FINAL – Kings 4, Devils 6 – Kopitar, Clarke, Smith

The LA Kings got two goals from forward Anze Kopitar, as he set the all-time franchise record for regular-season points, but they were unable to turn that into a victory as they fell by a 6-4 final on Saturday evening at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

After a back-and-forth start to the game, New Jersey opened the scoring just shy of eight minutes in. The Devils won the puck deep in the offensive zone, on the forecheck, and quickly turned it into a scoring chance. Forward Arseny Gritsyuk worked the puck to forward Cody Glass in the slot and while Glass did not get all of his shot, it fluttered against the grain, past Kings goaltender Anton Forsberg for the early 1-0 advantage.

The Devils made it 2-0 later in the first period, as New Jersey once again turned a turnover into a goal. A clearing attempt up the boards between defenseman Joel Edmundson and forward Adrian Kempe was broken up at the point, resulting in a quick shot on goal by forward Timo Meier. The attempt was saved by Forsberg, but forward Nico Hischier buried the rebound for his 22nd goal of the season, putting the hosts ahead by two goals.

Inside the first five minutes of the second period, the Kings pulled a goal back as forward Anze Kopitar tied the all-time franchise record for points, with the 1,307th of his storied NHL career. Skating on the man advantage, defenseman Brandt Clarke fed the puck to Kopitar at the back post, where he scored for the second straight night to pull his team within one, as he equalled Marcel Dionne’s record.

The Kings tied the game at two just under two minutes later, with the top line getting another one, this time at 5-on-5. Forward Artemi Panarin, who had the secondary assist on Kopitar’s goal, rounded the back of the net with the puck and took it around the circle, into the high slot. He delayed, waiting for a lane to open, before he shot past New Jersey netminder Jake Allen and in to tie the game at two.

Los Angeles came all the way back to take the lead midway through the second period as the fourth line got a deserved goal to pull the Kings ahead. Working in the offensive zone, forward Samuel Helenius fed the puck up to Clarke at the point. Clarke delayed to open up a lane before he fed Ward at the top of the left-hand circle, where he hammered a one-timer into the back of the net to put the Kings ahead 3-2 after 40 minutes.

New Jersey tied the game just 25 seconds into the third period, with Gritsyuk collecting his second point of the game. Forward Lenni Hameenaho made the play happen, as he pulled a nifty move in transition to work his way into the offensive zone with possession, before he fed Gritsyuk at the back post for the goal, his 12th of the season, as the Devils leveled the score at 3-3.

Skating on the power play, New Jersey took the lead for the second time in the game, as Hischier buried his second goal of the evening. A shot from forward Connor Brown was turned aside by Forsberg and Hischier was on the doorstep to bury the goal from close range to put the hosts ahead 4-3.

Kopitar completed the milestone in what felt like almost poetic fashion at the time, as he scored a power-play goal to tie the game at four. Panarin made an athletic play to keep the puck alive, working it to Kopitar cutting through the middle of the ice, where he got the shot past Allen and in for the 1,308th regular-season point of his NHL career, surpassing Dionne for the most as a member of the Kings organization.

The storybook ending was not meant to be, however, as the Devils scored a late power-play goal, inside three minutes remaining, to seal a victory on home ice. Hischier attacked down the left side and fed a seam pass, through the slot to forward Jack Hughes, who fired it past Forsberg with a first-time shot to put New Jersey up for good late in the game. The Devils added a late goal to seal the victory at 6-4.

Hear from Kopitar, Clarke and Interim Head Coach D.J. Smith after tonight’s game.

Brandt Clarke

Anze Kopitar
On the emotions of setting the all-time franchise record for points
I mean, quite honestly, feels pretty shitty, losing the game, I can imagine it would feel a lot better if we finished it off and won the game.

On having his family in New York for a moment like that
Yeah, I mean, it wasn’t planned like that, it’s just how it worked out. They actually weren’t in building, but they’re back in the city waiting for me, so hopefully they won’t go to bed quite yet.

On if he thought he had it earlier on the 2-on-1
I mean, I connected really good on it, but when I heard the sound, I figured it was bar and up and not bar and down.

On the momentum swings in the game and ultimately falling short
I thought we came out pretty flat in the first, they were dictating the pace and everything. Then, in the second, we were the ones coming out and controlling the play. Then it flipped again in the third. Going into the third, being up by one, it’s obviously not ideal if you get scored on, on the first shift, so all bets are off after that. We came back, tied it up again, but eventually we couldn’t close it.

On balancing the playoff race against any kind of nostalgia in games like this
We’re right in the thick of things right now, so there’s not a whole lot of time to think about that. It’s times like this, after the game, where you think about that, potentially your last time.

D.J. Smith
On a disappointing result and not being able to get at least a point from this game
Yeah, 100 percent. At the end of the day, we’ve got to get that one to overtime, probably. Two bad penalties in the third period. With the game on the line, you’ve got to manage it. We found ways to come back, we battled, but they score the first shift of the of the third period. We just gave them too many chances.

On seeing Anze Kopitar reach such a special milestone
I mean, that’s outstanding. He’s been unbelievable and he continues to be one of our best players, every single night, right now. That’s very disappointing that we can’t get it across the line tonight [for him].

On the changes in momentum throughout the game
I didn’t think we were competitive enough in the first period, to be honest. Second period, we were great, we played the way we’ve got to play. In the third period, we were fine, it’s just we took two penalties, they scored on both.

On not being able to get a third-period lead over the line and the importance of closing the trip strong Monday
Back to back, we’re in a real good spot going into the third period and that’s a time where you’ve got to take the reins and make simple plays. We just didn’t do that……At the end of the day, I think every guy in that room knows where we want to go and we’ve got to push and give ourselves a win [on Monday].

On the play of the fourth line in helping to flip the momentum of the game
They were one of our best lines all night. They put the puck in, they went to work, they did their job. Can’t ask any more from them. We’ve got to put this behind us, but ultimately, you can’t take the penalties, then you’ve got to find a way to kill one. You’ve got to get it to overtime.

Notes –
– Captain Anze Kopitar(2-0=2) left the ice tonight in New Jersey as the all-time leading scorer in LA Kings history. Kopitar’s 449th and 450th career goals marked his 1,307th and 1,308th career points (450-858=1,308) to surpass Marcel Dionne (550-757=1,307) for the most in franchise history.
– Per NHL PR, Dionne had been the Kings’ all-time points leader for more than 45 years. On Feb. 7, 1981, six years before Kopitar was born, Dionne scored twice in a 4-4 tie against Washington to boost his Kings totals to 661 points (287- 374=661) in 447 games, surpassing Butch Goring (275-384=659 in 736 GP) with his first goal of the game. Kopitar becomes the eighth player in the 58-season history of the LA Kings franchise to be the club’s outright all-time points leader.
– The 38-year old center is the 10th active player to lead his franchise in points and third to achieve the feat this season, following Sidney Crosby (PIT) and Mark Scheifele (WPG/ATL) per NHL PR. The others in that group are Alex Ovechkin (WSH), Steven Stamkos (TBL), Aleksander Barkov (FLA), Roman Josi (NSH), Jonathan Marchessault (VGK), Jared McCann (SEA) and Clayton Keller (UTA).
– The veteran forward recorded his 322nd career multi-point game tonight, breaking a tie with Luc Robitaille (321 GP) for sole possession of the second most multi-point performances in Kings history, behind only Dionne (392 GP). Kopitar’s ninth and 10th goals of the season were both scored on the power play this evening, marking his 454th and 455th career power play points (129-326=455) to break a tie with Mats Sundin (160-293=453) for sole possession of the 40th most in NHL history. He trails only Dionne (172-289=461) for the most points on the man-advantage in Kings history.
– Per NHL PR, Kopitar joined Alex Ovechkin (21) and Sidney Crosby (20) as the third active player with 20 career 10-goal seasons. Kopitar has recorded seven points (4-3=7) in his last seven games, dating back to Monday, March 2, against the Colorado Avalanche.
– In the second period of tonight’s contest, forward Artemi Panarin (1-2=3) provided his 46th assist of the year on Kopitar’s franchise record-tying goal before scoring his 22nd goal of the season. In the third period, Panarin clinched his 99th career three-point outing with the primary set-up on Kopitar’s record-breaking goal, the winger’s 47th helper of the campaign. Panarin’s effort tonight ties him with Darryl Sittler (99 GP) for the 54th-most three-point games in NHL history. The native of Korkino, Russia, has now recorded four of his 260 career multi-point games through his first 10 games as a member of the LA Kings.
– Panarin’s trio of points marked the 46th, 47th, and 48th of his career to be recorded against the New Jersey Devils, leapfrogging his countryman Nikita Kucherov (13-34=47) for sole possession of the sixth most against the franchise among active players.
– Forward Taylor Ward (1-0=1) scored his third goal of the season in his first career meeting with the New Jersey Devils.
– Defenseman Brandt Clarke (0-3=3) notched his 27th, 28th, and 29th assists of the season tonight to set a new single- season career high (28 A in 2024-25). With his third career three-point game and 10th multi-point outing of the season, Clarke breaks a tie with Quinton Byfield (9 GP) for the second most multi-point efforts among Kings skaters this season behind Adrian Kempe (12 GP).
– Defenseman Joel Edmundson (0-1=1) collected his 16th assist of the season, his first career helper against the New Jersey Devils.
– Forward Adrian Kempe (0-1=1) earned his team-leading 32nd assist of the season to extend his point streak to an eighth game (5-5=10), dating back to Feb. 28 against the Calgary Flames. This is Kempe’s third different streak of at least eight games in length in his career and is the second such streak he has recorded this season, following his efforts from Jan. 17
through Feb. 4 (5-5=10 in 8 GP).
– Forward Samuel Helenius (0-1=1) picked up his fourth helper of the campaign with a secondary assist on Ward’s goal. This marked Helenius’ first point against New Jersey through three career meetings. The 23-year-old surpasses his previous career-highs in assists (3 A) and points (4-3=7) set in 2024-25 with his eighth point of the ‘25-26 season (4-4=8).
– Forward Mathieu Joseph made his debut for the LA Kings this evening in New Jersey. The 29-year-old native of Laval, Quebec, signed a one-year contract with the Kings on March 6.
– Defenseman Drew Doughty played his 1,263rd career regular season NHL game tonight at Prudential Center, tying longtime New Jersey Devil Scott Niedermayer (1,263 GP) for the 27th-most games played by a defenseman in NHL history. Doughty and Niedermayer captured an Olympic gold medal together with Team Canada in 2010.

The Kings have a scheduled team off day tomorrow and will return to the ice for morning skate on Monday at 11 AM at Madison Square Garden, in advance of that evening’s game against the New York Rangers.