With his scoring down, Kings’ Anze Kopitar still points to the good

If his scoring chances had dried up, Kings center Anze Kopitar might worry about his paltry production. So far the chances have been there, and so is his optimism.

“If the opportunities are coming, I still feel confident about myself that I’m still the same guy and I’m still going to put up numbers,” he said. “I think it’s just a matter of playing hard and the opportunities are going to come. Eventually the points have to come, too.”

Points have been strangely scarce this season for one of the NHL’s best two-way centers. Kopitar, who has led the Kings in assists and in points each of the last eight seasons, ranks ninth on the team in assists, with four, and sixth in points, with 11, through 22 games. That’s a 41-point pace, which would be his fewest in a full season.

Despite that, Kopitar’s playing time has crept upward instead of shrinking. He played a season-high 24 minutes 53 seconds Wednesday in the Kings’ 2-1 shootout loss at Tampa, his fourth straight game with at least 20 minutes of ice time. He had two goals and four points on the five-game trip. “I’ve been feeling good lately, so I want to be on the ice,” he after practice Friday in El Segundo.

Coach Darryl Sutter wants him on the ice — though for 18 to 20 minutes per game instead of 24 — and maintained Kopitar has been good. “He’s a top player,” Sutter said. “He’s going to have four out of five outstanding ones and one that’s above average.”

Nor have Kopitar’s teammates lost faith in him.

“I’m not worried about Kopi at all. I know things are going to turn around for him at any point. He’s going to start putting more and more pucks in the net and he has still been making great plays,” defenseman Drew Doughty said. “If I want to be on the ice with anyone, I want to be on the ice with Kopi.... He maybe doesn’t have the points he usually would, but he’s still at the top of his game.”

Dustin Brown said Kopitar’s scoring decline might reflect the NHL’s drop in scoring, a valid theory. Dallas’ Jamie Benn won the scoring title last season with 87 points, the lowest total in a non-lockout season since Stan Mikita had 87 in a 74-game schedule in 1967-68.

Brown also said Kopitar, who has only two power-play points this season after collecting a team-high 24 last season, might soon pick up some points there.

“I think more recently you’ve seen him have the puck a lot more along the half-wall, which is a big part of his game,” Brown said. “Our power play was really struggling early so it was [defenseman to defenseman], shot, and he doesn’t get the touches or some of the looks he normally gets.”

Teammates were quick to dismiss the idea Kopitar might be troubled because he’s in the final season of his contract and hasn’t gotten an extension. He can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1 and would surely command about $10 million per season.

“Multiple people have asked about contract talks. He’s not a guy that that bothers him,” defenseman Alec Martinez said. “No one is worried about him. He’s one of the best players in the world.”

Kopitar said negotiations are “dragging on a little bit longer than I wanted it to,” but that hasn’t weighed on him. “I’m just playing hockey right now,” he said.

The Kings will need him at his best Saturday when they face the Blackhawks, who have won the Stanley Cup three times in the last six seasons. The Kings and Blackhawks have alternated as champions the last four seasons, so each team knows the pressure of defending a title.

“You always somewhat circle the game when the Stanley Cup champs come into town. Everybody says that, and we’ve been there a couple times,” Kopitar said. “They’ve been there more than us, so we want to get there again. It’s usually a good measuring stick not just for us but for every team when you play the defending Stanley Cup champs, so you see where you are and see where the path is going to go.”

A few more points from Kopitar might make the Kings’ path a little smoother.

KINGS NEXT UP

VS. CHICAGO

When: Saturday, 7:30 p.m.

On the air: TV: FS West. Radio: 790.

Update: The Kings began November with a 4-2 loss at Chicago and will end November at home against the Blackhawks. The Kings are 6-5-1 this month. The Blackhawks are 3-1-1 entering the finale of their annual circus trip after rallying for a 3-2 overtime victory over the Ducks on Friday. Patrick Kane extended his points streak to 18 games; he has 10 goals and 29 points in that span.

helene.elliott@latimes.com

Twitter: @helenenothelen