Kopitar scores twice, helps Kings defeat Blue Jackets

COLUMBUS -- Anze Kopitar's second goal of the game with 2:14 left in the third period broke a tie and helped the Los Angeles Kings defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-4 at Nationwide Arena on Saturday and remain the only team in the NHL not to lose in regulation this season.
The Kings (6-0-1) have points in the first seven games to equal their record set in 1995-96 (4-0-3).

Kopitar took a pass from Dustin Brown out of the left corner on a backdoor play to the slot behind Blue Jackets forward Matt Calvert and redirected the puck past goalie Sergei Bobrovsky.
WATCH: [All Kings vs. Blue Jackets highlights]
Brown, who had three assists, scored into an empty net with 1:33 to play to make it 6-4.
He credited linemate Alex Iafallo (two assists) for setting up the winning goal by Kopitar.
"[Iafallo] kept the play alive, quite honestly, while we were changing," Brown said. "I came all the way from the bench. He kept the play alive a good five seconds to allow us to get on the ice."

Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said, "We didn't play the coverage well in the corner but still, it's a 30-foot pass. That's a very defendable goal."
Jake Muzzin had a goal and two assists, Drew Doughty and Trevor Lewis also scored, and Jonathan Quick made 32 saves for Los Angeles.
Nick Foligno had a goal and assist for the Blue Jackets (5-3-0), who have lost two straight. Oliver Bjorkstrand, Calvert and Sonny Milano also scored, and Bobrovsky made 26 saves.
Foligno broke a 0-for-18 power play against the NHL's best penalty kill (95.8 percent) at 5:43 of the first period, scoring his second goal with snap shot off a pass from Artemi Panarin for a 1-0 lead.

Kopitar got his fifth at 6:51 for a 1-1 tie. The Kings went ahead 2-1 at 7:33 when Lewis lifted a backhand shot from the right circle underneath the crossbar for his second goal.
Columbus rallied back with Bjorkstrand's first goal at 8:00 to make it 2-2. Calvert's first at 14:02 came out of a scramble to put the Blue Jackets ahead 3-2.
Muzzin made it 3-3 40 seconds into the second period with a wrist shot through traffic for his second goal. Doughty had a long redirection of Brown's shot at 3:59 for a 4-3 Kings advantage.
"I was a little surprised I got a piece of it," Doughty said. "Great play by [Brown]. I happened to get a stick on it."
The rookie Milano scored his Blue Jackets' best fifth goal at 15:15 to make it 4-4, but it was Kopitar's line that made the difference in the third period.
"They were not only good defensively but they carried the load offensively," Kings coach John Stevens said. "It's not surprising they put the puck in the net at the end of the game."

Goal of the game

Milano's goal was an individual effort. He gloved a clearance pass at the blue line, avoided a check and whipped a backhand shot inside the right post.

Save of the game

Quick was good -- and lucky -- with 11:23 left in the third period when he got a piece of a slap shot by Foligno with the score tied 4-4. The puck got by him but hit the post and stayed out.

Highlight of the game

Brown did the dirty work along the wall to set up Kopitar's first goal. Kopitar had to go down to his left knee for the one-timer from the top of the left circle that sailed past Bobrovsky on the stick side.

They said it

"The last three years I think we started 0-3. We as a team talked about having a good start because these are the types of games that add up and make a big difference toward the end of the year." -- Kings forward Dustin Brown
"It's always fun tied like that going into the third period, both teams had their goals, but you've got to find a way to get on the other side of those games and be the ones scoring there with a couple of minutes left." -- Blue Jackets forward Boone Jenner

Need to know

Muzzin's goal tied him with Bob Murdoch for 10th on the Kings' all-time goal list with 41. … Forward Brooks Laich, signed to a one-year $650,000 contract on Thursday, played 12:07 in his Kings debut. … Jenner returned from a back injury and played 18:11 in his first game of the season.

What's next

Kings: At the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday (7 p.m. ET; TVA Sports, TSN4, FS-W, NHL.TV)
Blue Jackets: Host the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV)