Yes He Kane!

Evander Kane pushed his goal tally to 18 on Thursday night as the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Los Angeles Kings in a hard fought game.

The Kings made sure to bang the body from the drop of the puck.  The Kings racked up 14 hits in the first period alone.  Late in the 1st period Alexander Burmistrov was called for tripping.  Winnipeg was able to kill off the penalty and head to the second period deadlocked at 0-0.  Winnipeg was able to muster 9 shots in the period while the Kings put 13 shots on net.

The second period was quiet for the first few minutes, but after a hit Jack Johnson put on Tim Stapleton, Evander Kane decided to get a little rowdy.  Kane took exception to the hit and immediately let Johnson know how he felt about it.  Kane and Stapleton would only receive 2 minute minors for roughing.  Shortly after the skirmish, the Jets found themselves down 2 men for close to 2:00 minutes.  Chris Mason would shut the door on the scoring chances for the Kings 5 on 3 advantage.  The Jet’s fans showed their appreciation for Mason’s effort by coming to their feet and cheering. The closest call for Mason came at the end of the period when a shot rang off the post.  Los Angeles would go into the 3rd period with a 25-17 shot lead.

The King’s returned the favor of killing off a Winnipeg two man advantage early in the third.  Winnipeg could not capitalize on any opportunities during the PP.  Both teams skated hard, exchanged post holiday pleasantries, and had chances, but the game would need extra time to finish this one.

It would not take long to have a game winner.  Just over a minute into the OT session, Kane and Wheeler broke out on a 2 on 1 opportunity.  Kane wristed a shot on net that Bernier could not handle.  Both teams scrambled for the puck before it bounced to Kane who was able to net the game winner.

Winnipeg takes on Toronto Saturday night at 6:00 local time.  As always, follow me on Twitter at Southerndraw81 and Fly High!