The defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings opened their season on Saturday, but did so without leading scorer Anze Kopitar. Kopitar will instead make his debut on Tuesday night when the Kings travel to Colorado to face the Avalanche.
Kopitar led the Kings in scoring last season with 76 points, but he's been hampered by a knee injury he suffered while playing in Sweden during the NHL lockout. Kopitar participated in the team's morning skate on Tuesday and said his sprained right knee felt good. He said it felt good to go all out and thinks he is ready to play.
He finished last season with 25 goals and 51 assists and admitted it wasn't fun to watch the Kings raise the Stanley Cup banner while he watched on television. Still, he said he'd rather miss a game and be able to return for the rest of the season then return to soon only to be sidelined a lot longer.
When he returns against Colorado, Kopitar will play on his usual line along with Dustin Brown and Justin Williams.