In Playoffs, Kings" Kopitar Draws New Attention NEWARK - When Anze Kopitar went forehand-backhand-forehand on Devils goalie Martin Brodeur to end Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals in overtime on Wednesday, fans across North America and Europe finally got a glimpse of what Kings fans have seen for the last six years: Kopitar, a rock star, scoring a spectacular goal. "If people notice me or not, it doesn't really matter," Kopitar said Friday on the eve of Game 2, "except for me knowing that I lay it out there and do my best every night." People are noticing - whether it is the millions watching the finals in Canada, the United States and much of northern Europe, or the 200 who gathered in front of an outdoor screen at 2:30 in the morning in Hrusica, a village in Kopitar's native Slovenia. Kopitar, 24, has led the Kings in scoring the last five seasons, tallying 25 goals or more in each one. He has 434 points in 475 regular-season games, and only 134 penalty minutes to go with them - a sniper's numbers, despite his 6-foot-3, 225-pound frame. This year's playoffs have been a coming-out party for Kopitar. He has 7 goals and 16 points, tying him for the team lead in both categories with his linemate, Dustin Brown. He is also tied with Brown for the postseason league lead in plus-minus differential (plus-14). Before this spring, Kopitar had played in only six postseason games, all in a first-round loss to Vancouver in 2010. Last season, the Kings made the playoffs for the second time in his N.H.L. career, but he missed their series against San Jose because of an ankle injury. The Kings lost in six games again. Kopitar has a sniper's mind to go with his sniper's numbers. After beating Brodeur on the breakaway in Game 1, he said he faked to his backhand because he figured Brodeur was expecting it. "I guess that goes back a few years, when we were in the shootout in L.A.," Kopitar said after the game. Tonight I just wanted to mix it up a little bit. He used a backhand to beat Brodeur in the shootout he mentioned, in November 2006, and figured it was still bothering Brodeur. But was he really thinking about that game, from his rookie season, when he broke in alone on Brodeur in overtime on Wednesday? "Everything on the ice happens so quick, you don't really have too much time to think about that," Kopitar said. At that time, I think instinct takes over, and it worked out for me. Yes, but a six-year-old goal? "The memory is always there," he said. Kopitar speaks in a quiet bass, and his faint accent is a reminder of his upbringing in Slovenia. He is the first man from his country to make the improbable journey to the N.H.L. He worked as a small boy in the family restaurant. But his father, Matjaz, was not just a restaurant owner; he also played in Slovenia's domestic hockey league and later was a leading coach. Kopitar started skating on a backyard rink that his father and grandfather built when he was 4 years old, and at age 5 he was watching tapes of his father's games. He was thrilled by the raucous atmosphere at games in which his father, playing for the top club in Jesenice, the nearby steel-producing city of 25,000, met the top club from the capital, Ljubljana. Kopitar moved quickly up the ranks in Slovenia until, as a 16-year-old playing in the nation's elite league, he scored 25 points in 21 games. "I realized the hockey at home isn't good enough, that I had to take the next step," he said. At 16, Kopitar moved to Sweden, lived alone in an apartment and played two years for Sodertalje's junior and senior teams. The Kings drafted him 11th over all in 2005, and he arrived in 2006-7. He never played a minute in the minors. But his playoff inexperience, coupled with the late-night West Coast games, has kept Kopitar a mystery for many fans. "Out West, for whatever reason, maybe you don't get the same coverage that teams in the East do," said Jeff Carter, who joined the Kings this season after spending seven seasons in Philadelphia and Columbus. "He's definitely a guy that's kind of building up his name in the playoffs with the run that he's had," Carter said. He's such a skilled player when he has the puck. It's pretty amazing what he can do with it. He's such a big, strong guy, if he gets position on you and gets a step on you, it's pretty impossible to get it back from him. It's been a pleasure playing with him. And he is happy that everyone back home was excited when he beat Brodeur. Nevertheless, Kopitar said Thursday, "I don't think anybody was excited more than me."