The Los Angeles Kings trail the Colorado Avalanche 3-0 in the Western Conference First Round series and can be eliminated with a loss in Game 4 at Crypto.com Arena (4:30 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, FDSNSC, truTV, TNT, ALT, TVAS2, SNP, SNW, SN360).
"I'm hoping it's not going to be (my last game)," the 38-year-old Kopitar said after practice Saturday, having announced in September this would be his final season. "Can you ever be emotionally prepared? Probably not, so we'll see."
Kopitar, a two-time Stanley Cup winner and the Kings franchise leader in points, is hoping to stave off retirement by trying to kickstart his second career rally from a 3-0 deficit. Los Angeles did it against the San Jose Sharks in the first round in 2014, winning four straight to take the series in seven games en route to their second Stanley Cup title in three seasons.
"I mean, right now we got nothing to lose," Kopitar said. "It's focusing (on) tomorrow, having a good start, and just go from there. To think what's going to happen in a couple days, or four or five days from now, there's really no need for that. It's just staying in the moment. Go down there tomorrow and play your (butts) off, or our (butts) off, and see where that takes us."
To do so, the Kings understand they will need to generate more offense than the four goals they have produced through the first three games of the series. Trevor Moore scored their first even-strength goal in a 4-2 loss in Game 3, with the other three all coming on the power play. That includes two 6-on-4 goals scored late in the third period with goalie Anton Forsberg pulled for an extra attacker.
In an effort to boost their scoring, the Kings are likely to shuffle their bottom six forwards. Alex Turcotte could make his series debut after missing the last eight games of the regular season and practicing on the third line with center Scott Laughton and forward Jared Wright on Saturday.
Interim coach D.J. Smith said bringing Turcotte in and moving Wright up would be done with the intention of making the line better suited to breaking down the Avalanche's structured defense should those moves carry over to Sunday.
"Speed," Smith said. "Their 'D' skate very well. Their gap (control), obviously, is really good. I think more speed to get to pucks quicker might give us a hand."
For his part, Kopitar is looking to unlock his offensive game and that of linemates Artemi Panarin and Adrian Kempe. Panarin has three points (two goals, one assist) in three games, and Kempe got his first point of the series by scoring late in Game 3. Kopitar has no points and a minus-4 rating.
Asked how he can generate more offense, Kopitar deadpanned, "Score about five goals, that'd be nice."
"I mean, there's stretches during the game that we're in their zone," he said. "But like I said before, we got to find ways to put the puck in the net, whether that's crashing the net, making the play for an empty netter. At this point, it doesn't matter (how), but we got to find a way to win."
The Kings have played well in stretches of the series but haven't been able to capitalize, including failing to hold a 1-0 lead with 6:56 remaining in Game 2 when they went on to lose 2-1 in overtime. The Avalanche enjoyed favorable puck luck in Game 3, with two goals going in off the skates of Los Angeles players, sending Kopitar's frustration boiling over late in the 4-2 defeat and seeing him uncharacteristically break his stick.
"It was a combination of everything," he said. "Me turning the puck over, maybe not getting the bounces, obviously losing three straight, and, yeah, it just kind of piled up, and the stick got the short end of it."
The Kings captain since 2016, Kopitar has 1,316 points (452 goals, 864 assists) in 1,521 regular-season games with Los Angeles, which selected him with the No. 11 pick in the 2005 NHL Draft. He became the Kings' all-time scoring leader on March 14, when he passed Marcel Dionne (1,307 points).
Kopitar has also won the Selke Trophy, awarded annually to the League's top defensive forward, in 2015-16 and 2017-18, and the Lady Byng Trophy for gentlemanly play in 2015-16, 2022-23 and 2024-25.
Smith expects Kopitar and the Kings to come through with a strong performance, lifted by energy of the home fans at Crypto.com Arena, regardless of the final score.
"You know, Kopi's leadership, and the guys are going to push so that Kop can play again, but at the end of the day, I think you'll see Kop's best game of the series," Smith said. "To me, he's always been a really good afternoon player. A couple days rest. I think you're going to see him give us his best game of the series as well."
