The Toronto Maple Leafs are looking to rebound from a Tuesday night they'd like to forget. They lost Auston Matthews for at least one week due to a lower-body injury suffered on a hit from behind from Boston Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov. In that same game, goalie Anthony Stolarz suffered an upper-body injury.
Next up on the schedule for the Leafs are the Los Angeles Kings, who are 8-5-4 on the season and sit in second place in the Pacific Division. Visiting Toronto one last time for the Kings is forward Anze Kopitar, who is officially retiring after this season. Kopitar had been with the Kings for 20 seasons. But there is one thing missing on his resume before retiring, and it comes at the expense of the Leafs.
While speaking with reporters, Kopitar was asked about his favorite memory playing in Toronto. Kopitar playfully brought up that he has never scored a goal in Toronto, and that he'd like to change that on Thursday.
"I think this is the one rink I haven’t scored in, so we’ll see if we can change that tonight."
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) November 13, 2025
Anze Kopitar on playing final game in Toronto 😂 pic.twitter.com/svxXjIitGA
Anze Kopitar hopes to finally score a goal in Toronto at Leafs' expense
It's pretty wild to think that Kopitar, who had been a mainstay in the NHL since the 2006-07 season, has never scored a goal in Toronto. But, it's the truth.
Kopitar has played against the Leafs 27 times in his career, scoring three goals and dishing out 12 assists for a total of 15 points. So, all three of those goals against the Leafs happened in Los Angeles. For pessimistic Leafs fans who feel as though nothing is going right for the team, they will certainly feel like a Kopitar goal on Thursday night is a lock.
On the year, Kopitar has two goals and seven assists to his credit through 13 games.
For Toronto, they are in the midst of a season where they look far from Stanley Cup contenders. The Leafs are trying to navigate life without Mitch Marner, who was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights and signed an eight-year, $96 million contract extension. Even though the Leafs have the scoring ability, averaging 3.65 goals per game (fourth-highest in NHL), their defense and goaltending remain a big issue, as they are giving up 3.85 goals per game, the highest average in the NHL. It's a main reason why the Leafs are struggling thus far in the season.
Given the goals per game Toronto gives up, there are greater than slim chances of Kopitar finally getting a goal in Toronto in his last road game against the Leafs.