NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Anze Kopitar moved past Marcel Dionne and into the top spot on the Los Angeles Kings career points list with two goals in a 6-4 loss to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night.
The 38-year-old Slovenian forward's second goal of the game and 450th of his career against Jake Allen with 6:18 to play tied the contest at 4-4 and gave him 1,308 career points, one more than Dionne. New Jersey's Jack Hughes scored four minutes later on the power-play to put the Devils ahead to stay.
"It would have felt a lot better if we finished it off and won the game,'' Kopitar said.
Kopitar was mobbed by his teammates after the record-setting goal.
“I think everyone on this team will remember the moment regardless where they were on the ice,'' said Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke, who assisted on the record-setting goal. "That was awesome. We are so happy for him.”
Devils players also lined up at center ice to shake Kopitar's hand at the game's conclusion.
“I appreciate all the battles we've gone through with the guys — with Jersey or another team,'' Kopitar added. ”It's been an honor."
Kopitar, who has played his entire 20-year career with the Kings, has 858 career assists, the most in team history. Dionne scored 550 goals with Los Angeles. Luc Robitaille leads the franchise with 557 career goals.
The Kings captain and a two-time Stanley Cup winner said he will retire after this season. Meanwhile, the Kings are in a tight battle to make the playoffs for the fifth straight season.
Kopitar isn't focused on retirement quite yet.
“We're right in the thick of things right now so there's not a whole lot of time to think about that,'' Kopitar added. ”It's been a good run."
Kopitar scored to tie Dionne's record at 4:14 of the second period. He had an earlier chance to set the record at the 14-minute mark of the second when his one-timer beat Allen but hit the crossbar.
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Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar (11) reacts after scoring against the New Jersey Devils during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)
New Jersey Devils goaltender Jake Allen (34) reacts after goal by Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar, left, during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Noah K. Murray)
Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar skates during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the New York Islanders, Thursday, March 5, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says he’s nominating Fox News Channel contributor Nicole Saphier for surgeon general after Casey Means’ path forward stalled in the Senate over questions about her experience and her stance on vaccines.
In a social media post Thursday, the Republican president said Saphier is “a STAR physician who has spent her career guiding women facing breast cancer through their diagnosis and treatment.”
Senators of both major political parties grilled Means on her vaccine stance and other health topics during a tense confirmation hearing, deepening doubts about her ability to secure the votes she needs for the role.
Earlier Thursday, Trump on social media commended Means as “a strong MAHA Warrior,” also criticizing the “intransigence and political games” from GOP Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who interrogated Means about vaccines during the hearing.
The withdrawal of Means' nomination to be the next U.S. surgeon general is a blow to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his movement, which championed Means for the role as the country’s top doctor despite her nontraditional path in medicine and some controversial past remarks on vaccines and other health topics.
The withdrawal comes after tense exchanges between Means and lawmakers of both parties threw into question whether she could secure enough votes to advance out of the Senate health committee. Her nomination had languished since her confirmation hearing in late February, even as activists from Kennedy’s Make America Great Again movement orchestrated a push to support her bid by surging phone calls to Republican senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, who had both indicated reservations with the pick.
In nominating Means last May, Trump sought to hire a close ally of Kennedy as the nation’s doctor. Means, a Stanford-education physician whose disillusionment with the healthcare system led to her career as an author and entrepreneur, promotes ideas popular with the MAHA movement, including that Americans are overmedicalized and that diet and lifestyle changes should be at the center of efforts to end widespread chronic disease.
FILE - Dr. Casey Means takes her seat at the start of a Senate Health, Education Labor and Pension Committee confirmation hearing for U.S. Surgeon General on Capitol Hill, Feb. 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner, File)
FILE - Dr. Casey Means testifies during a Senate Health, Education Labor and Pension Committee confirmation hearing for U.S. Surgeon General on Capitol Hill, Feb. 25, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Tom Brenner, File)
President Donald Trump speaks to reporters as he meets with NASA's Artemis II astronauts Victor Glover, Christina Koch, Reid Wiseman and Jeremy Hansen in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
