Anze Kopitar recorded a third-period hat trick and the Los Angeles Kings rallied for a 3-1 road victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night.
With Los Angeles trailing 1-0, the 37-year-old Kopitar scored 13 seconds into the third period. Then, in the waning seconds of the Kings’ five-on-three power play, Kopitar scored from the low point with 1:38 left in regulation. The veteran added an empty-netter with 42 seconds remaining in the Kings’ triumphant season opener.
Meanwhile, Darcy Kuemper made 32 saves for Los Angeles, which was outshot 27-11 in the first two periods.
Alex Tuch had a goal and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 20 shots for Buffalo, which fell again after losing two versus the New Jersey Devils in Prague last week. The Sabres went 0-for-5 on the power play and have totaled three goals this season.
Buffalo outshot the Kings 13-5 in the first period. Ryan McLeod drew a penalty shot with 7:07 remaining in the period for being hooked on a break by Los Angeles’ Quinton Byfield. However, McLeod didn’t get a quality shot against Kuemper.
The Sabres thought they broke through in the final second of the first, but after review, it was determined Zach Benson’s successful rebound conversion went in after the horn sounded.
The chances kept coming for Buffalo in the middle frame. Tage Thompson’s open wrister went wide of the net with 7:39 remaining. Moments later, Luukkonen thwarted Byfield on the Kings’ two-on-one opportunity.
Buffalo finally got on the board with a little more than three minutes to play in the second. While short-handed, Los Angeles’ Alex Turcotte turned the puck over at center ice. Tuch gained possession, broke away and batted back the rebound of his own shot off Kuemper’s glove.
However, in the opening seconds of the third, the Kings’ Alex Laferriere took the puck from Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin on the end board and sent it for a charging Kopitar to bury.
The Sabres nearly went back ahead with 6:07 left in regulation, but Bowen Byram’s laser of a shot hit the crossbar.
–Field Level Media
