Mark Scheifele broke a 2-2 tie in the third period with his second goal of the game and the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 on Saturday.
Author of three assists in his team’s first game Thursday, Scheifele showed off his scoring skills against the Kings. The Jets star forward was initially lucky on his first goal, as his throw deflected off Mikey Anderson before finding himself behind Darcy Kuemper to tie the game late in the middle period.
In the final period, Scheifele skillfully redirected Josh Morrissey‘s point shot to put the Jets in control for good.
After allowing five goals in his first start of the season, Connor Hellebuyck rallied against the Kings. The three-time Vezina Trophy winner stopped 29 of 31 shots aimed at him to sign his first victory. Last year, Hellebuyck led the NHL with 47 victories, coming within one victory of the mark of 48 held jointly by Braden Holtby and Martin Brodeur.
Anderson and Adrian Kempe managed to overcome Hellebuyck in this duel. Kempe was also complicit in Anderson’s goal.
Alex Iafallo opened the scoring in the first period with a massive attack. The former Kings completed a nice exchange orchestrated by Scheifele, Gabriel Vilardi and Kyle Connor to find the back of the net.
Third in the Vezina Trophy voting last year behind Hellebuyck and Andrei Vasilevskiy, Darcy Kuemper will still have to wait to collect his first victory. The veteran stopped 24 pucks in the defeat.
The Blues hit the right note in Calgary
Jake Neighbors scored twice, Robert Thomas had two points and the Saint Louis Blues defeated the Calgary Flames 4-2 on Saturday.
After being blanked in their first four periods of play this season, the Blues attack finally unlocked in the second period of this clash against the Flames. Neighbors caught Dustin Wolf between the pads at 12:41 to tie the game.
The Blues’ second goal didn’t take long. Less than two minutes later, Thomas hit the target with a good shot into the top corner. Jimmy Snuggerud and Justin Faulk were complicit in Thomas’ goal.
The Flames’ response, however, came even more quickly. 32 seconds later, Matt Coronato scored his second goal of the game to bring both teams back to square one.
The third period did not please the locals in their first match in front of their fans. Neighbors and Pius Suter both scored goals off deflections in a span of 2:26 to give the Blues a two-goal lead.
Joel Hofer got the start for the Blues. The young 25-year-old goalkeeper made 27 saves to sign the victory. Despite his 24 saves, Wolf was solid in front of the Flames cage and stood out several times in front of the Blues.
