On Tuesday night, the Kings hosted the Winnipeg Jets for the third of four games on their current homestand. They hoped to bounce back after two consecutive losses, one in overtime against Detroit and another against New Jersey on Saturday night. Corey Perry also reached a milestone, playing in his 1400th career game. His presence on the roster remains ironic to many Kings fans, given his long history playing for the division-rival Anaheim Ducks.
It was a low-event game overall, especially in the first period. The two teams combined for only 12 shots, with LA holding a 7-5 advantage. The Kings came out of the gate sloppy, turning the puck over numerous times, often leading to prime Winnipeg scoring chances. They also took some undisciplined penalties, including a too many men on the ice bench minor while on a power play, and a high-sticking call on Anže Kopitar.
Around eight minutes in, it seemed as if Winnipeg struck first; however, a Josh Morrissey goal was called back on the ice due to goaltender interference on former King Gabe Vilardi. While cruising through the crease, he made contact with LA goaltender Darcy Kuemper, impeding his ability to make the save.
Later in the period and taking advantage of the clear scoresheet, a nifty pass by Joel Armia behind the net found Adrian Kempe out front for a slam-dunk tally, giving the Kings a 1-0 lead.
The second period was very low-event hockey, marked by stingy defense from both sides. Kuemper was phenomenal during that span and made some impressive saves on tough scoring chances. This included a cross-crease save on a short-handed Winnipeg 2-on-1.
The third period saw much of the same tightly checked hockey as periods one and two, until two subsequent Jets penalties late, including a Vlad Namestnikov double-minor for high-sticking, sent Los Angeles to a 5-on-3 man-advantage.
On the power-play that had struggled earlier, Kevin Flaia finally added a much-needed insurance marker with a top-shelf snipe, making it 2-0 LA. The Kings’ strong performance was capped off by a Drew Doughty empty-net goat with under a minute remaining, giving him the franchise lead in goals by a defenseman.
Doughty praised the team’s 5-for-5 penalty kill, but also acknowledged some room for improvement. “We’re on the right track but definitely need to score more goals … We want to have a 2 to 3 goal lead going into the third period; it’s hard to hold onto a one-goal lead,” said Doughty.
Head coach Jim Hiller was also pleased with his team’s defensive performance postgame.
“I think we played to our identity,” said Hiller.
He was not irked by the lack of scoring, stating, “We’re going to start scoring more,” “You might come up relatively empty on the scoresheet, but that doesn’t mean you didn’t play well,” he said.
Despite not playing a perfect game, the Kings will certainly take the two points and their first home win of the year.
“It just feels good to get one,” Hiller said.
The team will hope to string wins together on Thursday night, when they welcome the two-time defending champion Florida Panthers.