Anze Kopitar has haunted the Avalanche for nearly two decades, but his days of terrorizing them are almost done.

The 38-year-old Slovenian has already announced that this will be his last season in the NHL. That means Monday night’s game, where the Avalanche beat the Los Angeles Kings by a score of 5-2, was his final regular season game at Ball Arena. There’s still a very real possibility Colorado and Los Angeles meet in the postseason, but if that does not happen, members of the Avalanche won’t exactly miss playing Kopitar.

That doesn’t mean they don’t have a ton of respect for him, though.

“Very difficult (to game plan against),” Jared Bednar said of Kopitar. “Tremendous career to this point. He’s been able to win and just the longevity of his production and how impactful he is on both sides of the puck. He’s a phenomenal player and showing no signs of slowing down here recently.”

The Kings captain entered the NHL in 2006 and for several years, the California trip that included the likes of Kopitar, Ryan Getzlaf, and Joe Thornton was a nightmare for the Avalanche. In 69 career games against Colorado, he’s racked up 65 points. That’s the most points he has against any team not in the Pacific Division.

Former Avalanche defenseman and current Altitude analyst John-Michael Liles retired from the NHL in 2017. He hasn’t forgotten how much of a handful Kopitar was to deal with.

“He was so tough to play against,” Liles told The Gazette. “It’s not like he’s running you through the boards. He’s just always so smart, he’s so big. He was just a really, really good player everywhere on the ice. He’d be penalty killing and I’d be on the power play and you knew that he was just really, really good.”

Kopitar will retire with two Stanley Cups, three Lady Byng trophies, and two Frank J. Selke trophies. He will almost certainly be a first ballot Hall of Famer when he’s up for induction in a little over three years and is closing in on 1,300 career points. If not for Patrice Bergeron, he’d likely have a few more Selke trophies to his name.

That’s why many often referred to him as West Coast Bergeron.

“I appreciated Bergeron a lot, and then when I went to Boston, you appreciate him even more,” Liles said. “Those types of centers, and I always go back to Joe Sakic, he made your job so easy in the defensive zone and on breakouts because he’s always in the right position…I only played against (Kopitar), but I’m sure if you asked the guys that played with him, they’d probably say the same thing.”

Kopitar had an impact on the players that came after him, including Avalanche forward Brock Nelson, who entered the NHL seven years after the Kings forward.

“When I was growing up and started to really understand the game a little more, he was the two-way style of player that you wanted to be,” Nelson said. “He was probably my favorite player through that time period. I feel like I’m partial to lefties, but just a guy that does everything the right way, goes about his business, works extremely hard, and is good at a little bit of everything. He’s been one of my favorites to watch throughout his entire career.”

Perhaps Nelson, who wears No. 11 like Kopitar, will honor him with a Selke win of his own this season.

Avalanche 5, Kings 2

What happened: The Kings slowed the game down and the Avalanche adjusted, grinding out yet another win.

What went right: Depth was important in this one, as Colorado’s big guns were slow to get going in this game. Jack Drury was elevated back to third-line center and got things going for the Avalanche, while Sam Girard stayed hot, picking up his ninth point in eight games.

What went wrong: This might as well be labeled the power play section, as the Avalanche power play was atrocious. Armia’s shorthanded goal was the icing on the cake for a man advantage that struggled to even enter the zone cleanly.

Avalanche goal scorers: Drury (6), Necas (19), Nelson (15), MacKinnon (32), Makar (12)

Kings goal scorers: Perry (8), Armia (9)

Between the pipes: Mackenzie Blackwood was solid, especially early, and finished with 23 saves.

What’s next: The Avalanche will close out 2025 on New Year’s Eve at home against the St. Louis Blues at 7 p.m.