NHL

Los Angeles Kings at Buffalo Sabres

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Anze Kopitar scores natural third-period hat trick to rally the Kings over the Sabres

Anze Kopitar's third-period hat trick propels Kings past Sabres

Darcy Kuemper stopped 32 shots in an outing where the Kings overcame a 1-0 deficit. Kopitar tied the game at 1-1 by scoring 13 seconds into the third period. He scored the go-ahead goal on a power play with 1:38 left and then capped the scoring with an empty-netter.

Alex Tuch converted his own rebound on a shorthanded breakaway with 3:05 left in the second period, and Buffalo dropped to 0-3 after opening the season with two losses to New Jersey in Prague last weekend.

Takeaways Kings: Missing key defenseman Drew Doughty to a broken ankle can’t explain Los Angeles’ lack of offense in a game they were being outshot 28-10 through two periods and 33-22 overall. Credit Kuemper, acquired in an offseason trade with Washington, in an outing where he stopped Ryan McLeod on a penalty shot 12:53 in, and seconds earlier made a diving stop to prevent McLeod from scoring on a wrap-around attempt.

Sabres: Scoring remains an issue for a team that managed one goal in each of its two season-opening losses to New Jersey. Buffalo’s power play is now 0-of-10 after failing on all five chances against the Kings, including a two-man advantage spanning 69 seconds in the first period.

Key moment Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin muffing the puck at the end boards, allowing Alex Laferriere to set up Kopitar’s first goal.

Key stat 26: Number of points Kopitar has in 18 season-opening games to make him the NHL’s leading active skater, and two points ahead of Alex Ovechkin, who opens the season with the Capitals on Saturday.

Up next The Kings, on the road since Oct. 1 with preseason games at Quebec City, continue a seven-game season-opening road trip at Boston on Saturday, while the Sabres host the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on Saturday.

Regular Season Series

LA leads series 1-0

Scoring Summary

Goal 2nd Period 16:55 Alex Tuch Goal (1) Snap Shot, assists: none
Goal 3rd Period 0:13 Anze Kopitar Goal (1) Snap Shot, assists: Alex Laferriere (1), Joel Edmundson (1)
Goal 3rd Period 18:22 Anze Kopitar Goal (2) Slap Shot, assists: Jordan Spence (1), Kevin Fiala (1)
Goal 3rd Period 19:18 Anze Kopitar Goal (3) Wrist Shot, assists: Quinton Byfield (1), Adrian Kempe (1)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/la.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originLA https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/buf.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originBUF
19 Blocked Shots 15
20 Hits 29
2 Takeaways 8
23 Shots 33
1 Power Play Goals 0
5 Power Play Opportunities 5
20.0 Power Play Percentage 0.0
0 Short Handed Goals 1
0 Shootout Goals 0
25 Faceoffs Won 35
41.7 Faceoff Win Percent 58.3
12 Giveaways 14
6 Total Penalties 8
15 Penalty Minutes 35

Game Information

KeyBank Center

Location: Buffalo, NY
Attendance: 19,070 | Capacity:

2024-25 Pacific Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Vegas 12 6 26 2
Calgary 11 6 25 3
Los Angeles 10 7 23 3
Edmonton 10 9 22 2
Vancouver 9 6 21 3
Seattle 10 9 21 1
Anaheim 8 8 19 3
San Jose 6 11 17 5

2024-25 Atlantic Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Toronto 12 6 26 2
Florida 12 7 25 1
Tampa Bay 10 6 22 2
Buffalo 10 9 21 1
Boston 9 9 21 3
Detroit 8 9 18 2
Ottawa 8 10 17 1
Montreal 7 10 16 2
Full Standings