Tonight’s Jets lineup was slightly different from the previous game, when captain Adam Lowry made his season debut. The first line remained the same, but there are still some interchanges with the rest of the forward lines. Alex Iafallo stayed on the 2nd line with Jonathan Toews and Vladislav Namestnikov. The third line featured Nino Niederreiter, Adam Lowry and Tanner Pearson. Parker Ford centered the 4th line alongside Cole Koepke and Brad Lambert.
The Jets almost switched defenses, as Logan Stanley was back on the 2nd pairing, while Colin Miller was originally added to the 3rd pairing with Luke Schenn on line rushes, before Haydn Fleury was added back in Miller’s spot. Connor Hellebuyck was given the start in goal as he looked to continue his recent success. Hellebuyck was almost perfect again tonight as he tried to do everything he could to keep the Jets in this game, but he couldn’t get the offense he needed to help him get the win.
1st Period
Tonight’s game started off a little slower before Logan Stanley was called for a three-minute hold. The Jets’ penalty kill in the top 5 went on an early 4 of 5 and eliminated the Kings. Shots on goal were only 1-0 Kings 5 minutes into this game, before the Kings were called for too many men on the ice. Like the Kings, the Jets couldn’t get anything done with the man advantage and were left without a shot on goal.
The Jets finally got their first shot on goal eight minutes in, and they almost scored on a Josh Morrissey point shot. Gabriel Vilardi was close to or just in the crease when the puck was shot over the net before finally sliding into the goal, and the officials immediately waved it off without a goal. After a coach challenge by the Jets, the goal still did not count, and the Jets were assessed as bench minor for an incorrect ‘delay of game’ challenge.
Perhaps then a moment of fortune would arrive for the Jets, as Anze Kopitar was awarded a high stick penalty just 20 seconds later. The extended 4 against 4 did not produce any chances and the shots on target were still at 1-1 after 10 minutes of play.
It looked like this would be a scoreless first period, but the Kings opened the scoring with 3 minutes left in the first. Mikey Anderson made a nice pass along the boards to Joel Armia behind the net. Armia found Adrian Kempe in front, and Kempe slotted one past Hellebuyck (for his 200th career goal) to put the Kings ahead. After 20 minutes of play, the Kings led 1-0, with the shots on goal 8-5 also in favor of the Kings.
2nd Period
The Kings are usually a defense-first team, so you knew this game would likely be low-scoring. However, Jets fans remained hopeful that the Jets would score some goals tonight as they have done in previous road games in the second and third periods. It was intriguing to see what changes the Jets would make to their approach over the final 40 minutes.
Brad Lambert took the first penalty of the 2nd period in the 4th minute after high-sticking Mikey Anderson. Alex Turcotte took a hooking penalty seven minutes later. Each team’s third power play was similar to their first two, with not many opportunities generated. The remainder of the second period passed without further penalties and the score was still 1-0 Kings for the 40 minutes played. Shots on goal were still low on both sides, only 18-13 kings.
3rd Period
Just 18 seconds into the third period, Brandt Clarke was called for interference. The Jets’ power play had their fourth chance of the night, but couldn’t make much of it as they still only had 13 shots on goal. A few minutes later, the Jets got their 5th power play of the night after Kevin Fiala took an unnecessary tripping penalty. The Jets’ power play just wasn’t clicking tonight, and another opportunity to tie the game went by pretty quickly without much pressure.
With about 10 minutes to play, the Kings had another power play opportunity after Parker Ford accidentally slid the puck directly over the glass. After a small battle up front during the power play, Vladislav Namestnikov hit Corey Perry in the face with his stick, resulting in a double minor penalty (4 minutes). The Kings had a golden opportunity to extend their lead with a 5 on 3, but again the Jets gave them almost no good chances.
With not much time left on the power play, Quinton Byfield and Corey Perry set up Kevin Fiala, who fired a corner kick past Hellebuyck to make it 2-0 Kings. There were 5 minutes left in this game and it suddenly became “panic time” if the Jets wanted to get a positive result.
The Jets pulled the goalie with about two and a half minutes left, looking for a last-minute comeback. Unfortunately, the Kings shut out the Jets, just like the rest of the night, and the Jets lost tonight’s game 3-0 on an empty-net goal by Drew Doughty with 54 seconds left. Entering tonight’s game, the Jets were a perfect 4-0-0 on the road, but that record is now 4-1-0 as the Jets will spend the next five games on the road during their season-long six-game road trip. Tonight just wasn’t Jets night and the Kings executed their defensive game plan to perfection, limiting the Jets chances throughout the 60 minutes.
Next
With the six-game Jets road trip now one game over, the Jets’ regular season schedule continues Friday in San Jose against the Sharks. Puck drop for this game will take place just after 9:00 PM CT. Stay up to date with all the latest Jets news, plus previews and recaps of every Jets game this season, right here at Jets Nation.
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