Friday night in the NHL sees the Winnipeg Jets play host to the red-hot Los Angeles Kings at Canada Life Centre. Welcome to NHL Predictions here at Last Word on Hockey, where each day we preview and predict the upcoming slate of NHL games around the league! In this article, we will preview and predict the matchup between the Winnipeg Jets and Los Angeles Kings. Be sure to check out all of our NHL Predictions throughout the 2024-25 season and follow along with your favourite teams.
Time: 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST)
TV: TSN3; FDSNW; ESPN+
Winnipeg and Los Angeles will meet for the second time this season on Friday night. The Kings took the first meeting on November 28th by a 4-1 score in Los Angeles. That meeting was a dominant win by the Kings. They outshot Winnipeg 33-14 overall and allowed the Jets to create just seven high-danger scoring chances at five-on-five play. Phillip Danault had the game-winning goal in the second period while Anze Kopitar, Kevin Fiala and Adrian Kempe rounded out the scoring. Gabriel Vilardi had the lone tally for Winnipeg.
Los Angeles is in the midst of an impressive four-game winning streak, with wins over the Oilers, Flyers, Devils and Lightning in that stretch. Though the Kings offensive analytics aren’t that impressive over their streak, they do stand out in a few categories. The Kings rank second in the NHL in five-on-five goals-for percentage since the Christmas break (Winnipeg is first) and are within the top five in five-on-five save percentage over that time.
The NHL season hasn’t even made it to the middle of January, but Connor Hellebuyck has already solidified his third Vezina Trophy. Hellebuyck, who was a near-unanimous winner a season ago, leads the league with a sparkling 2.08 GAA, five shutouts, 25 wins and sits a shade off the lead in save percentage. Other than being among the lead in all of those major categories, he is miles ahead of second for the lead in goals saved above average.
Furthermore, the eye-test is confirming all of these notions for Hellebuyck. In Winnipeg’s 5-2 win over Nashville on Wednesday (Hellebuyck’s 300th career win), his 26-save total wasn’t an eye-popping number. However, he stonewalled the Predators after an early onslaught of chances. To cap off the performance, he made four saves late in the game as he helped his team kill off a one-minute, 26-second five-on-three situation. It was yet another tremendous effort from Hellebuyck.
This will be a highly entertaining matchup between two of the top teams in the Western Conference. These are two clubs with outstanding depth up and down their lineups and truly resemble one another in their construction and style of play. Though the Jets might possess a bit more firepower, it is the Kings who have been the stingiest team defensively in the NHL thus far, having allowed the fewest goals against in the league. The discrepancy of the power plays (Winnipeg ranked 1st, Los Angeles ranked 28th) causes hesitation to lean the Kings way in this matchup. However, the Kings structure at five-on-five play will keep them in this one. Expect this to be a low-scoring, competitive game with a certain veteran forward from Slovenia scoring the winner.
Prediction: Kings win 3-2 OT
Winnipeg still boasts the top powerplay unit in the NHL and expect them to find the net again in this one. Though goals will be at a premium, the Jets power play will be their best opportunity to find the back of the net. Josh Morrissey, who sits fifth in the NHL among defencemen power play points, is +300 on gambling sites to record a power play point. For the quarterback of the top-ranked power play group in the NHL, this is fantastic value.
Main Photo Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images
Please play responsibly, check for your local rules and age restrictions, some jurisdictions require ages 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.
Just two days ahead of the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, the Utah Hockey Club have re-signed forward Alexander Kerfoot and defenceman Ian Cole. During a
The San Jose Sharks have been utilizing the pending trade deadline to wheel and deal players to better their franchise. The Sharks have released that
The Pittsburgh Penguins continue to be active as the clock ticks closer to Friday’s NHL Trade Deadline. Shortly after completing a trade with the San
After the trade frenzy has been rolling for a few weeks now, just who is left for the Ottawa Senators ahead of the 2025 deadline?
