It was a close one for the Los Angeles Kings (1-2-0) and head coach Jim Hiller in the second contest in a three-game road trip this week against the Winnipeg Jets on the road north of the border today. After leading in the middle of the second period by a score of 2-1 in the middle frame, the Kings lost the third period and dropped their second game of the regular season this fall.
Despite outshooting the Jets in the second and third periods, Jim Hiller and the Los Angeles Kings fall in Winnipeg by one goal
Hiller and the Kings had their chances late in the game with the special teams unit on the power play. But Connor Helleybuck turned away all 11 Kings' shots he faced, including multiple high-danger scoring chances, in the third period.
After the disappointing third-period loss to the Jets this afternoon in Winnipeg, Hiller gave his takeaways and reactions while speaking with the media at Canada Life Centre.
Here's a look at everything Hiller said to the media postgame following the Kings' 3-2 loss to the Jets on the road in Winnipeg at Canada Life Centre on Oct. 11.
Jim Hiller
On the takeaways from today's loss vs. Winnipeg on the road
"They were ready to start, we weren’t. That was really clear. Their power play was good, scored the goal, but also gave them just the momentum and a lot of feel-good minutes there, where they were just missing, so they get into the game right away, but we gathered ourselves, that was clear. The last 40 minutes, despite the outcome, was probably the best we’ve played consecutive periods so far this year."
"They’re a good team, and the goalie was really good, it’s a simple story. We had a chance, I would tell you, to block a couple shots that we didn’t. Look at the score sheet. I think they blocked 27; they were diving all over the place at the end, so the team that was maybe a little more desperate won."
On the penalties the Kings took early in the game
"We just weren’t sharp. When you’re not sharp, you’re behind and you’re hooking people or you’re making poor decisions, losing body position, so that was it. They were ready to go, they were moving and I was glad to see us get our pace up and match them and then, like I said, I thought we played pretty well the last 40 [minutes]."
On turning things up late in the first and early in the second period vs. Winnipeg
"We hadn’t been dangerous for 15 minutes, so at least that gave us a little bit of a push or something to feel good about coming in. Then, I liked how we responded, our second we should have more, we had a lot of o-zone time, but we came up a little bit light."
On pulling the goalie late in the power play
"That’s always a tough one. I’m usually a little more aggressive there, but our power play was going pretty good, we were moving it around, so I just thought we’re going to play that out, and then they kept in there, so we were just waiting for a whistle. Once we got it, then we went with it."
On Joel Armia playing well for the Kings lately
"He’s been playing really good. We’ve talked about Army now a few nights, and he didn’t score, but extremely dangerous. He had two or three of our best looks on the night, and he’s making good plays. He’s a really, really smart player. That’s one thing that’s become very clear. You can see some of the offensive plays but he's just a really, really smart player with and without the puck."