Jets end skid with 4-3 win over LA Perfetti his for double and three points in win

In Winnipeg, the Jets ended their best imitation of Boeing airliner in a 4-3 win over the visiting Los Angeles Kings on Monday night.

The loss puts the Kings in a position of needing points. They are just five points clear of the St Louis Blues, who beat the Edmonton Oilers, 3-2, in OT on Monday night.

The Jets have been in a funk fro weeks and spiraling into a challenge to clinch a playoff berth.

Cole Perfetti hit for a double and three points in the win.

“We created lots as a line, scored lots as a line,” Perfetti said. “So, that felt really good. I was just really happy that I could contribute and help get back into that. I missed that for a little bit. It just feels really good to get back and help this team win.”

Perfetti snapped a 3-3 tie at at 13:05 with his double to give the Jets the lead.

The goal came just after a Trevor Lewis breakaway was denied.

“It’s just heartbreaking when it happens that way,” Los Angeles coach Jim Hiller said. “What was it, 10 seconds later they came down and score the other way. We’ve seen that in hockey before. But nothing to hang our heads about, we’ll regroup, get a rest and we’ll get ready for the next game.”

Laurent Brossoit made 25 saves in the win.

The Jets improved to 45-24-6, ending a six-game skid.

“Well, we get a much-needed win, so I’m very happy about that,” Winnipeg coach Rick Bowness said. “Obviously, the [Sean] Monahan line (with Perfetti and Connor) had a big night for us. That made the difference in the game.”

Perfetti opened the scoring at 11:14 of the first period for a 1-0 lead to the Jets. He scored off an errant puck at the crease.

“[Perfetti] has been working really hard,” Bowness said. “The coaches have been spending a lot of time with him. I did tell him, ‘Listen, when you get back in, we’re going to give you more time with the top six.’ That’s more his game, so he took full advantage of it. Give him credit for that.”

LA’s Viktor Arvidsson hit at 12:30, scoring from above the right circle to tie the game, 1-1.

“That game was back and forth for us,” the Kings’ Vladislav Gavrikov said. “Didn’t get the result, obviously. That’s exactly what we’re looking for in the next games, and just got to move on. Every single game matters for us, every single point has got to matter.”

The Kings dropped to 38-25-11 off their third straight loss.

“They’re a good team, they were desperate,” Kings’ coach Jim Hiller said of the Jets. “I thought it was a good hockey game both ways. … Overall, the effort is good. The result is bad.”

LA took a 2-1 lead on a marker from Kevin Fiala at 5:48 of the middle frame.

“We thought we had probably a good 15 minutes of the second, then we turned the puck over a couple times, made a couple poor decisions, we wanted to clean those up,” Hiller said. “I thought we did in the third. Just a good game. Could have gone either way, and they got it.”

The Jets responded with a strike by Sean Monahan at 11:49, deflecting a shot from the right circle to tie the game, 2-2.

Anze Kopitar reclaimed the lead for the Kings at 13:56  scoring off a shot from the slot.

“Some really good looks,” Hillier said. “We had a couple others (that) just rattled around, hit some bodies in front. We had some good screens.”

Perfetti set up Josh Morrissey at 16:47 of the middle frame to tie the game 3-3, scoring from the slot.

“Not every win is going to be perfect,” Morrissey said. “They’re a good hockey team. You have to give every team in this league their respect. For us to go down multiple times in the game and find a way to come back and stay resilient and find a way to break a tie game open in the third, it’s great. It’s huge. Hopefully we can get on a run now and feel good about ourselves in the next number of games before the [playoffs] start.”

Cam Talbot made 28 saves in the loss.