The Los Angeles Kings close out the month of February and begin the month of March with a quick, three-game Central Division road trip beginning in Dallas against the Stars. This is the third-and-final meeting between the Kings and the Stars during the 2024-25 NHL Regular Season. LA won the first-two games, both at home, with a combined scoring ratio of 4:3.

The Kings are coming off a 3-2 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday.

In their last ten games played, the Stars have been on a tear with an impressive 7-2-1 record. Their overtime loss, in that span, was to the Kings back on February 7, 2025.

JUST TAP IT IN

Since the beginning of the 2025 calendar year, Kings Captain Anze Kopitar has only found the back of the net once – coincidentally against the Stars. He's played in twenty games during that span, registering twenty-five SOG.

This season, Kopitar is averaging 1.27 shots per game. Prior to this twenty-game stretch where he’s gone cold, he was averaging 1.28 shots per game. So, for anyone looking to make the argument that he just needs to shoot more and that will solve the problem, it doesn’t hold water.

While there’s plenty of time to get back on track before the playoffs, Kopitar would prefer to get the monkey off his back sooner than later.

His usual linemate Forward Adrian Kempe looks to have found a new home alongside Forwards Quinton Byfield and Kevin Fiala. Do you bolster one line at the expense of Kopitar’s production or do you keep Kempe with Kopitar hoping consistency breeds success? It’s a catch twenty-two scenario.

It’s possible the Alexes (Forwards Alex Turcotte and Alex Laferriere) could be a fit with Kopitar who, at different times this season, has shepherded the young skaters. Kopitar could assume a Jeff Carter That 70’s Line role with Turcotte and Laferriere as the next iteration of Tanner Pearson and Tyler Toffoli. It's a line combination that Head Coach Jim Hiller has described as, "pretty dangerous."

Sometimes, players get in their own heads. They might be gripping the stick looking for the perfect shot. But, whether it's a textbook snipe that pops the netminder's water bottle or a tap in rebound, a goal is a goal is a goal.

To borrow some advice from the late, great Chubbs Peterson, "[s]top being a damn fool!"

Wait, sorry... That's not the quote I was looking for. Here we go:

"Just think of it this way... The other team has pulled their goalie. [The net's] wide open. All you gotta do is tap it in!" - Chubbs Peterson

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In seventy-three career games against the Stars, Kopitar has scored twenty-two goals. An asterisk you can put next to that statistic is: Kopitar seems to score some pivotal goals when facing Dallas.

Puck drop is slated for 5:05 PM PST. You can watch the game via the FanDuel Sports Network or listen live with the ESPN LA app.