Gotta See It: The Los Angeles Kings. Remember them from such Stanley Cup parades as last year’s?
Well, after a sluggish start, the champs are here – thanks in large part to skilled plays like this beauty from Slovenian superhero Anze Kopitar.
With the game knotted at one with less than five minutes to go in the third period, watch as Kopitar springs himself out of the corner and zero Detroit Red Wings – especially defenceman Ian White, a healthy scratch Wednesday night (and not happy about it) – stand between him and goaltender Jimmy Howard.
As the old Slovenian proverb goes, “Give a man enough time, and he’ll create great work.”
#Red Jimmy Howard on Kopitar GW ‘I don’t know exactly how he got so wide open… He had all the time in the world and then he made us pay’
— Dennis Bernstein (@DennisTFP) February 28, 2013
Kopitar’s butter hands make slick work as he cuts from corner to crease, taking a nice feed from Dwight King and completing the game-winner on a backhand deke of Jimmy Howard. Forsbergesque, except the photo shows he keeps two hands on his stick.
“I still had my two hands on the stick, so I don’t know if you can really call it that way. I don’t really care as long as it goes in,” Kopitar told the great Kings blog Mayor’s Manor. “It was a little bit of a scrum on the half wall there, and I wanted to make sure I got loose just in case those guys got the puck. Coming our way, I wanted to make sure I was in a decent position to come back, and once I saw Kinger get the puck, I just kind of opened up. I knew I was by myself in front of the goalie, and I was able to put it in.”
The goal capped off a third-period rally for the Kings, who trailed the game 1-zip.
If you didn’t get a chance to see @anzekopitar goal tonight go watch it now, so sick #hegood
— Michael Richards (@MRichie_10) February 28, 2013
Los Angeles has now won a season-best five in a row and seven of eight overall after an ugly 3-5-2 start to its title defence.