Two Reasons Anze Kopitar is the MVP, one reason he won’t win

Anze Kopitar has easily been the Los Angeles Kings’ best player. Has he been the NHL’s best player as well?

Playing their third game of a four game road trip the Los Angeles Kings needed to win to pick up some points against the Colorado Avalanche in the wild card race. A win would put the Kings back into third place in the Pacific Division and put some cushion between the other four teams that are within four points of the final two spots in the playoff race.

Not only were there ramifications for the teams but it would give two opposing players a spotlight as the most competitive league MVP race heats up.

Anze Kopitar of the Kings and Nathan McKinnon of the Avalanche were matched up in the battle of MVP candidates. McKinnon got the Avs on the board first assisting on the opening goal of the game. Then Anze Kopitar took over.

Becoming the first Kings player to record four goals since Luc Robitaille did it in 1993, Anze Kopitar lead the Kings to a blow out 7-1 win and establishing his credentials for MVP consideration.

More from LA Sports Hub

Here are three reasons why Kopitar is the league MVP:

Anze Kopitar is the engine:

Thanks to a career high 53 assists and 86 points, Kopitar has shown he is not just a cog in the Kings offense but he is the engine.

With 33 goals and counting Kopitar leads the team in all three categories. Kopitar is 30 plus points higher than the next closest teammates Drew Doughty and Dustin Brown, such a disparity shows the importance Kopitar’a play has on the offense.

Kopitar has been the driving force behind the Kings offense and kept them in their playoff spot.

Anze Kopitar elevating teammates:

One underrated factor to Kopitar’s season is that four months this season the Kings have been without all-star center Jeff Carter. Without Carter the offensive workload meant opposing teams could key in on Kopitar’s first line.

Despite being a target Kopitar was able to elevate his line mates. Dustin Brown who was considered done as an effective player is having a career renaissance has 23 goals and 53 points, the most since the Stanley Cup winning 2012 season.

Rookie Alex Iafallo is one goal away from double digits and has been effective while playing on the first line with Kopitar and Brown.

Kopitar has shouldered a lot this years not only has he elevated his game but also his teammates.

Why Anze Kopitar won’t win: East Coast Bias

Hockey is probably the most tribalistic is the four major sports in North America. Canada versus US, “Original Six” versus “Expansion Era”, east coast versus the west coast.

Those same east coast writers who vote on the league MVP are mostly asleep when Kopitar’s game is on display. That is why only two players play in California have ever won, Wayne Gretzky for the Kings in 1989 and Corey Perry for the Anaheim Ducks in 2011.

Next: Three holes the Rams need to fill in the draft

Despite lifting up the Kings to a playoff spot, a place few predicted they would be, carrying a majority of the offensive scoring load, and elevating his teammates ultimately Kopitar won’t win because of geography.

Home/Los Angeles Kings