On Sunday, Anze Kopitar netted a pair of goals in a 4-2 win over the struggling Detroit Red Wings. While this, in and of itself, was not anything to write home about, the feat he accomplished in the process is certainly worth mentioning.
While Anze Kopitar may never touch the vast majority of the plethora of milestones reached by "The Great One", there was at least one within the realm of possibility. On Sunday, Kopitar's two goals moved his career point total to 919, pushing him into sole possession of 4th place on the LA Kings all time regular season points list, passing - you guessed it - Wayne Gretzky.
During his time with the Los Angeles Kings, Gretzky produced 918 points, good for 4th on the all-time regular seasons points list. What's even more impressive (as if we need a reason to pump Gretzky's tires), is that #99 needed just eight seasons in Los Angeles to accomplish this.
It may have taken Kopitar six seasons longer to reach this milestone, but nobody can take anything away from the former two-time Frank J. Selke Trophy winner. Kopitar is within striking distance of Dave Taylor (1,069), needing just 151 more points to secure 3rd. Hall-of-Famer Luc Robitaille sits just 235 points ahead of Kopitar for 2nd all time with 1,154 and Kings legend - and fellow Hall-of-Famer - Marcel Dionne currently sits 388 points ahead of Kopitar for 1st on the Kings all time regular season points list.
Upon first glance, it would appear that Dionne is completely out of reach, but some quick math shows that it is more than just possible for Kopitar to pass Dionne and become the highest scoring LA King of all time.. It's probable.
Assuming Kopitar can remain on his current .88 points per game pace for this season, that would project the 32-year-old to finish with 72 points this season. This would bring his total up to 960 points, all with the franchise that drafted him. If he can remain healthy and with the LA Kings organization for the next six seasons, Kopitar would need to average just 58 points per season to move into the franchise points lead.
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