National Hockey League Thursday night match roundup -NHL Feature Part 3
Los Angeles Kings get shutout by Winnipeg Jets 1-0 in overtime
One night before, Jonathan Quick, the Los Angeles goalie, blocked all of the shots taken by the Chicago Blackhawks to shut them out, 2-0, but as Jonathan Bernier was in the net for LA, Winnipeg’s goaltender, Chris Mason, blocked all 31 attempts by the Kings
as the Jets rolled to a, 1-0, victory on Thursday night, December 29, 2011, at the sold-out MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Los Angeles failed to take advantage of the first period only power play advantage when Winnipeg’s, Alex Burmistrov, was booked at the 17:29 mark for tripping with a minor penalty.
Tensions rose in the second period and so did the temperature with players being booked for roughing their competition. Evander Kane was giving two minor penalties for roughing, one which was served by Eric Fehr.
Evander Kane was the one to come out strong for Winnipeg and scored the game winning goal for the team 1:09 into the overtime extension, which came as a result of both teams failing to score throughout the 60-minute contest.
"We played two games in less than a day", new Los Angeles Kings coach, Darryl Sutter, said. "Really, [to] get in here at 2:30 in the morning and we take three of four [points]. Better to look at it like that, right? We gave up one goal in two games on the
road. What are you going to do"?
Winnipeg is now on a two-game winning streak and hope to extend it when they face-off against the Toronto Maple Leafs at home on Saturday. Los Angeles will be returning back home to host the Vancouver Canucks the very same day.
Dallas Stars fall to Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 in Kari Lehtonen’s return
Kari Lehtonen was playing his first game after a 12-game absence due to recovering from a groin surgery, but did not make the difference that Dallas needed as Rick Nash scored twice, lifting the Columbus Blue Jackets to a, 4-1, victory over the Stars, at
the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas, United States.
"I made some good saves, but their guy just had a phenomenal game. That's why it doesn't feel that awesome right now", Lehtonen said.
Columbus was heading into the Thursday night contest on a six-game slump, which certainly had their confidence going down the drain, but a win against one of the top teams certainly gave them a much needed boost.
"With all the things that have kind of backfired on us in the last few weeks here, that was a great 20-man effort”, Jackets coach, Scott Arniel, said. "It was a solid effort from everyone".
Blue Jackets captain, Rick Nash, made the first goal at the 3:50 mark of the opening period for his 11th of the season to give his team the early lead.
Vernon Fiddler countered back with the equaliser nearly midway through for his fifth on an assist by Radek Dvorak and Nicklas Grossman.
Antoine Vermette made the tie-breaker in the opening minutes of the second period after which the Blue Jackets continued to rally in the third as Nash added his second of the night and Fedor Tyutin added another one with two seconds to go on an empty net.
Columbus hosts the Washington Capitals on Saturday while Dallas will be facing the Boston Bruins at home the same day.
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