Stop the presses. Tell your friends.
The Winnipeg Jets have won a hockey game.
The Jets got contributions from all four lines as they took down the L.A. Kings 5-1 Friday night, putting a merciful end to their 11-game losing streak.
Mark Scheifele scored twice and Jonathan Toews and Vladislav Namestnikov both ended lengthy scoring droughts, and it was nothing but relief after winning for the first time since Dec. 13.
“We needed that,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel. “We needed it badly and just like the way on a back-to-back game, such an emotional one last night, then to come back today, it was great.”
The Jets led from start to finish and after being a healthy scratch the night before, Namestnikov scored just 91 seconds into the game for his first goal in 30 games since Nov. 1.
“A long time coming,” he said. “It’s just relief and you want to score so bad, and it doesn’t go in for however long it was. It’s hard and it kinda drains you mentally, but you got to keep going and I’m just glad it went in.”
The Jets had all four lines rolling as each scored at least once. They’ve been searching for a balanced attack for what feels like eons and finally got it on Friday.
Eric Comrie made 23 saves for his first win since Dec. 5
“We played like kids again tonight,” said Comrie. “We had a lot of fun. We just got back to just enjoying the game we love to play.”
Comrie credited his wife for his stellar play against the Kings.
“After the last game I wasn’t in the best mental space I’ve ever been in my life,” he said. “My wife actually helped me get out of it. It was unbelievable today what she did. She put a couple pictures of my kids in the car both playing hockey and it showed me why I play the game and why I love this game. And it kinda got me back into the mindset of playing hockey again and just being a kid and having fun out there. It was pretty special to have that.”
Neal Pionk and Morgan Barron both missed the game with injuries for Winnipeg.
Get breaking National news
For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen.
“I knew they were banged up last night,” said Arniel. “Found out this morning so, yeah, they’re just day-to-day though. We’ll just see where they are come for Sunday.
The Jets wasted little time in opening the scoring, a moment of great relief for the goal scorer as it was Namestnikov, fresh off his first healthy scratch in forever, who tipped a Logan Stanley point shot through the legs of Darcy Kuemper just 91 seconds into the contest.
It was Namestnikov’s first goal since Nov. 1, snapping a 29-game goalless drought during which he recorded but one assist.
The game’s first power play went to L.A. when Kyle Connor was called for tripping with 8:32 to go in the first. The Kings came close to cashing in but a Drew Doughty one-timer near the end of the power play rang off the crossbar.
Winnipeg got their first 5-on-4 look with 4:27 to go in the first when Kevin Fiala was called for holding. They were unable to take advantage, but not long after the power play expired, the Jets doubled their lead thanks to another player who has been in and out of the lineup.
The play began with Josh Morrissey colliding with a Kings player near the L.A. blue line, causing the puck to roll into the middle of the Kings’ zone. L.A. tried to move the puck out but Alex Turcotte lost the handle, allowing Cole Koepke to get it and hand it off to Tanner Pearson.
Pearson sent a cross-ice pass to Dylan Samberg at the near point, who took a moment to settle the puck before sending it back the other way to the opposite faceoff dot where Koepke was waiting to blast it past Kuemper.
The goal was Koepke’s third of the season and first since Dec. 6, which allowed Winnipeg to take a 2-0 lead into the second period. The Jets also outshot the Kings 9-5 in the first.
It was valid to wonder if the Jets would be able to hold onto that lead, considering they had blown multi-goal leads in three of their previous four losses.
But Winnipeg expanded their advantage early in the second with another drought-breaker. A point shot from Colin Miller deflected off a King on the way to the net before hitting the post, causing the puck to sit loose in the crease behind Kuemper.
Toews had inside positioning in the crease and put it home for his fourth of the season and first since Remembrance Day, snapping a 26-game goalless drought.
Winnipeg had been doing a good job defensively as Comrie only had to make seven saves over the first 29 minutes before the Kings got on the board with a bit of a fluky one.
Warren Foegele took the initial shot from the point that was tipped on the way by Taylor Ward, causing it to ever-so-slightly change direction. It looked to be heading just wide, but it wound up hitting the leg of Quinton Byfield, who was battling at the edge of the crease with Samberg, before bouncing into the net.
The Jets challenged the play, grasping at straws that there was goaltender interference but after a quick review, the call on the ice stood, giving the Kings a power play.
L.A. had a couple decent looks before the man advantage was nullified by an Adrian Kempe high-sticking minor.
After Winnipeg got back to full strength, they had nearly 90 seconds of power play time but didn’t need all of it before restoring their three-goal lead on their own lucky bounce.
Scheifele had the puck behind the L.A. net and attempted to center the puck, but his pass went off the skate of Byfield in front and fluttered over an unsuspecting Kuemper for his 21st of the season.
Scheifele added another for good measure with less than a minute to go in the period. After an errant pass by the Kings in the neutral zone, Gabriel Vilardi won the race to the puck and carried it into the L.A. end. He sent it to Cole Perfetti in the slot, who sent it to the far side where Scheifele had just come off the bench and into the play. Kuemper got a piece of Scheifele’s shot but it still got through to make it 5-1 after 40 minutes.
Both teams registered seven shots on goal in the middle frame as Winnipeg had complete control going to the third while the Kings yanked Kuemper after 40 minutes, letting Anton Forsberg finish the game.
Not much happened in the third period as fans did the wave and the in-house DJ played lots of sing-along songs, harkening back to a time when blowout wins were common in Winnipeg.
L.A. did outshoot Winnipeg 12-3 in the final frame but couldn’t get one past Comrie before the final horn sounded.
Comrie ended a personal four-game losing skid during which he allowed at least four goals in each start.
The Jets will look to win consecutive games for the first time in almost two months when they host the Devils on Sunday afternoon. The puck drops just after 1 p.m. with pregame coverage on 680 CJOB beginning at 11 a.m.
Sports,Winnipeg Jets,Winnipeg SportsWinnipeg Sports, Winnipeg Jets, Sports#Winnipeg #Jets #finally #win #game #downing #L.A #game #slide1768024219
