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LOS ANGELES — There was a legends night vibe on Tuesday at Crypto.com Arena, where Anže Kopitar’s Kings stumbled against Alex Ovechkin’s Washington Capitals, 3-1.
The two captains, who have combined for a staggering 41 seasons of NHL service, each contributed. Kopitar notched an assist and Ovechkin recorded two helpers. Ovechkin is the NHL’s all-time leading goal-scorer, while Kopitar closed the gap to 15 points between him and the Kings’ franchise points record-holder, Marcel Dionne.
Adrian Kempe scored the Kings’ lone goal. Darcy Kuemper made 22 saves.
Tom Wilson, Anthony Beauvillier and Aliaksei Protas each picked up a goal for Washington. Logan Thompson stopped 24 shots.
The Kings saw their five-game points streak conclude and have lost five of their past seven outings. Washington won its fifth straight game and its eighth in nine opportunities, among them a 2-1 overtime victory over the Kings on Nov. 17.
“They’re a good team. It was the same kind of battle as it was in Washington, not a lot of things going on,” Kempe said. “We had our chances, but it’s tough to win games when you score one goal.”
With 1:42 to play, the Capitals drove a nail into the Kings’ coffin when Protas danced past Kempe and found the empty net.
Despite an all-around solid game and his promotion to the top power-play unit – the Kings went 0 for 2 with the man advantage – Brandt Clarke forced a shot up top that led to a goal for the second game in a row.
“In the end, we gave one up, basically, on our power play, and I would say that was probably the difference,” Kings coach Jim Hiller said.
Clarke’s attempt was stuffed by Connor McMichael. He cruised down the ice playing pitch-and-catch with Ovechkin, until they were joined by Beauvillier, who nudged in the go-ahead goal 78 seconds into the third period.
“(McMichael) blocked a shot, and I knew it was going to be a two-on-one [rush],” said Ovechkin, who had exited the penalty box after serving Brandon Duhaime’s penalty. “He had the poise to find (Beauvillier), and it was a pretty big goal.”
With 54 seconds left in the second period, Washington took exception to Joel Edmundson’s hit on Ethen Frank, leading to a fight between Edmundson and Duhaime, with Duhaime getting an additional two minutes for roughing.
Despite being more than doubled up in shots, the Kings managed a goal 5:28 into the middle frame to knot the score and enliven their game, ending the period with a 14-8 edge in shots.
On their goal, a strong defensive play along the wall by Clarke separated Beauvillier from the puck, as Capitals defenseman Rasmus Sandin was caught deep inside the offensive blue line. Trevor Moore collected the puck and eased it up to Kopitar at the opposite blue line. With former King Matt Roy smothering him in the right circle, he still threaded the needle to a streaking Kempe for a redirection, his ninth goal of the season.
“It was the hands of Kopi and the speed of Juice,” said Hiller, who also lauded the defensive play of Clarke to ignite the counterattack.
Through 20 minutes, the visitors held a 12-3 shot advantage and a 1-0 lead thanks to Wilson’s power-play goal, assisted by the 40-year-old Ovechkin and rookie Ryan Leonard. Since Oct. 22, the Kings had allowed the fewest power-play goals in the NHL coming into the game.
Ovechkin heaved the puck from the left-wing wall to the slot for a deflection by Wilson, creating a rebound for Leonard. He managed to get the puck across the crease to Wilson, who tapped it in comfortably for his fourth goal in three games and team-leading 16th of the season. Wilson later crunched Kopitar near the boards in the defensive zone.
“He’s such a big part of our team, when he’s on, everybody’s on, and he sets the tempo every game,” Beauvillier said of Wilson. “He’s such an important piece, and the success he’s having this year speaks for the work he’s put in and the way he’s playing.”
The Capitals all lined up after the game to shake hands with Kopitar, who has announced he will retire at season’s end. That move was initiated by Ovechkin, who described it as a “sad moment” during which he “wished (Kopitar) the best” and “congratulated him on an amazing career.”
“It’s to show respect, obviously,” he said. “It’s a game, but after the whistle, it’s to show respect to him for what he’s done for this game, for this league. It’s just about all respect.”
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