Anze Kopitar’s power play goal at 5:52 of the third period lifted the Los Angeles Kings to a 3-2 win over the Jets in Winnipeg on Tuesday night.
“It’s just going in and seeing where the space is to go to the open ice, and I just figured I’d try the backhand and it worked out,” Kopitar said.
Jonathan Quick made 26 saves in the win.
“The team did a great job of just trying to prevent as much as possible because they’ve got some guys who can skate and shoot,” Quick said. “Hats off to the way we played in the neutral zone and in our own end, keeping them out of our end as much as possible.”
Kyle Connor and Nikolaj Ehlers scored for the Jets.
Austin Wagner and Kurtis MacDermid also scored for the Kings.
“We got off to a good start and our forecheck was established real quick,” Kings head coach Todd McLellan said. “We earned a couple power-play opportunities quite early in the game and we generated a lot of shots. I’m not sure if they were real good chances, but shots off of that and the momentum just started to go our way.”
The Kings outshot the Jets, 21-5 in the fist period.
“I don’t think that line’s been productive enough. [Patrik Laine], [Mark Scheifele] and [Blake Wheeler], for the last three or four games, I don’t think they really generated what we would normally expect,” Jets head coach Paul Maurice said on his game plan after the first period struggles.
[WATCH: All Kings vs. Jets highlights]
Connor Hellebuyck made 38 saves in the loss.
“He was the best player out there for sure, head and shoulders,” Jets captain Blake Wheeler said of his goalie. “Another great effort from him to give us a chance.”
You must be logged in to post a comment.