The Los Angeles Kings are taking a two game lead back to Edmonton in their series with the Oilers after a 6-2 victory on Wednesday night. One of the big reasons was their captain, Anze Kopitar, who might be in his 19th season but didn't look like that on Wednesday.
The Kings once again jumped out to an early lead in Game 2 and in the third period the Oilers once again made it a game with a goal by Vikto Arvidsson that cut the Kings lead down to one. However, Kopitar and the rest of that top line took over as Kopitar alone would have one goal and two assists in the third period that put the game out of reach.
He would finish the game with four points as he had an assist in the second period so this would end up being his second career playoff game with four points. The last time he accomplished that was two seasons ago against the Oilers when he had one goal and three assists in a 4-3 overtime win.
Anze Kopitar led by example for the Los Angeles Kings in the third period
In this series, the Los Angeles Kings are fighting this current Edmonton Oilers team as much as the history these two teams have. The Oilers have won the past three series and the Kings almost let Game 1 slip away before Phillip Danault scored late after the Oilers erased a three-goal lead in the third period.
On Wednesday, momentum once again felt like it was shifting to the Oilers when they scored the goal early in the third period. However, Anze Kopitar was a perfect example of what a captain needs to be and he essentially took the game over and made plays that ensured the Kings did not have a similar experience that they did in Game 1.
The Kings are halfway to advancing to the second round for the first time since the 2013-14 season but will need a few more performances from Kopitar that he gave in Game 2 to make that happen.