Ehlers and Lowry score for Jets in loss to Kings

WINNIPEG - An important home stand didn't get off to the start the Winnipeg Jets were looking for on Saturday night.
Canada Life Centre was buzzing for the third annual Winnipeg Aboriginal Sports Achievement Centre Night, and the importance of the two points for the home side only added to the atmosphere.
Unfortunately, the Los Angeles Kings left the building with those two points after a 3-2 final score.
"At the end of the day, it's about collecting wins and we know the situation we put ourselves in," said Jets forward Adam Lowry. "To come out on the short end again makes that hill even steeper to climb."

The Jets (33-27-10) had goals from Nikolaj Ehlers and Lowry, but weren't able to find the equalizer late in the third period, even with a short 18-second six-on-four advantage.

But the chances were there throughout the night. Pierre-Luc Dubois, still searching for his 100th career goal, had five shots on goal, Mark Scheifele misfired on a backdoor pass from Ehlers, and - on more than one occasion - a puck trickled through the crease or was deflected just wide.
"Their goalie played well. I think in another game, we could have scored more but that's how it is," said Dubois. "It's not easy to score. They did a good job of defending, goalie made key saves."
The Jets earned an early power play, but a shorthanded goal from Adrian Kempe gave the visitors a 1-0 lead. Kempe followed up a wrist shot from Phillip Danault and redirected the rebound into the net with his right skate. It was reviewed, but it was ruled there was no distinct kicking motion, so Kempe had his 29th of the season 2:21 into the game.
Ehlers tied the game just 4:03 later, as he took a Scheifele pass on the left wing and beat Cal Petersen through the legs off the rush. The 22nd goal of the season for Ehlers was a big one for the Jets, who had multiple high-danger chances in the period and were rewarded on that play, with Scheifele picking up the lone assist - his 15th point in the last 11 games.

The back-and-forth first period continued with Anze Kopitar jumping on a loose puck in the high slot and slapping it past Connor Hellebuyck, who was bumped just outside the crease by Kempe just prior to the shot. Kopitar's 18th of the campaign put Los Angeles back in front 2-1 with 9:28 left in the first.
The shots after the first period were 19-6 in favour of the Kings.
"They had a lot of shots from the outside. We had opportunities to get inside," said Jets interim head coach Dave Lowry. "We knew that there was going to be a volume of shots and our priority was to minimize the shots from the inside and I thought we did a really good job of doing that."
Los Angeles added to the lead 3:05 into the second when a point shot from Jordan Spence went off Hellebuyck's left pad, then Josh Morrissey's skate, before trickling over the line to make it 3-1.
Even with three bad bounces against him, Hellebuyck finished the night with 35 saves on 38 shots, including a breakaway stop on Kempe late in the third with the Jets trying to tie the game.
"There were a couple of goals (against) tonight that weren't shot in, that went in off the feet and those are unfortunate when they go against you," Dave Lowry said.

Winnipeg battled back, using a power play (that had just expired) to pull back within one. Ville Heinola's blast from the right circle was stopped by Petersen, but Lowry was there to chip home the rebound for his 11th of the season. It was Lowry's seventh goal in the last 15 games, and more importantly, it made the score 3-2 with 6:29 left in the second.
"I think we got on our forecheck, got rolling a little bit more, started to create some zone time and had some chances," said Adam Lowry. "It was a pretty close game and both sides had some good chances. Obviously, we give up a chance late but when you're pressing, you're going to take a little more risk and stuff like that."
At five-on-five, the Jets held the edge in scoring chances in the third by a 6-3 margin according to Natural Stat Trick. They also outshot the Kings by a small margin, 8-7, but couldn't find a way to tie the game.
Given the fact the Jets came into the night four points back of Vegas for the final wildcard spot in the Western Conference, not getting the win on Saturday was a tough feeling to sit with.
"Everyone's going out there and wanting to win so bad for one another," said Adam Lowry. "We just got to focus on the next one, as cliché as that is, and really start building from there. We've got a couple days now to rest after a pretty hectic schedule, and we got to beat some pretty good teams coming up here."
The home stand continues on Wednesday against the Detroit Red Wings.
ICE CHIPS
Jansen Harkins left the game after playing just 46 seconds in the first period. He took an elbow from Arthur Kaliyev and didn't return due to an upper-body injury.
"He'll be evaluated tomorrow," said Dave Lowry. "He didn't feel right, obviously taking a shot, he didn't feel right so we felt it was in the player's best interest not to return."