There’s final, and then there’s final-final.
A few weeks back, Kings captain Anze Kopitar played his final game against Alex Ovechkin at Capital One Arena in Washington. Later tonight, the iconic pair will faceoff for the final time ever when their respective clubs wrap up their 2025-26 season series at Crypto.com Arena in Downtown LA.
Now, sure, they could conceivably hook up again in the 2026 Stanley Cup Final — however unlikely that might sound at the moment. Yet, for that crowd, we’ll call this the final regular season game.
Whatever label is placed upon it, coach Jim Hiller will likely say it’s just another two points at stake. That’s been the Kings mindset all season, even as recently as last week when they took on the Ducks for first place in the Pacific Division. A win would have allowed the Kings to leapfrog the upstart Orange County club in the Pacific Division standings. Instead, they settled for just one point in a shootout. All was not lost, though. Adrian Kempe made sure LA earned two points the following night against Vancouver back on home ice.
In that game, it was Kopitar who started the scoring. And if trends hold true, he’s due for another goal tonight. This season, Kopitar’s goals have come in pairs. When he scores one, he finds the back of the net again in the very next game. Will that continue?
From a lineup perspective, Hiller will be rolling out a new look power play. Just days after indicating changes likely wouldn’t be coming until Drew Doughty returned from injury, the five-forward PP look was absent during Monday’s practice.
There’s nothing really new going on with the defensemen, and Darcy Kuemper should be back in net as the team’s starter.
Given how the Kings were utilized at the end of Saturday’s game against Vancouver, coupled with Hiller’s comments, we’re not expecting Kempe to be on the Quinton Byfield line again anytime soon. See below for the shuffled forward alignment.
Statistically Speaking
— When these teams met up last month, it was the Capitals skating off with a 2-1 victory over the Kings, powered by goals from Ovechkin and Matt Roy. That loss ended LA’s 10-game road point streak.
— For those keeping count, Ovechkin is now at 909 goals.
— Washington’s 14 regulation wins are tied for second-most in the NHL. Colorado leads everybody with 17 RW.
— LA’s 6-1-3 mark over the past 10 games is tops among all Pacific Division teams over that stretch.
— For his career, Kopitar has 21 points (10G, 11A) in 29 games played against the Capitals. Ovechkin has suited up in all but one of those 29 contests. The Kings have a 15-12-1 record in the 28 head-to-head meetings between the two hockey legends.
— Caps forward Tom Wilson enters tonight’s game as the NHL’s Third Star of the week and is riding a five-game point streak (4G, 5A). Overall, he’s recorded 29 points (15G, 14A) in 26 games this season. His 15 goals are tied for the eighth most in the NHL
What You May Have Missed
While not a blockbuster in terms of major news items, the Kings and Blues did pull off a trade earlier today:
Kings Projected Lineup vs. Capitals
If there are any key changes during pregame warmups, this article will be updated.
Fiala – Byfield – Armia
Moore – Kopitar – Kempe
Kuzmenko – Danault – Laferriere
Malott – Turcotte – Perry
Anderson – Dumoulin
Edmundson – Clarke
Moverare – Ceci
Kuemper
Forsberg
Likely scratches: (F) Foegele (lower body injury, day to day), Helenius and (D) N/A
Injured Reserve: Doughty
How to Watch the Game
Puck drop is set for 7:30 pm Pacific Time and will be televised locally by FanDuel Sports. Additionally, a Kings radio feed is available on the ESPN LA app.
Get to know new Kings play-by-play voice John Kelly by checking out his interview here. He tells some interesting stories about joining the Kings broadcasts and what it was like calling games against them for most of his career.
Across the Ice
Washington is coming off a 4-1 victory over the NY Islanders on Sunday. It was their fourth straight win.
Here’s how the Caps lined up in that matchup:
Beauvillier – Strome – Ovechkin
Protas – Sourdif – Wilson
Duhaime – McMichael – Leonard
Milano – Lapierre – Frank
Fehervary – Carlson
Chychrun – Roy
Sandin – van Riemsdyk
Thompson
Lindgren
Injured: Dubois, Dowd
On This Day in Kings History
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