Anze Kopitar Night
148-Word Recap
In a season where nothing worked, it was sweet satisfaction for Kings fans to silence the ridiculous Golden Knights fans who lead the league in disrespect, starting with the Vegas faithful butchering “The Star Spangled Banner” with their stupid “Knights” outburst during the song.
Ilya Kovalchuk gave retiring Kings coach a nice parting gift, scoring two goals to go with Anze Kopitar’s first power-play goal of the season, and Dustin Brown had two assists as the almost-last-place Los Angeles Kings closed the season with a 5-2 victory over the playoff-bound Vegas Golden Knights.
It was a night where the Kings most likely did not mind finishing 30th in the league as they secured the second most ping pong balls in Tuesday’s lottery in their quest to secure phenom Jack Hughes in the upcoming draft.
Jonathan Quick made 29 saves in what could have been his last Kings game.
Coach’s Corner: What Willie Desjardins Did Wrong Tonight
Who cares? Nice guys finish last (and he did). Let’s hope he celebrated this win and walked over to Rob Blake’s office for the news of his departure.
The Game 82 Highlights
(if you want Knights stuff, go to their recap)
We will miss you Jonathan Quick:
Kings 1. Knights 0.
“Ilya Kovalchuk still got it.” —Alex Faust
Kings 2. Knights 0.
We missed you Jeffy!
Kings 3. Knights 0.
Matt Roy! Take a walk around the ring, Flower!
Kings 4. Knights 2.
Anze Kopitar! Finishes the season with 60 points to lead the team in scoring for the 11th time.
Kings 5. Knights 2.
Kovalchuk with his 16th! Imagine if he played on the first line all year!
Next: #PrayForHughes…The Kings await the results of the NHL Draft Lottery on Tuesday:
Quotables:
.@JonathanQuick32 sending congratulations and best wishes to @AnzeKopitar ❤️ pic.twitter.com/1AUg1uTo4S
— LA Kings (@LAKings) April 7, 2019
“It was a good end for us with a win… and hopefully, we can come back stronger next season in October.”
– @CarlGrundstrom pic.twitter.com/xLWFOMm12A— LA Kings (@LAKings) April 7, 2019
“I’m going to sign the puck and give it to Brown.”
– @AnzeKopitar on scoring his first power play goal of the season 😂 pic.twitter.com/3k01n631DE— LA Kings (@LAKings) April 7, 2019
Games Until the Kings are Eligible for a New Head Coach: Bye bye Willie D…!
Kings Awards:
MVP: Dustin Brown
Best Newcomer: Austin Wagner
Best Defenseman: Drew Doughty
Best Defensive Player: Jack Campbell
Ace Bailey Most Inspirational Player: (Tie) Kyle Clifford and Dustin Brown
King Clancy Memorial Nominee: Tyler Toffoli
Fan Appreciation Night:
This is how the @LAKings fan base shows up for their last game!! Take notes @AnaheimDucks! pic.twitter.com/AYBp1CLq2k
— Elizabeth Lloyd (@lizzielloyd88) April 7, 2019
Gabe Vilardi Watch
If anyone has seen him, please send him to Staples Center. We need him for 2019-20: