did not play on Saturday but will return on Monday against the Minnesota Wild. Kopitar has four points (0G / 2A) in his last three games and 70 points (26G / 44A) in 79 games this season.
Kopitar did not play on Saturday and could miss a second straight game on Monday against the Minnesota Wild. Kopitar has four points (0G / 2A) in his last three games and 70 points (26G / 44A) in 79 games this season. On Saturday, Pierre-Luc Dubois centred the top line with Quinton Byfield and Adrian Kempe.
Kopitar had 28 goals, 46 assists, 169 SOG, 74 PIMs and a +20 plus/minus through 82 games with Los Angeles in 2022-23 and has signed a two-year extension worth $14 million ($7,000,000 AAV). The 35-year-old centre will be entering his 18th NHL season with Los Angeles and has 393 goals and 1141 points across 1292 games played.
Kopitar skipped the Kings morning skate and is questionable for tonight’s game in Brooklyn. The Kings are already a bad team and would be extremely thin if Kopitar can’t play. Monitor his status as the Kings hit the ice for pre-game warmups.
Kopitar was forced to miss Thursday’s game against the Islanders due to an illness, but he is feeling better and should be back vs. the Sabres. Kopitar was back between Alex Iafallo and Tyler Toffoli at Friday’s practice and comes into Saturday with two goals in six games this season.
Because of the early part there was no word prior to warmups that Kopitar was under the weather. The Kings first line centre is considered day-to-day.
Kopitar missed Sunday’s game in Winnipeg and it sounds like he is a ways away from returning to the lineup. With Kopitar out, Jeff Carter is expected to continue to centre the top line with Trevor Lewis seeing an expanded role.
Kopitar left the game after playing just 5:12 TOI but there is no indication how he suffered the injury. Kopitar has nine points (4G / 5A) in eight games since the All-Star break and has been on a tear since the middle of December, so this would be a huge loss at both ends of the ice. Expect an update on Kopitar’s status heading into the weekend.
Kopitar, 28, has spent his entire NHL career with the Kings after the club selected him in the first-round (11th overall) of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft. In 725 regular season games he has 645 points (230G / 415A), a plus-62 rating and 194 penalty minutes, while in 70 postseason games he has 60 points (18G / 42A), a plus-22 rating and 37 penalty minutes en route to two Stanley Cups.
Kopitar left Tuesday’s game with an upper-body injury, but he said he felt fine after the game and will play tonight vs. the Blue Jackets. Kopitar has four goals in 12 games this season—three of which have come in the last six games.
