WINNIPEG — The Winnipeg Jets are experiencing some turmoil in a strong season — they’ve lost four of their past five games, three of which were at home.
Friday’s 2-1 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings was another example of the scoring drought.
Against a dispirited Los Angeles Kings at the Canadian Life Centre, the Jets managed just 19 shots on goal, scoring once on Mark Scheifele’s power play in the third period.
The Kings opened the scoring early in the second period with Alex Turcotte’s fifth goal of the season and gave up the eventual tying goal to Scheifele, but the Jets’ line change failed. The victory came in overtime.
“They got out in a timely manner,” Jets coach Scott Arniel said of the miscommunication on the bench. “We weren’t sure about it. But we tried to do the same thing and obviously the puck gets to the weak side pretty quickly and then you get caught.
“That’s the problem when you try to make these changes. It’s almost like who got there first.”
Leaving family and friends behind in a city battling its worst wildfires ever, the Kings embarked on a grueling five-game road trip through Western Canada and Seattle for their fifth straight victory.
“…Obviously it’s very emotional with everything that’s going on at home and stuff like that,” Kempe said. “But I think everyone competed and everyone did their job.
“We kept it simple and played a full 60 minutes against one of the best teams in the league and one of the best home teams. So, we were really proud of these guys tonight, from Darcy ( netminder Kuemper) all the way to the top teams”.
It’s been a rough start for the Jets (28-12-3) in what is expected to be an eight-game homestand filled with highlights. Winnipeg has just one win in four games but picked up an extra two points with an overtime loss (1-1-2).
On Friday, it wasn’t for a lack of trying, either. The Jets couldn’t get the puck through Los Angeles’ stout defensive structure.
“It’s hard,” Schiffele said. “Obviously, we still have some chances. We still have some chances to score. But they’re a tough team. Their defense is solid and they have a hard time getting inside. They have a good bat, so They have a tough game.”
Winnipeg’s defense improved after Dylan Samberg missed 21 games with a broken foot.
“It’s awesome, he’s such a big part of our D,” forward Gabe Vilardi said of Samberg. “He’s doing a great job, especially on the PK. The defense is very good. I’m happy for him, he’s been working hard for the past month, month and a half, and no matter what happens, we’re happy to have him back.”
It was another tough result for netminder Eric Comrie despite a strong performance. His record in the past seven games is 0 wins, 6 draws and 1 loss. But the team in front of him didn’t bring him much help. Winnipeg has scored just 11 goals in Comrie’s last seven starts.
“We didn’t score a lot of goals when he was out there,” Scheifele added. “But he played great. He kept us in the game. He made some great saves. And, again, he was great tonight.”
As the Colorado Avalanche head to the Canadian Life Center for a Central Division showdown on Saturday night, the Jets need to turn things around quickly and shake off the loss.
Winnipeg will get Connor Hellebuyck back in net as he seeks his 301st career win.
