Los Angeles Kings centre Anze Kopitar of Jesenice, Slovenia registered his third National Hockey League Stanley Cup Playoff overtime winner on Wednesday. He accomplished the feat in a 5-4 Kings win over the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta. With the win, the Kings and Oilers are now tied at one in their best out of seven Western Conference first round playoff series.
Inside look at the OT winner
Kopitar received a pass from Quinton Byfield of Newmarket, Ontario. Byfield redirected a long pass from Michael Anderson of Fridley, Minnesota, perfectly, and his pass went on the stick of Kopitar. All of a sudden Kopitar was wide open and all alone in the Oilers zone. Kopitar easily got past a diving Darnell Nurse, and delivered a shot top shelf and beat Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner at 2:07 of the extra period.
Who else scored for Los Angeles?
The Kings got two first period goals from left winger Adrian Kempe of Kramfors, Sweden. Ironically, Kopitar picked up the lone assist on the two Kempe goals, which put the Kings up 2-0 at the time. Los Angeles then got a first period goal from Canadian Olympic gold medalist Drew Doughty of London, Ontario, who scored on the breakaway late in the first period. Ironically, it was Doughty’s first Stanley Cup playoff overtime goal in a decade. The last time Doughty scored in the playoffs in 2014, the Kings won the Stanley Cup. Meanwhile, the Kings’s other goal scorer was Kevin Fiala of St. Gallen, Switzerland.
Kopitar’s two other playoff overtime winners
Kopitar’s first Stanley Cup playoff winner came on April 17, 2010 in a 3-2 Kings win over the Vancouver Canucks in game two of the Western Conference Quarterfinals. Ironically, Doughty picked up the primary assist, and Jack Johnson of Indianapolis, Indiana had the other helper at 7:28 on the power-play. Kopitar’s second Stanley Cup playoff winner came on May 30, 2012 in a 2-1 Kings win over the New Jersey Devils. Kopitar scored from Doughty again, and Justin Williams of Cobourg, Ontario in game one of the 2012 Stanley Cup Final.
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