The Winnipeg Jets were looking to avoid getting swept by the Los Angeles Kings when the two franchises squared off for their final regular season match….lets find out if they were successful.
GAME RECAP
Despite starting off the game with good intensity, the Jets ended up falling behind in the 1st period when the Kings were able to open the scoring off a deflected point shot. Less than 2 minutes later, David Gustafsson was stripped of the puck at center ice and Los Angeles countered with a 3 on 2 attack. Some nice passing saw LA take a 2 goal lead with a 1 timer from the left face-off circle. A big hole for Winnipeg when they are facing one of the NHL’s better defensive teams and they were unable to break through before the first intermission.
The 2nd period saw more of the Kings’ neutral zone trap frustrating the Jets’ attempts to create dangerous scoring chances, but Winnipeg did come close when a Dylan Samberg shot rang off a post. The Californians got a powerplay chance when Connor Hellebucyk was flagged for a trip, but the penalty killers did a good job to keep the score the same. Cole Perfetti, who served the goalie’s penalty, came out of the box and was immediately racing up the ice with the puck on his stick & a teammate by his side. The youngster opted to not to attempt a pass and sniped one past Darcy Kuemper from the right face-off circle to make the game interesting. Unfortunately, Winnipeg ended up making another mistake in their press for more offense, allowing Los Angeles’ Anze Kopitar to extend their lead to 3-1.
In the final frame, the Jets needed a lot of offense to mount a comeback….but in the end only managed 6 shots on the Kings’ net in the 3rd. LA sat back to defend their lead and were quite successful at frustrating the visiting players. Even a pair of powerplays for Winnipeg, both drawn by the play of Nikolaj Ehlers, couldn’t ignite the team’s offense and the Jets ended with 0.00 expected goals during the two attempts. Therefore, it was not surprising at all that the next goal ended up being a Los Angeles empty netter.
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FINAL SCORE: LOS ANGELES KING 4 WINNIPEG JETS 1
FINAL STATS
Shots: 20-19 LA / Hits: 26-19 WPG / Face-Offs: 53.1% WPG / x Goals: 1.96 LA – 1.50 WPG /
MoneyPuck’s Deserve to Win: 56.8% WPG / High-Medium Danger Scoring Chances: 7 to 2 WPG
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SCORING SUMMARY from ESPN
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SHOT CHART from MoneyPuck
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ADVANCED SKATER STATS from MoneyPuck
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GOALIE STATS from ESPN & MoneyPuck
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If you would like to dive deeper into the game’s stats, follow the links below to the game pages:
MoneyPuck: Winnipeg Jets vs. Los Angeles Kings – Tuesday April 1 2025 – MoneyPuck.com
NaturalStatTrick: Winnipeg Jets @ Los Angeles Kings, 2025-04-01
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BOJA’s Observations:
- I will admit that I really didn’t watch the later parts of the game, as I started to get a headache and decided to call it a night. That being said, from the stats & what I did see, I don’t think the Winnipeg Jets played a terrible game against LA. MoneyPuck says that they “deserved to win“, but I wouldn’t go that far. Our club certainly failed to create much offense against a team focused on playing a solid defensive game….and that is what they will have to face in the playoffs no matter who they end up facing.
- After a couple good starts in a row, Connor Hellebuyck had a rough one against the Kings. While none of the goals could be considered bad….Bucky did end up with a -1.79 Goals Saved Above Expected rating and a .842 save percentage.
- Cole Perfetti continues to impress…..nice snipe on a 2 on 1 and I am glad that he is getting the confidence to make the decision to take the chance himself, rather than try to force a pass through when the lane is not open. With a bit of a goal scoring spurt to end the regular season, Fetti could hit the 20 goal mark.
A day off for the Winnipeg Jets to recoup and try to figure out a way to beat the Golden Knights. Think that coach Scott Arniel might have to consider the end of the Nikolaj Ehlers, Adam Lowry, & Mason Appleton experiment. While they haven’t performed terribly, the True Northers need to unleash more offense from a line that includes the ever dangerous Fly.
UP NEXT: Vegas Golden Knights @ Winnipeg Jets – Thursday, April 3rd @ 9:00 pm CST
