Kopitar scores 4 goals, Kings defeat Jets in shootout

WINNIPEG -- Anze Kopitar scored four goals, including a hat trick in the second period, for the Los Angeles Kings in a 6-5 shootout win against the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre on Tuesday.

"He had the hot hand. Anything he shot had a chance." Los Angeles coach Todd McLellan said. "Not only did he get the four [goals], but he probably could have had six, so we're really happy for him. Great leadership, stepping up and pulling us through at the back end of a trip when it doesn't look real good. A lot of other guys followed him."

Gabriel Vilardi tied it 5-5 for the Kings with 4:06 left in the third period, and Adrian Kempe scored the deciding goal in the shootout.
Kopitar's fourth goal of the game cut the Jets' lead to 5-4 at 1:26 of the third period.
"We'd like to be on the other side of things and play with the lead," Kopitar said. "But sometimes you've got to come from behind. It feels good."
Pheonix Copley made 26 saves for Los Angeles (34-20-8), which has points in eight of 10 (6-2-2).
"We needed a comeback and it was one of these games where we didn't play our best game," Kempe said. "We've had some better games on the road lately, but it was a character win and we deserve two points."

Josh Morrissey scored twice and had two assists, and Kevin Stenlund scored two goals for Winnipeg (35-24-2), which has lost four straight and six of seven (1-5-1). Connor Hellebuyck made 32 saves.
"I don't have a huge problem with the way we competed and the way we played," Morrissey said. "There's some mistakes clearly that we need to clean up. Some tip goals and stuff like that, but the compete was there, the effort was there. It's a team we are fighting with. It's an intense game. You know, you get the lead and you want to keep it."
Morrissey scored twice in a span of 1:43 in the first period. He made it 1-0 at 15:52 when he found a puck in the crease that was jammed loose from the net side by Mark Scheifele. Morrissey's point shot beat Copley top corner to make it 2-0 at 17:35.
"We had to attack the net tonight," Jets coach Rick Bowness said. "It was a big thing we did yesterday and this morning -- attack the net. And I thought we did a much better job of that. We gotta keep doing it. Greasy goals are scored right there. You've gotta get in there."

Kopitar cut it to 2-1 on the power play 26 seconds into the second period. His one-timer from the bottom of the right circle came six seconds after Winnipeg defenseman Neal Pionk took a holding penalty.
"[Kopitar's] play overall, his thinking [in] all three zones is great and that's why he's been so successful for so long," Kempe said. "He's usually more of a passer but tonight he was red-hot, so we try to give him the puck as much as possible. He played great and is a great leader, just taking charge out there. It's fun to see."
Kyle Connor gave the Jets a 3-1 lead with a sharp-angled wrist shot at 6:08.
"We made mistakes," McLellan said. "Just not sharp when it comes to execution. They took advantage of it… I'm still disappointed, though, in some of our players, believe it or not. We can have that type of game, but we don't have enough guys going right now. That's got to change in the next 20 [games]."
Kopitar's second and third goals, both redirected point shots, came in a span of 1:29 in the second. Kopitar tipped Alexander Edler's shot at 9:14 to cut it to 3-2. He got his stick on Drew Doughty's point shot at 10:43 to tie it 3-3.
"It was a big win," Kopitar said. "Obviously happy to contribute [and] show the character that being down multiple times, coming back and ultimately win in the shootout. It's two very big points for us."

Stenlund scored twice in the second period, putting the Jets in front 4-3 at 12:00, and extending it to 5-3 with a short-handed goal at 18:26.
"We played a lot better than previous games," Stenlund said. "We forechecked well, way better. We skated way better. So, we need to bring that the next game."
Vilardi tied it 5-5 at 15:54 of the third period when Jets defenseman Dylan Samberg fell in the Winnipeg zone, allowing Vilardi to score on a breakaway.
"The one thing we believe is that we can score, which is a nice change from years past," McLellan said. "Keeping the puck out of the net is still a challenge for us for different reasons and we're going to continue to work on that.
NOTES: Forward Nino Niederreiter had five hits in 18:13 of ice time in his first game with the Jets after being traded from the Nashville Predators on Saturday. … Morrissey had his first four-point game in the NHL. … It was the second four-goal game in Kopitar's 17 NHL seasons (March 22, 2018, 7-1 win at the Colorado Avalanche). He tied a Kings record with his second four-goal game. It has been done 21 times by 15 different Kings players. Marcel Dionne did it three times. Kempe was the last to do it (Feb. 11 against the Pittsburgh Penguins). … Los Angeles leads the NHL with four multigoal third-period comebacks. … Kings forward Carl Grundstrom had an assist, five hits and a blocked shot in 8:40 of ice time after missing the previous 16 games with a lower-body injury. … Wheeler's assist on Morrissey's opening goal was his 600th in the NHL, making him the 10th United States-born player to reach the mark. … Jets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois (lower-body injury) was a game-time decision but did not play.