Los Angeles Kings Rolled in 5-2 Loss to Winninpeg Jets

By Eric Fleischmann | Mar 1, 2015

Sunday afternoon was not a good day for Los Angeles hockey.

The Los Angeles Kings were rolled by the Winnipeg Jets in a 5-2 loss. L.A. has now gone from an eight-game winning streak to a three-game losing streak.

A poorly handled puck by Robyn Regehr behind the Kings net resulted in a tap-touch pass that put Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick down on his stomach trying to make the initial save. Instead Winnipeg’s Drew Stafford, who was recently acquired from the Buffalo Sabres, slapped the puck into the wide open goal.

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L.A. forward Jordan Nolan showed great speed and hustle on a breakaway opportunity in the last 2:30 of the first period, but Nolan was stuffed by Jets goalie Michael Hutchinson.

7:20 into the second period the Kings won a face-off in their defensive zone, and the breakout that followed turned into a quick 3-on-2. Taking a pass from Tyler Toffoli, Jeff Carter snapped a shot from the face-off dot that beat Hutchinson to tie the game.

At that point the Kings lost control of the game.

Another recent acquisition from the Sabres, and one of RinkRoyalty’s players to look out for, Tyler Myers walked in from the point and put a shot through traffic re-establishing the Jets lead.

42-seconds later the Kings were caught running around in their zone. A breakdown in defense and Jets forward Bryan Little was able to cut to the net. Little put the puck off the goal-post and Jets captain Andrew Ladd smacked the rebound past a reeling Quick, who lost track of the puck underneath his pads.

Ladd would score again before the period was over. A turnover at the Kings blue line gave Michael Frolik the puck. Frolik passed the puck over to Ladd who one-timed a shot that hit Quick’s glove and trickled in.

After the second period Jonathan Quick was relieved of his duties by backup goaltender Martin Jones.

Mar 1, 2015; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Winnipeg Jets forward Mark Scheifele (55) is challenged by Los Angeles Kings defenceman Brayden McNabb (3) during the second period at MTS Centre. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Fedyck-USA TODAY Sports

During the second there was a bit of a scrum at center ice. Bradyen McNabb threw a hit on Mark Scheifele that Scheifele didn’t like. The hit inspired Scheifele to take a dirty shot at Trevor Lewis, running him knee-to-knee at center ice. Multiple Kings jumped in to Lewis’ defense, and after no call on the initial hit, the play resulted in 4-0n-4 play.

The Kings second line showed some fight late in the game, as Jeff Carter scored his second goal of the night. After Tyler Toffoli’s shot was blocked in front of the net Carter battled, spun and backhanded a shot past Hutchinson.

It was Carter’s second of the night and 20th goal of the season. Carter is the Kings leading scorer and first player to reach the 20-goal mark this season.

Blake Wheeler was able to flick a shot from center ice into the Kings empty net with a minute left in regulation to seal the Jets 5-2 victory.

The game was full of heated passion: there was a total of 15 penalties assessed between both teams. That included a fight, and 10-minute misconducts that were assessed to one player from each team.

As a result of the game the Jets have 76 points in 64 games; the Kings have 70 points in 62 games. L.A.’s 30th win of the season has proved to be an elusive one.

L.A. is now in 4th place in the Pacific Division, and 9th in the Western Conference. It’s a precarious position to be in. L.A. needs to get back on the winning track.

The Kings next game is Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m. PST in Edmonton against the Oilers.

Next: Marian Gaborik Still Looks Like A Steal

Mar 1, 2015; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Winnipeg Jets forward Andrew Ladd (16) celebrates his second goal during the second period against the Los Angeles Kings at MTS Centre. Mandatory Credit: Bruce Fedyck-USA TODAY Sports

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