The team captain is honored for some of his career milestones then scores early as the Kings build a two-goal lead, but Buffalo scores four unanswered goals to hand the Kings their 12th loss in 14 games, 5-3.
An evening dedicated to beloved Kings captain Anze Kopitar, whose milestones during his 18th season were honored prior to a game they needed to win against a mediocre Buffalo Sabres squad, began with cheers but ended in boos.
The Kings endured another setback on their home ice on Wednesday night, surrendering four unanswered goals over the last two periods and losing, 5-3, to the Sabres two nights after losing to the lowly San Jose Sharks.
“I think we got guys in this room who are too worried about themselves and worried about their points and worried about stuff like that,” veteran defenseman Drew Doughty said after their 12th loss in the past 14 games. “We got a 3-1 lead tonight and guys start thinking it’s a cookie night. We stop playing the way we know how to play, have an awful second period and then aren’t much better in the third. It’s about the team. It’s not about yourself. And a lot of guys on this team need to realize that.”
The topsy-turvy result dropped the Kings to 2-2-3 in games they led this month, with three more still to play prior to the NHL All-Star break. The only bit of good news: those games are on the road because at home the Kings remain sub-.500, falling to 8-9-6 after Wednesday’s disappointment.
The first period suggested a happier conclusion.
Kopitar’s goal at 2:55 seemed to set the tone for a team that hadn’t scored more than three goals in any of its 11 previous games in January.
Pointless in five consecutive games and goalless in his past 12, the Kings’ 36-year-old captain ended his longest drought of the season with a tip-in after striding undefended down the left while Sabres defenders watched puck handler Adrian Kempe on the right.
