After a frustrating lack of scoring touch killed any chances of a win in San Jose, the Winnipeg Jets travelled to Los Angeles to face off against the Kings. Read on if you want to find out how the Jets did…
Once the puck dropped, it became apparent quickly that this was going to be a tight checking game as the two franchises made it so difficult to create offense, the first shot didn’t occur until 4 minutes had ticked off the clock. Winnipeg did get a couple of early cycle shifts from their top two lines, but then Los Angeles returned the favour with pressure of their own. Hellebuyck came up big with a save on a point shot, then also reacted to deny the rebound attempt too. Ehlers’ speed was noticeable on a rush up the ice where he deked out a King at center ice, then skated to the top of the face-off circle to release a quick shot. LA goaltender Talbot was lucky to get a piece of the puck, deflecting it just wide of the net. Los Angeles went back on the attack, but a great backcheck by Perfetti broke up a scoring chance. The 2nd line was still pinned in their zone and during the cycle, the refs nabbed Schmidt for a pretty mild cross-check to give LA their first PP of the game. The Kings special teams are fairly hot, with a powerplay goal in three straight games and the home team was able to control the puck for much of the man-advantage. With the puck at the side of the net, Kempe cross-checked Samberg in front of the goal, knocking the defender to the ice. He was able to block the pass attempt as he was falling, but the puck was laying uncovered by his legs. Unfortunately for the Jets, it was Kopitar who noticed it first and he was able to jam it by Hellebuyck to give Los Angeles a 1-0 lead on the powerplay. The Kings took the momentum and pushed for more, ringing the crossbar behind the Jets’ tender before attempting a wrap-around. Bucky was tight up against his post with his pad, holding firm to shut down the chance. Winnipeg had a great chance when Scheifele flew up the ice before testing Talbot with a shot. A large rebound came right to Gustafsson in the mid-slot, but the Swede couldn’t solve the Kings’ goalie. Off a defensive zone face-off, Laferriere got the puck along the right boards and skated it into the corner. The LA player released a shot from below the goalline and the puck ricocheted off Hellebuyck’s mask & into the Jets’ net. With just over 7 minutes to play, Los Angeles had a two goal lead and the tried to use their defensive system to slow down the game. They were fairly successful, though Vilardi almost got the Jets’ on the board when he stole a puck in the neutral zone, started a counter-attack and set up Scheifele for a great look on Talbot. Just as the period was about to end, Niederreiter was hard on the forecheck and ended up drawing a retaliation penalty from Kempe. With only seconds left in the 1st, Winnipeg would have to wait until the 2nd to try and get a powerplay goal.
First Period Stats: Score: 2 to 0 for the Kings, shots 11 to 6 for the Kings, 55% Deserve To Win for the Kings, Expected Goals – all situations (0.78-0.65 LA), & 5 on 5 (0.65-0.45 WPG)
After the Jets had an uninspired powerplay that managed only 1 shot, Winnipeg was back on the penalty kill when a Schmidt cross-check (deserved this time) was flagged by the refs. Despite a face-off loss, Lowry and Barron combined to clear the puck early and then Pionk denied a Kings’ zone entry attempt. LA was able to set up with a minute left in the advantage, but a couple quality saves by Hellebuyck and Pionk using his body to stop another scoring attempt kept Winnipeg down only 2 goals. The Jets did almost get on the board when Schmidt came out of the penalty box to pounce on a rebound. Unfortunately, he whiffed on the puck but it wasn’t long before the Jets were back pushing for offense. This time it was Vilardi leading the charge up the ice and he skated it just into LA’s end before dropping the puck for Ehlers. The Dane was cutting towards the middle of the ice and once he picked up the puck, he quickly released a blast that easily beat Talbots glove. Ehlers’ 8th of the year brought Winnipeg back to within 1 with 14 minutes to play in the 2nd and all of a sudden, the Jets were starting to dominate puck possession. A great shift by the Lowry line saw them pin the Kings in the defensive end, then the Namestnikov trio followed it up with more pressure. Los Angeles briefly responded and Hellebuyck had to make a couple more saves, though it seemed that our tender was letting out too many rebounds last night. Scheifele was interfered with on a dump & chase attempt and then was hauled down on his next shift, clearly showing his frustration at the lack of calls. After another 3rd line cycle shift, Winnipeg’s top trio was back on the ice and Vilardi was able to spring Ehlers with a long stretch pass. Fly lived up to his nickname, zooming down the left wing before a quick release once again beat Talbot high to the glove side. The Great Dane tied the game up with around 6 minutes to play, but the Jets now clearly had momentum and were eager to take advantage. The Namestnikov line went on the attack and set up Perfetti for a dangerous 1 timer that was about 2 inches off the mark. The Scheifele line came on next and a long point shot resulted in the puck just sitting in front of Talbot. Vilardi was there to dig it out, poking it to the side of the net. Scheifele was coming out from behind the net and jumped on the puck, backhanding the puck by a sprawled Talbot. In just under 9 minutes, Winnipeg clawed its way back into the game, but the men in stripes seemed determined to help Los Angeles out as much as they could. Dubois clamped down on Niederreiter’s arm, giving the ref a chance to make another poor call and they happily obliged. Hellebuyck had to make one big save on the man-advantage, but the Jets probably had the best scoring chance when Appleton & Lowry were sprung on a 2 on 1. Appleton couldn’t decide what to do and ended up carrying it below the goalline before attempting a pass out in front. He was successful in doing that, but by that time Lowry was well covered in the blue paint. Winnipeg had another scoring opportunity when Niederreiter came out of the box and was immediately sent on a rush. The Swiss winger grazed the post with his shot and the Jets finished the period with back-to-back shifts in the LA zone. Vilardi was held up while cycling the puck, so Winnipeg would open the final frame with a man-advantage.
After Two Periods Stats Score: 3 to 2 for the Jets, shots 26 to 19 for the Kings, 63% Deserve to Win for the Kings, Expected Goals – all situations (2.10-1.44 LA) & 5 on 5 (1.35-0.95 WPG)
The Jets’ powerplay did control the puck early, but a blocked Ehlers’ shot led to a short-handed 2 on 1 for Los Angeles. Hellebuyck made an awkward save as he was almost falling back into his net and Winnipeg countered with a 2 on 1 of it’s own, but Scheifele & Ehlers failed to connect. LA iced the puck and despite winning the defensive zone face-off, their clearing attempt along the boards was held in by DeMelo. The defender quickly released a low shot towards the net, but Vilardi was in the slot to knock the puck down. He immediately backhanded it with great effect, as the puck sailed directly into the top right corner to make it 4 to 2 for Winnipeg. Los Angeles got another PP chance when Dillon was flagged for cross-checking (the refs favourite call of the night), but an early save by Bucky and a painful block by Schmidt kept the Kings off the board. After that, the Winnipeg Jets put on a textbook display of how to close out a game, only allowing Los Angeles 1 shot in the final 10 minutes. The Jets ended up creating more scoring chances than the Kings in that span, but it wasn’t until Scheifele pocketed an empty netter with 1.3 seconds left that Winnipeg added to their total.
FINAL SCORE: WINNIPEG JETS 5 LOS ANGELES KINGS 2
SHOTS: LOS ANGELES KINGS 32 WINNIPEG JETS 29
Game Observations:
- MoneyPuck Stats: 61% Deserve to Win for the Kings, 2.96 to 2.15 in expected goals (all situations) for the Kings, and 1.98 to 1.05 in expected goals (5 on 5) for the Jets.
- The Winnipeg Jets win the expected goal battle at 5 on 5 and I think that outlines how well the team played. Especially in a back-to-back situation against a quality opponent. I am really starting to believe the Jets defensive play is for real this season. Could we see back-to-back top 10 finishes in least goals against.
- Dylan DeMelo’s 500th career NHL game….congratulations!! The defenseman picked up an assist and led the team in hits (3).
- Neal Pionk was tied for the hit lead as well and made quite a few great plays in the game. Unfortunately, those were kind of evened out by some bone-headed decisions, so it was kind of a typical Pionk game.
- What a great game for Gabe Vilardi!!! Three primary assists and an impressive backhand snipe against his former team. Winnipeg needed players to step up in Kyle Connor’s absence and Vilardi was one of those to grab the torch. First 4 point game in the NHL. Hopefully just the start of great things.
- Nik Ehlers was also on fire last night with two absolute snipes. The entire first line was +5 on the night and combined for 11 points. Love to see Fly smiling and having fun.
- Another strong outing for Josh Morrissey, as he was tied for 2nd in shots on net (with Mark Scheifele – 4), second only to Ehlers.
- Yes, Connor Hellebuyck let in a weak goal, but it was really in the “once in a million” realm with a fortunate bounce off his helmet. As someone said in one of the comments I read last night, about 98% of the net was covered so how bad of a goal could it be? But getting scored on from behind the goalline is never going to look good, is it? That being said, Bucky made some big saves when the game was 2-0 for the Kings and I doubt the comeback happens if he lets in a third goal.
- Just one more shout out for the defensive play. Yes, the shut-down effort in the third period was impressive, but Winnipeg barely allowed Los Angeles 1 expected goal at 5 on 5 in the match so they were strong all evening.
NEXT GAME: Colorado Avalanche @ Winnipeg Jets – Saturday, December 16th @ 6 pm Central
Glad I stayed up late for the game and feel bad for those who gave up after the first. Hopefully they PVR’d it. 🙂
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