Vilardi has 4 points in return, Jets surge past Kings

LOS ANGELES -- Gabriel Vilardi had an NHL career-high four points, and the Winnipeg Jets rallied for a 5-2 win against the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena on Wednesday.

Vilardi had a goal and three assists in his first game at Los Angeles since he was traded by the Kings to the Jets on June 27 with Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari and a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft for Pierre-Luc Dubois.

“He was buzzing all over the ice and making some great plays,” Winnipeg center Mark Scheifele said. “It was a good night for everybody."

Nikolaj Ehlers had two goals and two assists, and Scheifele had two goals and an assist for the Jets (17-9-2), who got back on track after their four-game winning streak ended with a 2-1 loss at the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.

“We got a lot of major contributions from a lot of guys, and it was great that Mark’s line was the biggest contributor,” Winnipeg coach Rick Bowness said. “Tonight that line made the difference. It’s a good fit with ‘Gabe’ on the right side, but when you get ‘Nik’ skating like that, he’s tough to defend.”

Connor Hellebuyck made 32 saves for his fourth straight win.

Anze Kopitar scored on the power play, and Cam Talbot allowed four goals on 28 shots for the Kings (16-6-4), who are 0-2-1 in their past three games.

“It’s been a while since we had a rough patch,” Los Angeles coach Todd McLellan said. “You could look back to the beginning of the year where we played like this and gave up five goals a night or whatever it was, and we had to figure out ways to fix it. We’re capable of doing that and we expect the group to respond to it.”

Ehlers started the Winnipeg comeback by making it 2-1 at 6:08 of the second period on a wrist shot from the high slot off the rush.

Ehlers tied it 2-2 at 13:19, getting behind Los Angeles defenseman Mikey Anderson for a breakaway and scoring on a wrist shot from the left circle.

Scheifele put the Jets in front 3-2 at 15:00, reaching around from behind the net to backhand in a rebound.

Vilardi had the primary assist on all three goals for his second three-assist game in the NHL. He also did it for the Kings against the Vegas Golden Knights on Jan. 7.

Vilardi made it 4-2 at 2:30 of the third period, scoring on a backhand from the right circle.

“We were slow getting started, but the last two periods, it felt like we were getting in there on the forecheck and playing hard and creating havoc,” Vilardi said.

Vilardi said he felt mixed emotions about his return to Los Angeles. He was selected No. 11 in the 2017 NHL Draft by the Kings. He had also sustained a lower-body injury against Los Angeles in a 5-1 loss on Oct. 17, calling out center Blake Lizotte for the play that would force him to miss 18 games.

“Obviously you saw it out there,” Vilardi said. “I was once here, and now I’m gone. It’s the same for everyone, everyone who was drafted here. I loved my time here, playing here. It was amazing, but at the end of the day, they didn’t want me, so this doesn’t end anything.”

Scheifele scored into an empty net with two seconds left for the 5-2 final.

“They played an outstanding game,” McLellan said of Winnipeg's top line of Scheifele, Vilardi and Ehlers. “They were good. We didn’t have an answer for them tonight. And there’s nothing wrong with admitting that because they deserve the praise, and the three of them played really well.”

Kopitar put the Kings up 1-0 at 9:36 of the first period. Kopitar had his centering pass broken up by a falling Dylan Samberg and followed it up with a quick shot from outside the crease.

Alex Laferriere made it 2-0 at 12:29. He fired a sharp-angled shot from just below the goal line that went in off the back of Hellebuyck’s helmet.

“He does a lot of the dirty work for line mates and the team where you got to watch him close to appreciate it,” McLellan said. “To get rewarded, a dirty goal … You know, throw it from that angle, you don’t expect to score, but if you don’t throw it you don’t have a chance.”

NOTES: Ehlers tied his NHL career high with four points for the fifth time, but it was the first instance he had two goals and two assists in a game. … Scheifele, Vilardi and Ehlers were each plus-5. … Kings forward Arthur Kaliyev did not play because of flu-like symptoms. ... Los Angeles forward Trevor Moore had eight shots on goal.