Kempe nets OT winner as Kings ground Jets 2-1

Winnipeg Jets goaltender Eric Comrie (1) jumps on the Los Angeles Kings rebound during second period NHL action in Winnipeg on Friday, January 10, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/John Woods

Adrian Kempe scored 74 seconds into overtime and added an assist as the Los Angeles Kings beat the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 on Friday, extending their winning streak to five games.

Darcy Kuemper made 18 saves for Kings (24-10-5), while Alex Turcotte got his fifth goal of the season.

Mark Scheifele scored Winnipeg's (28-12-3) lone goal on the night on the power play.

Eric Comrie turned aside 21 of the 23 shots he faced on the night that his goaltending teammate Connor Hellebuyck was honoured pre-game for reaching 300 career wins on Tuesday.

Jordan Spence thought he had opened the scoring just 4:01 into the first period, but the Jets' coaching staff successfully challenged the play for offside, keeping it scoreless through 20 minutes.

Los Angeles led 6-4 on the shot chart entering the middle frame.

Alex Turcotte scored his fifth goal of the season, redirecting a Kempe point shot at 4:39 of the second period making it 1-0.

Comrie and the Jets shut the door on two Scheifele tripping minors in the second period, as Winnipeg's penalty kill improved to 3-for-3 through 40 minutes of play.

After managing just 14 shots on goal in the first matchup between the two Western Conference clubs, Winnipeg entered the third period with just nine total shots, while failing to draw any man advantages.

The Jets were handed back-to-back power plays in the third period. They failed to register a single shot on their first man advantage -- an interference minor on defenceman Mikey Anderson -- but found the twine 3:12 later.

Scheifele needed just 24 seconds of power-play time to knot the game 1-1 and forcing the overtime.

Kempe scored in overtime by beating Comrie cleanly on a two-on-one with Anze Kopitar.

TAKEAWAYS

Jets: Winnipeg barely tested Kuemper on the evening, managing just four shots on goal in the first period and five in the second period. They finished the night with 19 shots.

Kings: Los Angeles put up 23 shots on goal, while blocking 11 of Winnipeg's shot attempts.

KEY MOMENT

The Jets killed off two Scheifele minors in the second period, holding the Kings to a one-goal lead.

KEY STAT

Winnipeg successfully challenged the game's opening goal at 4:01 for offside, negating an early deficit.

UP NEXT

Kings: Visit the Calgary Flames on Saturday.

Jets: Host the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.

 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 10, 2025.