Jets 5, Kings 3
WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Evander Kane scored two goals and the Winnipeg Jets hung on for a 5-3 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Friday night.
Kane also chipped in an assist on Devon Setoguchi's third-period goal as the Jets won their home opener to improve to 2-0-0.
The Kings fell to 1-1-0 after beginning the 2013-14 season with road games in Minnesota and Winnipeg.
Olli Jokinen also scored for the Jets, who moved into the Western Conference this season after two seasons in the Eastern Conference.
LA defenseman Matt Greene opened the scoring in the first period to give the Kings a short-lived 1-0 advantage.
Jeff Carter and Justin Williams scored power-play goals in the third period, but the Kings' comeback would fall just short.
Bryan Little scored into an empty net with just 47 seconds left to seal the win.
The Jets were fortunate to come out of the first period tied 1-1 after they were outshot 18-7. Winnipeg goalie Ondrej Pavelec was brilliant and couldn't be faulted on LA's goal when Greene's point shot bounced off Winnipeg blue-liner Dustin Byfuglien's leg and into the net at 14:17.
Kane scored just 88 seconds later on a wrist shot that Kings goalie Jonathan Quick stabbed at with his glove but couldn't snare at 15:45.
Nearly seven minutes into the second period, Blake Wheeler's blast from the top of the circle eluded Quick to give the Jets the lead. But replays clearly showed the net was off its mooring -- and had been for about 20 seconds -- and the goal was disallowed.
But the go-ahead goal eventually came later in the period when Jokinen scored on a rebound at 12:54 after a scramble in front. The goal was the 300th of the veteran center's NHL career.
The Jets led 2-1 through 40 minutes.
Kane scored his second goal of the game at 2:22 of the third period with the Kings short-handed, picking up a loose puck in the slot and beating Quick high.
Setoguchi scored on a wraparound just three minutes later and Kings coach Darryl Sutter promptly gave Quick the hook and inserted backup goalie Ben Scrivens.
Carter and Williams scored power-play goals in the third period.
Pavelec finished with 33 saves.
NOTES: The Kings visited Winnipeg for just the second time since the Jets' franchise relocated to Canada from Atlanta before the 2011 season. In the first meeting, the Jets beat the Kings 1-0 on Evander Kane's overtime goal on Dec. 27, 2011. ... Jets rookie defenceman Jacob Trouba had an impressive start to his NHL career on Tuesday night in Edmonton. He sparked Winnipeg with a goal and an assist in a 5-4 win over the Oilers and led his club with 25:02 of ice time. He became the first NHL player to lead his team in ice time in his first NHL game since Colorado's Jonas Holos played 23:57 on Oct. 16, 2010. ... The Kings have played 38 playoff games the last two years, the most in the NHL. They won the Stanley Cup in 2012 and advanced to the third round in 2013. ... Winnipeg's Dustin Byfuglien started the season with three assists on Tuesday. That tied his highest assists total in a game, which he has accomplished four times in his career. ... Carter scored his first goal of the season with less than seven minutes left in the third period to tie the score at 2 on Thursday night in Minneapolis against the Wild and then added a goal in the shootout. He was fourth in goals (26) in the NHL last season and played all 48 games of the lockout-shortened season. ... There was plenty of game-day Twitter action about Kane's engagement to his longtime girlfriend the night before. A picture of her left hand shows what looks like a bejeweled ring finger. Kane can afford it. The 22-year-old winger is making $4.5 million this season. ... Kings coach Darryl Sutter was just 42 games shy of 1,000 in his NHL coaching career, with stints in Chicago, San Jose, Calgary and LA.
