The LA Kings came up a goal short in Winnipeg, as they fell by a 3-2 final on Saturday afternoon at Canada Line Centre.
Winnipeg opened the scoring with a power-play goal just shy of five minutes into the game, scoring on one of three chances on the man advantage in the opening 20 minutes. Forward Kyle Connor had space at the goal line and fed the puck to forward Alex Iafallo in the low slot. Iafallo found himself uncovered, collected onto his forehand and beat Kings netminder Darcy Kuemper on the blocker side for an early 1-0 advantage.
On the first shift of the second period, the Kings tied the game after a very assertive start from the Kopitar line. After an extended stretch with offensive-zone possession, forward Adrian Kempe fed the puck to defenseman Mikey Anderson at the left point. Anderson’s shot evaded both a Kopitar screen and Winnipeg goaltender Connor Hellebuyck to tie the game at one with Anderson’s first goal of the season.
The same line put the Kings ahead for the first time as all three forwards touched the puck, attacking off the rush. Kempe chipped the puck into space through the neutral zone, before working it to forward Andrei Kuzmenko on the right wing. Kuzmenko spun and fed Kopitar, who went to Kempe at the back post for the tap-in goal, Kempe’s first of the season, as the visitors took their first lead of the afternoon.
With just over a minute remaining in the second period, Winnipeg tied the game at two with a weird goal just after a Kings power play expired. After forcing a turnover in their own zone, forwards Mark Schiefele and Morgan Barron led a 2-on-1 rush, with Schiefele’s pass kicking off of Anderson and slipping past Kuemper for a 2-2 scoreline after 40 minutes of play.
The Jets pulled back in front with just over eight minutes to play in regulation, with Schiefele collecting his second goal of the game. The Kings were unable to get a full line change, which led to the Jets coming back at them with speed. After re-establishing the offensive zone, Schiefele got a deflection on a shot from defenseman Josh Morrissey, sending it past Kuemper and in for a 3-2 Jets lead.
Hear from Kempe, Anderson and Head Coach Jim Hiller following today’s defeat.
