Kings swept away by Avalanche in Kopitar’s final game

LOS ANGELES –– There had been one ceremony after another for the Kings’ all-time leading scorer, but Anže Kopitar’s farewell game was largely bereft of pomp, circumstance and, for his squad, offense.

The Kings were inundated, 5-1, by the Colorado Avalanche at Crypto.com Arena on Sunday afternoon, mustering just five goals across a four-game sweep at the hands of the Presidents’ Trophy winners.

Kopitar, who bid a tearful adieu to the fans in his final regular-season home game, received immense support from the crowd on hand in the dying embers of the game, hearing chants of “thank you, Kopi” and receiving a standing ovation. He announced before this campaign, his 20th, that he would retire at its conclusion.

Joel Edmundson scored for the Kings. Kopitar finished the round with no points, as did 13 of the other 20 Kings skaters who appeared. Anton Forsberg started all four games, wrapping up by making 27 of 31 saves.

Nathan MacKinnon rifled in a goal, tacked on an empty-netter and assisted on another tally by Devon Toews, whose defense partner Cale Makar also scored. Nicolas Roy added a goal and captain Gabriel Landeskog contributed two assists. Scott Wedgewood stopped 24 pucks and posted the first round’s second-best save percentage behind Carolina’s Frederik Andersen.

The Avs never trailed on Sunday and only played from behind for 3:21 of the series, a fleeting Game 2 Kings lead. In the third period, they slathered on two insurance goals, at 3:13 and 6:01, before MacKinnon’s vacated-cage marker with 5:38 to play.

Before that, MacKinnon slowed Colorado’s rush, turning back toward the blue line to find a trailing Toews, whose laser from just above the left faceoff dot made it 4-1.

It became 3-1 after Sam Malinski’s stretch pass sprung Artturi Lehkonen, who beat both Edmundson and Cody Ceci to fire a shot that generated a rebound goal for Roy.

The Kings got on the board at the 13:43 mark with Edmundson’s first goal and point of the series. Edmundson, who’d lost MacKinnon on his goal, atoned by receiving Adrian Kempe’s pass in the high slot and flicking a shot that clipped Wedgewood on its way into the net.

They’d trailed 2-0 after Makar’s second goal in two games. Scott Laughton’s gentle, disrupted clearing attempt came to Makar. He juked Taylor Ward with a move to the outside before fending him off as he cut inside to deliver a short-side snipe at 5:58.

The Kings skated with vigor in the early going and drew the first two penalties of the game. But all their underlying success went for naught once they gave up the game’s first goal, 16 seconds into their first infraction of the afternoon and 13:13 into the contest.

Kadri made a seam pass from the top of the right circle to the bottom of the left one for MacKinnon. The Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy winner notched his first goal of the postseason when his one-timer got through a sliding Forsberg’s six-hole.

This marked the Kings’ fifth consecutive first-round exit in as many seasons and their seventh straight first-round loss overall. They have lost eight straight postseason games and 15 of their past 18.