Los Angeles needed overtime to oust Edmonton Tuesday night, but a goal by Anze Kopitar 2:07 into the extra period broke a 4-4 deadlock and lifted the Kings to a 1-1 series tie in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
For a matchup in which both teams finished in the top 10 in fewest regular-season goals allowed, defense was hard to come by in Edmonton; a total of 20 goals were scored in the first two games of the series. The Oilers won Game 1, 7-4.
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KING KOPITAR 👑
Anže Kopitar scores the @SUBWAYCanada OT winner for the Los Angeles Kings! pic.twitter.com/cVAWn0tPOz
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 25, 2024
Among the Kings players seeking to help the franchise advance past the first round for the first time since 2013-14 — when L.A. won its second-ever Stanley Cup — is center Blake Lizotte, who saw 9:58 of ice time on Wednesday.
Standing at 5-foot-9 and weighing 175 pounds, the 26-year-old from Lindstrom, Minnesota, went undrafted after a successful two years at St. Cloud State. Still, he caught on with the Kings and made his NHL debut in the team’s 2019 regular-season finale. He’s tallied 106 career regular-season points (including 37 goals) since then and has served as a mainstay in L.A.’s rotation.
What Lizotte may lack in stature he seeks to make up for in effort.
“My on-ice style and approach is just to play the game like it’s my very last,” Lizotte told CBN last year. “You never know what’s promised. Just put your best foot forward each and every night, and for me that’s bringing energy and being tenacious on pucks.
“… I had to learn how to find ways to be effective with my size. And I created skills that I can only play with a smaller stature — having a lower center of gravity and kind of getting underneath those bigger players has really helped make me the player that I am.”
Lizotte likes to say that he plays with a sense of joy, as if every shift on the ice is his last. It’s a joy driven by his love for the game of hockey, sure, but his joy runs much deeper than that.
“My identity is who I am in Christ and not in my hockey ability, even though I give almost everything to this game, and I love it dearly,” Lizotte told CBN. “But, my confidence doesn’t come from being a pro athlete. It comes from being a Christ-follower and my security is in Him and not necessarily if I had a good game or a bad game.”
Lizotte is unashamed about sharing his faith in Christ on his social media platforms. He says he’s “Saved by His Grace” on Instagram, and on X he lists the Bible verse 1 Corinthians 10:31. It says, “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
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One of Lizotte’s biggest influences on his love for hockey and his love for Jesus was his father, affectionately known as Mikey, who died overnight from epilepsy when Blake was only 14. Blake sees now how God was at work forging good out of such tremendous tragedy.
“It was Jesus Christ who helped me through that,” Lizotte told CBN. “You realize that life’s not forever, and why are we here on this earth? And for me it was really hammered home when I lost my dad. My faith in Christ really got stronger through those years. He kind of embraced me and that’s the only thing that really got me through.
“… You might think, ‘Oh God, why are You doing this to me?’ It helps shape who you are and builds your relationship with Christ. And God just paved ways even through such things like my dad passing — opportunities opened up for hockey that maybe wouldn’t have been there before. And it’s always easy to see back in hindsight what God has done in your life. And being able to see God use something so negative, to turn it so positive, is something that’s truly amazing and God works out things for good.”
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Lizotte carries on his body a reminder of one of his father’s favorite sayings: “Live like that!” Lizotte has a tattoo of those words, and he frequently dons a wristband with those words as well. It was his dad’s way of reminding him and his two brothers to live in a manner pleasing to God.
“My dad was a great example of what it means to pursue Him daily and truly live a life that’s glorifying to God and never wavering from that,” Lizotte said. “Living like Jesus is the most important thing.”
Lizotte and his Kings teammates now head back to Los Angeles with an opportunity to seize control of the series. Game 3 is scheduled for Friday at 10:30 p.m. ET.
>> Do you know Christ personally? Learn how you can commit your life to Him. <<
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