The LA Kings had a tough challenge ahead of them on Tuesday night against the Winnipeg Jets, a team that leads the league in points with 106 and has been one of the best teams in the NHL all season. However, the Kings were up to the challenge as they jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first 10 minutes of the game en route to a 4-1 win over the Jets.
It was a big win that moved the Kings two points closer to the Vegas Golden Knights for the division lead as well staying ahead of the Edmonton Oilers. The Golden Knights and Oilers played each on Tuesday night, a game the Oilers won 3-2.
These are three takeaways from the Kings game against the Jets on Tuesday night.
Andrei Kuzmenko is a perfect fit on that top line
Andrei Kuzmenko has not been with the Kings for a full month yet but he is making a big impact on this team. That was evident against the Jets as he would have an assist and a goal and in the past seven games he has nine points, compared to zero in his first seven games with the team.
For most of the season, the Kings have struggled to find that third player to play on the top line with Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe. They rotated a number of players through that spot but Kuzmenko has helped solidify that spot and in turn the top line for the Kings.
After the game, Jim Hiller was asked about Kuzmenko and if something had surprised him about his game. According to Zach Dooley, Hiller said:
"I would have said my evaluation would have been he’s a really strong o-zone player, like in the offensive zone, like we’ve talked about. I didn’t know he would be this strong off the rush. That’s probably the thing that surprised me a little bit, is how well he’s played [off the rush]. Well, really, a couple things, how well he’s played without the puck, one, biggest surprise. Two is how dangerous he is off the rush and good hockey sense. Kopi and Juice are really good rush players too, so he just fits in really well with that line."
There were some that would have liked to see the Kings make a bigger splash at the trade deadline but the addition of Kuzmenko has been a huge win for this team.
Darcy Kuemper wins the goalie battle against Connor Hellebuyck
There is probably no question right now of who is the best goalie in the NHL and that title belongs to Connor Hellebuyck. He won the Vezina Trophy last season and is well on his way to doing it again.
However, the Kings have a great goalie in Darcy Kuemper, who has easily moved into that conversation of being the second best. For at least this one game, there was no confusion on who the better goalie was on the ice and that was Kuemper.
He finished the game with 18 saves on 19 shots while Hellebuyck allowed three goals on 19 shots. Both players faced the same number of shots but Kuemper was tasked with stopping the better offensive team as the Jets are tied for third in goals scored per game at 3.41.
It was another impressive performance by Darcy Kuemper in front of the home fans and has moved to 17-2-2 at Crypto.com Arena this season.
Winnipeg Jets don't want to see LA Kings in the playoffs
The Winnipeg Jets have been one of the best teams in the NHL and have a 51-20-4 record on the season but the LA Kings have been a major problem for them this season. They are now 0-2-1 against the Kings this season and been outscored 10-3 in those three games.
There is no question that playoff hockey is very different and regular season success doesn't guarantee playoff success. However, if the Kings advance in the playoffs, they have a game plan that has worked against the Jets this season.