Adrian Kempe scored his 200th NHL career goal and Drew Doughty broke the Kings record for goals by a defenseman as they beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-0 on Tuesday night.
Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves and Kevin Fiala added a late power-play goal to help the Kings get their first home win of the season in six games.
Connor Hellebuyck made 23 saves for the Jets, who dropped their first road game in five tries.
Kempe scored late in the first period to put the Kings in front, getting his sixth goal of the season by attacking the crease to put in Joel Armia’s centering pass from the trapezoid. Kempe is the ninth member of the 2014 draft class to reach 200 goals, getting there in 644 games.
Doughty passed franchise stalwart Rob Blake with his 162nd goal in 1,221 games with an empty-netter with 54 seconds remaining.
The Kings made changes by moving Armia to the top line and reuniting Mikey Anderson with longtime partner Doughty on the first defensive pair, and there were immediate returns as Armia and Anderson had the assists on Kempe’s goal.
Kings forward Corey Perry played in his 1,400th career game, becoming the 44th player in NHL history to do so and joining Brent Burns (1,511), Alex Ovechkin (1,503) and Anze Kopitar (1,464) among active players who have appeared in that many games.
Jets captain Adam Lowry made his season debut after undergoing hip surgery in late May, centering the third line. Lowry had a career-high 18 goals last season.
Anze Kopitar, widely considered the greatest player in Kings franchise history and poised to become the team’s all-time leading scorer, announced Thursday he will retire at the end of the 2025-26 season.
Entering his 20th season with the Kings and the final year of his contract, the decision was somewhat expected from the 38-year-old team captain. He told KCAL News last month he was thinking about retirement and that it could be his last NHL season.
Kings general manager Ken Holland told NHL Network Radio in July that Kopitar indicated he wasn’t seeking a contract extension this summer and was intending to take things a “year at a time.”
Kopitar is second all-time in franchise scoring, with 1,278 points in a franchise-leading 1,454 games played. He is 30 points away from breaking Marcel Dionne’s team record for most points (1,307). He ranks third all-time in franchise goals (440) behind Luc Robitaille (557) and Dionne (550) and leads in assists (838). He is a two-time Selke trophy winner (best defensive forward) and three-time Lady Byng trophy winner (gentlemanly play).
Drafted 11th overall by the Kings in 2005, Kopitar made an immediate impact during his 2006-07 rookie season, finishing with 20 goals and 61 points for a downtrodden team that was in the middle of a six-year playoff drought.
Kings center Anze Kopitar celebrates with the Stanley Cup after the Kings defeated the New Jersey Devils to win the franchise’s first title in 2012.
(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)
Eventually, with Doughty joining the team in 2008 coupled with steady growth from Brown, Quick and Kopitar, the Kings returned to the playoffs in 2010 before capturing the franchise’s first Stanley Cup in 2012.
Kopitar has stood out on a team that has had many greats, including NHL all-time leading scorer Wayne Gretzky.
“It’s really hard for me to sit here and say I’m the greatest King. That’s just not my personality. Far from it,” Kopitar told The Times’ Helene Elliott in 2023. “There’s been great Kings in this organization, with Marcel, Luc, Dave [Taylor], Wayne, Blakey [Rob Blake]. The list can go on for a little bit. Brownie. Individually, yes, but it’s about collective wins.”
With Kopitar’s decision, the biggest roster question facing the Kings remains whether they can re-sign Adrian Kempe to a long-term deal. Kempe, who has led the team in points the last two seasons, is in the final year of his contract.
The Kings open the preseason Sunday against the Ducks in the Empire Classic at Toyota Arena in Ontario. They begin the regular season against the Colorado Avalanche at Crypto.com Arena on Oct. 7.
This is a developing story. The Times will have more on Kopitar’s decision to retire at the end of the season soon.
