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Los Angeles Kings @ Winnipeg Jets Game 16 Recap: Meh

Posted on by Robyn Pennington

Playing their third game in four games, it’s understandable for the Los Angeles Kings to look a little fatigued – which they certainly did in today’s matinee matchup against the Winnipeg Jets. But hey, they managed to snag a loser point, which, considering the outcome against the Ottawa Senators, it certainly could be worse.

[Box Score]

Losing in the shootout was certainly not the most ideal outcome. However, the Kings of giving away free points to their opponents actually had to rally in order to force overtime.

Thanks to an if-y on-ice call in the first period, LA fell behind 2-1 on a five-minute major penalty issued to Kyle Clifford who laid a hard hit on Kyle Connor .

Here’s the gif slowed down. Unfortunately, there is no real-time video or gif available so it’s hard to tell how bad the damage was when you first see it.

However, eagle-eyed Jim Fox declared it was a bad call.

Hard to tell from the only angle on the replay, but there shouldn’t be a suspension coming down the line for Clifford. Pretty much the last thing they Kings need is another forward out of the lineup for an extended period of time.

Adam Lowry and Marko Dano notched their fourth and third goals of the season respectively on the ensuing major. Lowry flew down the wing and sniped the puck over Peter Budaj‘s shoulder, so it’s kind of hard to be upset about that one. The Dano goal seemed to be a bit of a break-down in front and again, not much Budaj could do.

Over the course of the next 22-ish minutes, Budaj stopped all 11 Jets shots on goal, including this beauty on Nic Petan.

By the end of the second period, the Kings had mustered all of… 12 shots on goal. Ouch. The 5v5 shot attempts weren’t a whole lot better, either. Although credit where credit is due. Despite a somewhat lackluster-seeming period, the Kings still generated 12 shot attempts to the Jets’ 13 and weren’t overall terrible in scoring chances.

Cue that one good period! Seriously, the third was pretty good for LA. They managed to tie the game with the least two expected guys getting the job done. Nothing against Jordan Nolan, but the ‘tweener fourth liner isn’t exactly known for his offensive skills. However, he took over that shift and set up Tom Gilbert for the game-tying goal.

My goodness, Nolan. Why can’t you do that consistently?

As you may expect, the corsis belonged to the Kings in the third period.

Despite some late pressure, Connor Hellebuyck kept the game tied and gave his team a chance to win it in overtime. There were two penalties, so naturally nothing happened and on to the shootout it went.

The shooters: Dustin Brown, Dwight King and Nic Dowd for LA; Blake Wheeler, Patrik Laine and Mark Scheifele (with the game-winning goal in the shootout) for Winnipeg.

Overall, this was a very winnable game for the visitors, at least on paper. Winnipeg took five penalties, including one that carried over into OT and one near the end of it. However, managing to salvage at least a point, especially considering the way their last game against the Senators ended, is mostly a positive.

The final stop on this road trip is Denver, Colorado. Their quirky November schedule continues with five games in seven days, including back-to-back home against New Jersey and then away in Anaheim. Get well soon, Anze Kopitar!

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