There wasn’t a whole lot of open ice for either team.
Adrian Kemp scored the game-winner at 1:14 of overtime as the Los Angeles Kings won a tight-fought contest against the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 on Friday.
Neither team was able to generate much in the way of offense in the first two periods of the game. They combined for just 10 shots in the first period and Winnipeg had just nine shots on goal in the first 40 minutes.
“It’s as close to a playoff game as we’ve ever seen,” Jets head coach Scott Arneil said. “They were exactly the kind of games that are played at the end of the season. There was not much room for plays. While you had some time, it went off pretty quickly.
Mark Scheifele scored the Jets’ lone goal in the third period as they settled at one point.
“I think it was a hard-fought game,” Scheifele said. “Both sides protected the inside ice and didn’t give too much easy inside ice. So, it was a tough fight till the end.”
Get daily national news
Get the day’s top news, political, economic and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.
The win gives LA its fifth straight, while the Jets fall to 1-1-2 through four games of their season-long eight-game homestand.
Shots finished 23-19 in favor of the visitors.
“It was tight-checking the whole game,” Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi said. “There is not much room for either side. I thought we got some momentum going in the third.”
Jets goalie Eric Comrie suffered his seventh straight loss, but the Jets have allowed just 11 goals in their losing streak.
“He’s giving him some run support,” Arneil said. “I would have liked us to have been able to get three or four goals out and do that, but again, he made some big stops.”
Josh Morrissey and Dylan Samberg were both in the lineup for the Jets after dealing with injuries. Samberg missed the last six weeks with a broken leg.
It was a battle of two top Western Conference teams at the Canada Life Center – and offense was coming at a premium.
Los Angeles thought they had opened the scoring at 4:01 when Jordan Spence took a point shot that found the net, but Winnipeg challenged and the play was ruled offside.
The Kings struck first just five minutes into the second period on what looked like a harmless shot from Kempe, but it was deflected in front by Alex Turcotte and passed Eric Comrie’s glove.
Scheifele gave the Jets life in the third period with a power play goal after the Kings took consecutive penalties. It was redemption of sorts after Scheifele took two penalties of his own in the middle frame.
Connor Hellebuyck was honored during the pre-game ceremony recently for playing in his 500th NHL game, recording his 300th win and his 40th career shutout.
The Jets are back in action tomorrow night when they host the Colorado Avalanche with puck drop at the Canada Life Center after 6 p.m.
© 2025 Global News, a division of Chorus Entertainment Inc.
