MONTREAL — Anze Kopitar had this one circled on his calendar.
It might have looked like just another mid-November regular-season game, months before the Los Angeles Kings captain’s career finale. But as Kopitar skated around the Bell Centre during warm-up, his kids, Neza and Jakob, held up a “Let’s Go Kopi” sign from the visitors’ bench.
“This is my favourite rink to play in, or favourite road rink,” Kopitar said. “The history, the culture, the atmosphere — I mean it doesn’t get better than this.”
When his kids learned their father felt that way this summer, “it took them about 15 seconds to convince mom to book a trip,” he said with a smile.
Along with his wife and kids, Kopitar shared a post-game moment with 25 guests after picking up an assist — and a plus-3 rating — in the Kings’ 5-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday night.
The 38-year-old Slovenian announced before this season that 2025-26 will be the final campaign of a Hall-of-Fame-worthy career.
Kopitar is a two-time Stanley Cup champion, two-time Selke Trophy winner as the NHL’s best defensive forward — in eras with Patrice Bergeron, Pavel Datsyuk and Aleksander Barkov — and a two-time Lady Byng recipient.
Instead of trophies and accolades, this season he’s focused on soaking in every moment.
“Being an NHL player, there’s one of approximately 700, so not very many of us. And sometimes you get caught up in the wins and losses and points, and all that stuff to where you don’t enjoy it,” he said. “I just want to enjoy it to the fullest. Obviously, compete and everything, and I want to win, but you can’t lose sight of the fact that you gotta enjoy it.
“We’re extremely happy and blessed to be in this position … a lot of people would pay a lot of money to be in our position just for a game, maybe two.”
In 1,467 career games, the two-way centre has recorded 1,287 points (442 goals, 845 assists), along with 27 goals and 63 assists in 103 playoff contests.
Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki told reporters Tuesday morning that he’s been of fan of Kopitar since he was a kid.
“The way he plays, the way he carries himself, how nice of a person he is, how great of a leader and player,” Suzuki said. “He does everything the right way. I think that’s what makes him a big role model for a lot of people.”
Kopitar said his family won’t join the Kings as their road trip continues against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday. The only other family trip this season, he said, is a possible visit to Madison Square Garden in New York.
“I really like just everything that comes with the city of Montreal,” he said. “It’s a great city, obviously a huge hockey market. And yeah, I’ve enjoyed every single game in here.”
KINGS WIN, AGAIN
Lately, playing in Montreal has also correlated with winning.
The Kings won their ninth consecutive game against the Canadiens dating to the 2021-22 season. It’s their longest active run against another team.
“I’m happy they’re in the West,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said.
LACK OF EXECUTION
The Kings scored three times in a 4:05 span to take a 3-1 lead early in the second period and never looked back. One word heard repeatedly in the Canadiens dressing room after the loss: “execution”
“We kind of lacked execution throughout the game and thought we just lacked a little bit of aggressiveness in the D-Zone,” Suzuki said. “We kind of just watched a little too much, just skating around the zone, where before we’ve been killing plays and getting the puck out of our end. … Seemed like a lot of time in the D-Zone tonight.”
LINE CHANGE
St. Louis tried different combinations with the Canadiens trailing, slotting rookie standout Ivan Demidov — instead of Juraj Slafkovsky — on the first line with Suzuki and Cole Caufield for a few shifts in the second and third periods.
Slafkovsky had a difficult night with two giveaways and played only 12:12 — well-below his season average of 17:47.
“That was switching things up, just see if something stuck there,” St. Louis said of the line change. “Just coaching at that point in time, trying to read where we are and who’s going.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 11, 2025.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
