Kings' special teams dominate vs. Jets
LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Kings scored three power-play goals and another short-handed and kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a 5-2 victory Thursday against the Winnipeg Jets at Staples Center.
The Kings (35-31-7) couldn't close the gap on the St. Louis Blues or Nashville Predators for the second wild card out of the Western Conference as both teams won before the Kings took the ice. Los Angeles remains eight points behind the Blues and Predators with nine games left.
Drew Doughty, Anze Kopitar and Jake Muzzin each had a goal and an assist, and Tyler Toffoli had two assists for Los Angeles, which scored three power-play goals in a game for the third time this season and second time in the last eight contests.
Mathieu Perreault and Patrik Laine scored first-period goals for the Jets (33-34-7).
Marian Gaborik scored the second power-play goal at 2:01 of the third period, for a 3-2 lead. He maintained possession for several seconds before skating in and beating goaltender Connor Hellebuyck up high with a wrist shot from the left circle.
Doughty made it 4-2 at 3:57 when his blast from the left point also got through for a power-play goal.
Tanner Pearson scored short-handed shortly after Trevor Lewis went to the penalty box for hooking, and the lead was 5-2 at 9:22.
The Kings twice came back to tie the score during the first two periods, the second time at 2-2 after a point shot from Muzzin nicked off Jets goalkeeper Connor Hellebuyck as he was screened by Jeff Carter and sailed into the net at 16:06 of the second period.
The Jets took a 1-0 lead on the second shot on goal against Kings goalie Ben Bishop.
Los Angeles lost possession on the forecheck and Winnipeg center Mark Scheifele passed the puck out from the corner to defenseman Brian Strait while still on his knees. Strait's shot from the left point was tipped by Perreault and redirected past Bishop at 6:54 of the first period.
The Kings went on the power play later in the period after Blake Wheeler was called for high-sticking on Dustin Brown.
As the first power-play unit was applying steady pressure, the puck skipped out to Doughty, but he couldn't trap it in the Winnipeg zone. Doughty and Kopitar remained on the ice as their teammates went for a change, and Kopitar took a pass from Doughty as he re-entered the left side of the zone with speed. Kopitar took aim at the top-right corner and beat Hellebuyck over his glove to tie the score 1-1 at 14:23 of the first.
The Jets capitalized on back-to-back minor penalties by Los Angeles five seconds apart to take a 2-1 lead at 18:41 of the first.
Laine shot from the left circle and the puck hit Kings defenseman Alec Martinez, bouncing off the end boards and back toward the crease. Bishop was searching for the puck when it banked off his left skate and across the goal line with 11 seconds left on the two-man advantage.
Laine was credited with his team-leading 34th of the season, which is also tops among NHL rookies.
NOTES: Kings RW Jonny Brodzinski was recalled from the Ontario Reign of the American Hockey League on Thursday, but he was a healthy scratch. Brodzinski leads Ontario in scoring with 25 goals and 47 points in 56 games. ... Jets LW Brandon Tanev was in the lineup following his recall Wednesday from the Manitoba Moose of the AHL on an emergency basis. Tanev's previous game with the Jets was Feb. 21.