What we learned from the Kings’ 4-3 victory over Arizona on Thursday

What we learned from the Kings’ 4-3 victory over the Coyotes on Thursday:

Sometimes things happen after they don’t

Sounds like something Yogi Berra might have said, but think about it. Winger Jordan Nolan had scored no goals in 52 games last season and had none in his first 13 this season but scored twice on Thursday for the first multi-goal game of his career. And both were nicely done: On the first one, he lifted a backhander above goaltender Mike Smith, and on the second he shot from a sharp angle and banked the puck off the Arizona goalie and into the net.

“That’s awesome to see,” said forward Trevor Lewis, who scored the winner with 4:05 left in the third period. “He’s been playing great. He’s a big body that holds onto the puck. It’s nice to see him get rewarded.”

Coach Darryl Sutter, who had scratched Nolan from the lineup 10 times this season, chimed in with praise, too. That doesn’t happen often.

“It’s good to see him get rewarded,” Sutter said. “It’s a load off his back. He’s done a lot of things for our team when he goes in the lineup. He won and fought some battles for us this year, so it’s good to see guys like that get rewarded.”

No big deal to Nolan, though. “Just some puck luck, I guess,” he said. “I feel like I’m getting some good chances here and was just fortunate enough to have it go in tonight.”

Sometimes things happen after they don’t, Part 2

Goalie Jeff Zatkoff was signed to be Jonathan Quick’s backup, a plan that quickly changed when Quick suffered a groin injury in the season opener. But Zatkoff was slowed by groin troubles of his own that limited him to four appearances before Thursday, and he sat and waited while Peter Budaj played. And played. And played some more.

Called upon Thursday after Sutter pulled Budaj—who had given up two goals on six shots—Zatkoff responded like a pro. He stopped 14 shots in the second period and 11 of 12 against him in the third, a key to the Kings’ ability to win on the second night of a back-to-back sequence.

His first thought, he said, was simple. “Just have fun. I haven’t played since that Ottawa game,” he said of the Nov. 11 contest he had to leave early because of a groin problem. “I was comfortable with my game. I had put the work in, in practice. And just kind of chomping at the bit to get in there, waiting for an opportunity and obviously not the circumstance probably you want to come in, but it was nice to get in there and I got some shots early on and was able to settle into it. I thought we did a good job weathering their push there in the second and tied it.

“It was a gritty win. We probably didn’t play our best but it was two points and at the end of the day that’s all that matters. We got contributions up and down the lineup. Every line contributed. And that’s the way you’ve got to win in this league. Not a lot of times you can get by living on one line.”

Kopitar is regaining his old, impressive form

Center Anze Kopitar was strong in his fourth game back after missing five games because of a hand or arm injury, his best performance since his return.

Earlier in the day, Sutter said Kopitar had faded a bit late in his first games back, but that wasn’t the case Thursday night against the Coyotes. Kopitar assisted on the Kings’ first and last goals, took two shots (with three others blocked or missing the net), was credited with one hit and won 17 of 30 faceoffs. He played 23 minutes and 44 seconds, second only to defenseman Drew Doughty’s 27:38. Kopitar’s ice time was his most since his return from the injury.

“I think Kopi really stood out as the game went on. I thought he was a dominant player,” Sutter said.

helene.elliott@latimes.com

Follow Helene Elliott on Twitter @helenenothelen