Kopitar determined to make playoffs as Kings set bad record in chaotic loss

Anze Kopitar #11 of the Los Angeles Kings handles the puck during an NHL hockey game against the Nashville Predators, Thursday April 2, 2026 in Los Angeles, Calif. Anze Kopitar could be in the final seven games of his career. When that possibility was brought up to him after the Los Angeles Kings’ 75th game, a record-breaking 5-4 shootout loss to the Nashville Predators, he made it clear he’s determined to make sure that doesn’t come to fruition.

“I don’t plan on just playing seven more games,” he said. The game itself was one of the Kings’ wildest all season. After opening with a ceremony to honor Kopitar’s career and his recent breaking of the franchise scoring record, the Predators scored 52 seconds into the game and twice in the first four minutes.

That doesn’t even include the disallowed goal they had just 18 seconds in, nor the missed penalty shot after Darcy Kuemper’s reckless attempt to stop a breakaway, nor the double-minor high-sticking penalty on Brandt Clarke which was overturned on review. Despite trailing 4-1 and being outplayed halfway through the game, the Kings managed to flip the game and stormed back to tie it. Of course, all of that was just a setup for an eight-round shootout with just a single goal scored.

But when all of that chaos settled, the Kings found themselves in a brutally familiar place, collecting their NHL-record 19th overtime or shootout loss. “After a slow start, I think we played pretty good, and I’m proud of the team, how we battled back in the game,” said forward Joel Armia, who took the eighth and final shootout miss. “It just sucks.