WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Anze Kopitar scored four goals in regulation and Adrian Kempe had the only score in the shootout as the Kings rallied to beat the Winnipeg Jets, 6-5, on Tuesday night, closing their five-game road trip on a high note.
Kopitar, the Kings’ captain, had a natural hat trick in the second period. It was the 35-year-old’s sixth career hat trick and the second time he has scored four times in an NHL game.
Gabre Vilardi also scored and Drew Doughty had a pair of assists for the Kings. Pheonix Copley made 26 saves as the Kings (34-20-8) finished their trip with a 2-2-1 mark.
Josh Morrissey had his first four-point game, finishing with two goals and two assists for Winnipeg, which is mired in its first four-game skid of the season. Winnipeg is 1-5-1 in its last seven games.
Kevin Stenlund had a pair of goals and Kyle Connor also scored for the Jets. Mark Scheifele and Dylan DeMelo each contributed two assists. Connor Hellebuyck stopped 32 shots as the Jets closed out a three-game homestand.
Vilardi tied the score at 5-all with 4:06 remaining in the third period when he grabbed a loose puck and fired it past Hellebuyck.
The Jets led 2-0 after the first period and 5-3 following the second.
A minute after Winnipeg came up empty on its first power play, Morrissey registered his 12th goal of the season on a heads-up play. Scheifele was at the side of the Kings’ net, trying to jam the puck past Copley. As the puck slid into the crease, Morrissey raced in and banged it into the net at 15:52.
Blake Wheeler assisted on the goal, recording the 600th assist of his NHL career. He’s the 97th player in league history to reach the milestone.
Morrissey made it 2-0 just over a minute-and-a-half later with a high shot beat Copley at 17:35.
The Kings got on the scoreboard 26 seconds into the second period.
Six seconds after Jets defenseman Neal Pionk was called for holding, Kevin Fiala sent a pass to Kopitar and he fired the puck by Hellebuyck for his 21st of the season.
Winnipeg responded with Connor’s 27th goal to make it 3-1, but Kopitar tied it by tipping in two goals.
First Kopitar tipped in an Alexander Edler point shot at 9:14 and did the same with a Doughty shot at 10:43.
Stenlund gave the Jets the 5-3 lead at 12:00, then scored short-handed six minutes later.
The Kings had four power plays in the middle frame, including one that rolled over for nine seconds into the third.
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Kopitar notched his fourth goal of the game with a slap shot that beat Hellebuyck at 1:26 of the third to squeeze Winnipeg’s lead to 5-4.
CHEERS FOR THE NEW GUY
New Jets forward Nino Niederreiter, acquired in a trade Saturday with the Nashville Predators, played his first game with Winnipeg and made a big impression with his fists.
With 1:51 left in the second period, Niederreiter checked Kings defenseman Sean Kurzi hard into the boards. Kings forward Adrian Kempe came to his defense and they started fighting to cheers from the crowd.
UP NEXT
The Kings host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday at 7:30 p.m.