Winnipeg Jets PR Game Day Information Game Notes: Mar. 18 at Los Angeles Kings

Game Notes: Mar. 18 at Los Angeles Kings

Game Notes: Mar. 18 at Los Angeles Kings post thumbnail image

The Winnipeg Jets begin a three-game road trip tonight when they visit the Los Angeles Kings…The Jets have won back-to-back games after beating the Calgary Flames 2-1 on Saturday night at Bell MTS Place…Winnipeg continues the road trip Wednesday against the Anaheim Ducks before wrapping up against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday.

Game Notes PDF

Playoff Picture
Magic Number: 8
Current Point Total: 88
Projected Playoff Line: 87 Points

Earliest Jets Could Clinch a Playoff Spot: Mar. 21 at Vegas Golden Knights
If the Playoffs Started Today…: The Jets (1st in the Central) would have home ice against the Dallas Stars (1st in Wild Card) in the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Close Ones
Winnipeg’s past three games have been decided by one goal, including their past two wins…The Jets are 17-6-4 in one-goal games this season, which is the fourth most wins in the NHL…Last season the Jets were 22-4-10 in one-goal games.

On the Road
Winnipeg is 18-16-0 on the road this season and play seven of their last 11 games in the regular season on the road…The Jets haven’t won back-to-back road games in 2019 and their past eight road games have alternated between a win and a loss…Winnipeg hasn’t lost three consecutive road games in regulation since Dec. 10-20/16…Winnipeg is 3-for-10 on the power play in their past three road games and are 5-for-5 on the penalty kill in their past two road games…The Jets have scored 23 goals in their past six road games, but have been held to two goals or less in three of the six games…Blake Wheeler leads the Jets in scoring on the road this season with 37 points (10G, 27A) in 34 games…Patrik Laine leads the Jets with 19 goals on the road.

Party in the Pacific
The Jets are 13-5-2 against Pacific Division opponents this season and have won eight of their past 12 games against the Pacific Division…Winnipeg is in a stretch of five of six games against Pacific Division teams…Winnipeg was a dominant 17-4-2 against Pacific Division foes last season and are on an 23-6-4 run in their last 33 games versus the Pacific…Blake Wheeler (5G, 16A) leads the Jets in scoring against the Pacific Division this season with 21 points in 20 games…Goaltender Laurent Brossoit is 3-2 with a 1.89 goals-against average and .946 save percentage in five games against Pacific Division teams this season. 

Offensive March
The Jets have scored 31 goals in March, which is tied for the NHL lead…Winnipeg has four goals or more in five of their eight games this month…Eighteen of the 19 skaters that have played for the Jets this month have at least a point, led by Blake Wheeler’s 13 points (8G, 5A)…Thirteen different Jets players have scored this month…Mark Scheifele is averaging better than a point per game with 10 points (3G, 7A).

Springing Ahead
March and April have historically been successful months for the Jets, as the team has gone 82-54-15 in those two months since relocation…During the past three seasons, the Jets are 32-11-2 in March and April, including a perfect 8-0-0 in April…Blake Wheeler is the franchise’s leading scorer in March with 120 points (47G, 73A) in 126 games…Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck is 16-7-2 during his career in March with a 2.72 goals-against average and .916 save percentage.

Wheels Keep Turning

Blake Wheeler had an assist on Saturday to extend his point streak to three games (1G, 3A)…He has a point in 53 of his 71 games this season…With 87 points (20G, 67A), Wheeler is guaranteed to have better than a point per game this season for the second consecutive season…He has 67 assists this season, which is second in the NHL, and needs one assist to match the 68 assists he had last season, which was one shy of Marc Savard’s franchise record of 69 assists in a season…Wheeler has scored 20 goals or more in six consecutive season…During the past four seasons, Wheeler’s 235 assists are second most in the NHL.

Goal Leader
Mark Scheifele had a goal on Saturday to have goals in back-to-back games…Scheifele has 34 goals of this season, which is a career high…Scheifele has 79 points (34G, 45A) this season, which is three points away from matching his career high of 82 points during the 2016-17 season.

Late Production
Mark Scheifele scored in the final minute of the first period on Saturday…It was his 11th goal in the last five minutes of a period or overtime, which is tied with Patrik Laine for the team lead…Blake Wheeler, who had an assist on Scheifele’s goal, is third in the NHL this season with 36 points (10G, 26A) in the last five minutes of a period or overtime, while Scheifele is tied for seventh in the NHL with 32 points (11G, 21A).  

Winning Tender
Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck won his 30th game of the season on Saturday…After posting 44 wins last season, Hellebuyck is the only goaltender in franchise history to reach 30 wins in multiple seasons…Since entering the NHL, Hellebuyck’s 113 wins are ninth in the NHL.

Jets vs. Kings All-Time Records
Overall: 15-15-1
At Bell MTS Place: 7-3-0
At STAPLES Center: 5-9-1

2018-19 Game Log vs. Kings

Date Location Score Rec Scorers Goaltender
Oct. 9 Winnipeg 2-1 W 1-0-0 (2-1-0) Scheifele (1), Connor (3) Hellebuyck (16 sv, 1 ga)
Dec. 18 Los Angeles 4-1 L 1-1-0 (22-10-2) Perreault (8) Hellebuyck (27 sv, 3 ga)
Mar. 18 Los Angeles        

Jets vs. Kings Notes

  • The Jets are 10-7-1 against the Kings since the franchise relocated to Winnipeg for the 2011-12 season.
  • The Jets have a point in seven of the last 10 games against Los Angeles (6-3-1) and are 8-4-1 in their last 13 games against the Kings.
  • The Jets are 9-for-32 (28.1%) on the power play in their last seven games against the Kings.
  • Four of the last nine games between the Jets and the Kings have been decided in overtime or shootout.
  • Winnipeg’s last five wins against Los Angeles have been by one goal, including 2-1 victories in their last three wins.
  • The Jets have at least a point in four of their past six trips to the STAPLES Center (3-2-1).
  • Blake Wheeler leads current Jets in career scoring against the Kings with 19 points (7G, 12A) in 23 games.

Jets-Kings Connections

  • Los Angeles forward Brendan Leipsic is from Winnipeg.
  • Kings forward Ilya Kovalchuk played for the Jets franchise from 2001-10 when it was in Atlanta. He still holds the franchise career records for goals (328) and points (615).
  • Jets assistant coach Charlie Huddy spent a little more than three seasons on the blueline for Los Angeles (1991 – 1995), helping the Kings reach the Stanley Cup Final in 1993.
  • Jets forward Adam Lowry’s dad Dave is an assistant coach with the Kings.
  • Kings’ Dustin Brown and Jonathan Quick joined the Jets’ Blake Wheeler to represent USA at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
  • Alec Martinez and Jacob Trouba are both from the Rochester area of Michigan.
  • Jets defenceman Jacob Trouba played alongside Kings defenceman Derek Forbort for USA at the 2012 World Junior Championship.

Upcoming Milestones

Dustin Byfuglien

  • Needs one shorthanded assist to tie Marty Reasoner and Patrik Stefan (7) for the second-most shorthanded assists in franchise history.

Ben Chiarot

  • Needs six games played to reach 300 for his career.

Nikolaj Ehlers

  • Needs two penalty minutes to reach 100 for his career.
  • Needs five points to reach 200 points for his career.

Connor Hellebuyck

  • Needs three starts to reach 200 games started for his career.

Mathieu Perreault

  • Needs seven points to reach 200 points as a member of the Jets.

Jacob Trouba

  • Needs three games played to reach 400 for his NHL career.

Blake Wheeler

  • Needs two assists to tie Marc Savard for the most assists in a season in franchise history
  • Needs eight goals to reach 200 as a member of the Jets franchise.
  • Needs one shorthanded assist to tie Marty Reasoner and Patrik Stefan (7) for the second-most shorthanded assists in franchise history.