Anze Kopitar was at center of Kings' success Anze Kopitar came out of nowhere. Slovenia is far from Hockey Central. In fact, he was the first player from that country to make it to the NHL. Now, as Kings General Manager Dean Lombardi puts it, "You're talking about a guy who is becoming one of the top players in the whole league, playing the whole rink." Added Lombardi: "You watch him in the neutral zone. The way we step up in the neutral zone, the center is now critical, a big change in our scheme that has helped us offensively. ... The way he battles in his own end, holding guys off, showing poise. Clinic. Kopitar spent the Stanley Cup playoffs educating others on those skills. He had the winner in overtime against the New Jersey Devils in the Stanley Cup Final opener, scored a beautiful goal in Game 3 and had three assists in the series. He was the best player on the ice against the Phoenix Coyotes during the Western Conference finals. He had three goals and five points during the five-game series and was a force on the defensive end. Kopitar's father, Matjaz, coached HK Acroni Jesenice in his homeland, and the younger Kopitar honed his skills playing in Sweden before joining the NHL. He had 20 goals and 61 points with the Kings as a rookie in 2006-07, and was selected the team's most valuable player after finishing with 32 goals and 77 points in 2007-08. Kopitar has had 20 goals or more in his first six seasons. Luc Robitaille had been the last Kings player who accomplished that This season, Kopitar had 25 goals and 76 points, both team highs. He also was big down the stretch, with 11 points in five consecutive games from March 28 to April 5, as the Kings pushed to qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs.