It’s been a busy day so far and here’s what happened in Europe over the last few hours with a few of the LA Kings players…
– Kopitar in Sweden: Mora IK defeated Troja 4-2, with the first goal of the game coming off the stick of Anze Kopitar. Younger brother Gasper was on the ice at the time, however he wasn’t credited with an assist. He did finish the night with three shots on goal though. Anze had just the single shot and also won 10-of-19 in the faceoff circle.
– Martinez in Finland: HC TPS also won their game 4-2, it was the third game for Alec Martinez in Finland and his first at the home arena in Turku. Two former members of the Kings’ organization were involved in the final goal of the contest. With Justin Azevedo in the box serving a five-minute penalty, Brian Wilsie scored for TPS with less than two minutes remaining in the third period. Martinez knows Azevedo well, they played together for parts of three seasons in Manchester. The Kings’ defenseman finished the night with a plus-1 rating, four shots on goal and he led all players in the game with 26:19 of ice time.
– Bernier in Germany: It was tied 2-2 entering the third period, with Jonathan Bernier making his debut in net for Heilbronner Falken. However the Penguins (from Fischtown, not Pittsburgh) scored twice in the final 20 minutes – including into an empty net at 19:27 after Bernier was pulled for the extra attacker – and to the surprise of nobody in Sweden or Finland the game ended 4-2. Michel Leveille, one of Bernier’s former teammates in Manchester, scored the first Falken goal.
Stateside, we’ve also posted a lot of content since sunrise. Here’s a quick recap of a few things you might have missed…
On what should be opening night, Drew Doughty says he’s bored
FULL GAME VIDEO – watch Anze Kopitar and Mora vs Djurgarden
Bernier on Germany – ‘I’m not good enough for the first league’
Want to see what Dustin Brown has been doing during the lockout?
MayorsManor Live Radio with Justin Kemp, Ontario Reign President
We also did a 3am phone interview earlier today with Bernier from Germany. Expect to see that up on the site over the weekend.
[…] all the concern about members of the LA Kings possibly suffering injuries while playing over in Europe, the first NHL lockout to befall the reigning Stanley Cup Champions actually took place in Rhode […]