Sports
Anze Kopitar’s stellar NHL career comes to an end in Kings’ playoff loss to Avalanche
Seven times in the past 12 seasons the Kings have advanced to the Stanley Cup playoffs, only to leave after the first round.
They’ve changed coaches five times, general managers twice, even the team captains have changed over that span. But the results have not.
The latest flameout came Sunday when the Colorado Avalanche rode two goals from Nathan MacKinnon and goals from Cale Makar, Nicolas Roy and Devon Toews to a 5-1 win and a four-game sweep of the best-of-seven series.
The Kings will begin the offseason for the first time in two decades without Anze Kopitar, who played the final game of his Hall of Fame career Sunday.
Kings captain Anze Kopitar acknowledges the crowd after playing in his final NHL game Sunday.
Fans at Crypto.com Arena chanted “Thank you, Kopi!” in the final minute of the game, giving him a standing ovation. Kopitar received another standing ovation after the team handshakes, acknowledging the cheers from the crowd.
Joel Edmundson had the lone score for the Kings.
If anything, the Kings are heading backward because they won at least one game in their last five playoffs appearances. Against the Avalanche they not only failed to win, they led just once, for three minutes and 24 seconds late in Game 2.
Colorado, the best team in the NHL during the regular season, was clearly the best team in this series as well, going ahead to stay Sunday on MacKinnon’s power-play goal with less than seven minutes left in the first period. That spoiled what had been the Kings’ special-teams advantage in the series.
The Kings, who had a power-play goal in each of the first three games of the series, were shut out with the man advantage twice in the first 12 minutes of Game 4. Then their penalty kill was beaten for the first time in 10 tries when MacKinnon lined home a slap shot in from the center of the left circle 16 seconds after Kings defenseman Brian Dumoulin was sent off for interference.
For MacKinnon, who led the NHL with 53 goals during the regular season, the score was his first of the postseason.
And those weren’t the only penalties in the opening 20 minutes. Just more than two minutes before the first intermission, the physical nature of the series boiled over in a series of scuffles that ended with referee Graham Skilliter meeting with the captains of both teams.
Kings center Anze Kopitar warms up before Game 4 against the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.
Kings captain Anze Kopitar stands on the ice during the national anthem before Game 4 against the Colorado Avalanche.
Skilliter then handed out four penalties, a two-minute misconduct to Colorado’s Jack Drury while the Kings’ Samuel Helenius received a two-minute roughing and a 10-minute misconduct and teammate Jeff Malott got a two-minute roughing.
And with that, D.J. Smith’s game plan went out the window.
“We have to be disciplined,” the Kings interim coach had said before the game. “Two [penalties] or less.”
The Kings doubled that total in the first 18 minutes.
Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson, left, battles Colorado forward Gabriel Landeskog for the puck in Game 4 of their first-round playoff series Sunday at Crypto.com Arena.
Speaking of doubling, Makar gave Colorado a 2-0 lead 5:48 into the second period, collecting a bouncing puck at the blue line, then skating around Kings’ forward Taylor Ward to score on a wrist shot from the edge of the right circle.
But the Kings, less than 35 minutes away from the end of their season, refused to quit with Edmundson cutting the deficit in half about eight minutes later, sending a wrister from the top of the left circle on goal. Colorado goalie Scott Wedgewood appeared to stop the puck, only to have it fall to the ice and trickle across the goal line.
Roy got that one back for Colorado 3:13 into the final period, banging the rebound of an Artturi Lehkonen shot between the pads of Kings goalie Anton Forsberg. When Toews scored less than three minutes later, the Avalanche had the biggest lead of the series and the rout was on.
Kings captain Anze Kopitar plays his final NHL shift in Game 4 against the Colorado Avalanche.
MacKinnon added the final score into an empty net.
And with that another disappointing postseason ended for the Kings and another long offseason began, one the team and general manager Ken Holland will enter with more questions than answers, beginning with the status of his interim coach and the aging core of his roster.
Kings captain Anze Kopitar raises the Stanley Cup as he floats across Lake Bled in Slovenia with family and friends in 2012.
Sports
Florida judge rules prosecutors can access Tiger Woods’ prescription drug history after DUI arrest: report
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A Florida judge reportedly ruled that prosecutors will have access to Tiger Woods’ recent prescription drug history.
An April court filing showed that a subpoena was to be issued for Woods’ prescription drug records following his DUI arrest in March, but his attorneys fought it. But according to the TC Palm, the records will be released to prosecutors only and not made available to the public.
Tiger Woods was handcuffed after a sobriety test. (Martin County Sheriff’s Office)
Woods was arrested for driving under the influence after taking field sobriety tests following a two-vehicle crash in which his Range Rover turned onto its driver’s side.
The aforementioned court filing showed that a subpoena will be issued to “seek copies of any and all prescription medication on file” for Woods from Jan. 1 through March 27, the date of his car crash and arrest.
Woods’ attorney, Douglas Duncan, wrote in a motion that the subpoena goes against Woods’ constitutional rights to privacy, requesting Tuesday’s hearing to determine whether prosecutors should be allowed to obtain the records.
Woods told law enforcement that “I take a few” prescription medications amid seven back surgeries and “over 20 operations” on his leg. In 2021, he got into a wreck that resulted in serious leg injuries that kept him off the golf course for the entire year.
Tiger Woods went through several exercises before getting handcuffed. (Martin County Sheriff’s Office)
USGA SHARES TIGER WOODS STATUS UPDATE WITH US OPEN FAST APPROACHING
He also mentioned that his ankle was fused, and he walks with a limp due to the injuries. Due to the nature of his injuries, authorities made him do a field sobriety test while sitting down. He blew “triple-zeroes,” authorities said, but “lethargic” movements warranted exercises anyway.
Woods participated in four exercises before a deputy placed him in handcuffs. The deputy stated she believed Woods was under an “unknown substance.”
Deputies found two white pills on Woods, which were later identified as hydrocodone, an opioid used to treat pain.
Woods has pleaded not guilty to the DUI charge but announced several days after the wreck he would “seek treatment.” At the scene of the crash, he said he was “hoping to” play in the Masters, but his treatment put his eventual return to the course on hold.
Tiger Woods sits in the back of a cop car after getting arrested on March 27, 2026. (Martin County Sheriff’s Office)
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Woods was granted permission on April 1 to travel out of the country “to enter into comprehensive inpatient treatment.”
Woods was charged with driving under the influence, property damage, refusal to submit to testing and careless driving. He pleaded not guilty and waived his arraignment, demanding a trial with a jury.
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There are lots of coaches in the Southern Section Division 1 baseball playoffs glad to see that Villa Park is in the Division 2 playoffs because of the Spartans’ strong pitching.
Villa Park, the No. 1 seed in Division 2, has a terrific one-two starting duo in junior Logan Hoppie (10-1, 1.28 ERA) and senior Jack McGuire (6-2, 1.62 ERA).
McGuire is 6 feet 5 and has 82 strikeouts in 60 2/3 innings. He had a 16-strikeout performance this season. Hoppie has a two-hit shutout of Crestview League champion Cypress on his resume.
Villa Park finished the regular season at 19-8-1 under veteran coach Burt Call and in second place in league. If the Spartans can get some hitting help, the pitchers will handle the rest. Villa Park opens the playoffs on Thursday at home against Elsinore.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
Sports
Craig Morton, quarterback who led the Broncos to their first Super Bowl appearance, dead at 83
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Former Denver Broncos quarterback Craig Morton, who was inducted into the team’s Ring of Fame, died on Saturday. He was 83.
Morton was critical in helping the Broncos reach their first-ever playoff appearance, ultimately getting them to Super Bowl XII during the 1977 campaign.
After going 12-2 during the season, and getting wins in the playoffs over the Pittsburgh Steelers and then-Oakland Raiders, Morton was named the AFC Offensive Player of the Year.
Denver Broncos quarterback Craig Morton stands on the sidelines with both hands on his hips. (GETTY)
“Craig Morton is unbelievable,” fellow Ring of Famer Haven Moses said after the Broncos won the AFC Championship in 1978, per the New York Times. “To me, he’s the most valuable player in the National Football League.”
Morton also won Sporting News Player of the Year, the PFWA Comeback Player of the Year and the NFL UPI MVP in 1977.
AARON RODGERS NEVER MET WITH STEELERS DESPITE RUMOR-FILLED WEEKEND AS QB’S DECISION REMAINS UP IN AIR
“We are saddened to learn of the passing of #BroncosROF quarterback Craig Morton, who died on Saturday at the age of 83,” the Broncos posted on social media.
Morton also led the Broncos to two different division titles and three playoff berths during his six seasons with the franchise. He finished his career in Denver with 11,895 passing yards, which marked the most in franchise history at the time.
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Quarterback Craig Morton #7 of the Denver Broncos drops back to pass during an NFL game at Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colo., circa 1978. Morton played for the Broncos from 1977 to 1982. (Focus On Sport/Getty Images)
Morton also led the Broncos with pass attempts (1,594) and completions (907). But Morton’s time with the Broncos was the latter half of his NFL career.
He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 1965, the fifth overall pick out of Cal. Morton spent the first 10 seasons of his career with the Cowboys, where he threw for 10,279 yards with 80 touchdowns and 73 interceptions. He went 32-14-1 in his time with Dallas.
Then, during the 1974 season, Morton was moved to the New York Giants, a division rival of the Cowboys. He went 1-6 in his first seven starts that year and wouldn’t find much success in New York across three seasons.
Quarterback Craig Morton #7 of the Denver Broncos drops back to pass during an NFL game at Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colo., circa 1978. Morton played for the Broncos from 1977 to 1982. (Focus On Sport/Getty Images)
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For his career, Morton threw for 27,908 yards with 183 touchdowns. He owned an 81-62-1 record across 207 games.
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