LOS ANGELES — He waited until the end of the game to do it, but it didn’t come on a heroic, last-second, game-winning scoring play. Instead, the Los Angeles Kings were holding on to a one-goal lead when they scored an empty-net goal to insure victory.
Indeed, Kings center Anze Kopitar reached the 1,000-point plateau—only 91 players have now reached that mark—by assisting on an empty-net goal by defenseman Sean Walker, giving the Kings a 4-2 win over the Arizona Coyotes in Glendale, Arizona on Wednesday night.
But even though Kopitar’s 1,000th National Hockey League point came in the form of an assist on an empty-net goal, that did not tarnish his achievement—not one bit.