Winnipeg, MB (SportsNetwork.com) - Evander Kane notched a pair of goals and Devon Setoguchi scored the eventual game-winner as the Winnipeg Jets survived a late rally to clip the Los Angeles Kings, 5-3.
Olli Jokinen also scored for Winnipeg while Bryan Little added an empty-netter to result in the final margin. The Jets have tallied five goals in each of their first two games this season, both wins.
Andrej Pavelec stopped 33 of 36 shots he faced in the triumph.
Jonathan Quick yielded four goals on 27 shots before Ben Scrivens took over between the pipes for LA. Scrivens, who spent the first two years of his career with Toronto, stopped all five shots he saw in his Kings' debut.
Matt Greene, Jeff Carter and Justin Williams scored for the Kings in defeat.
"We were outplayed, but we were also outshooting them and putting pucks on the net," said Kings coach Darryl Sutter.
Mike Richards won a face-off in the Winnipeg zone late in the first period and Dwight King came up with the puck for LA. Greene then fired a slap-shot, which was blocked by Tobias Enstrom, but the defenseman stayed with the play and came up with the loose puck following a giveaway by Dustin Byfuglien. Greene's slapper beat Pavelec over his right shoulder for the opening goal.
The Jets tied it less than two minutes later at the 15:45 mark of the first. Kane unleashed a rocket to the top corner of the goal to knot the score.
At 6:42 of the second period, Blake Wheeler appeared to have put the Jets on top with a slap-shot from the left wing, but a video review determined that the shot came after the net had come off its moorings, leaving the score tied at a goal apiece.
Moments later however, Jokinen netted his 300th career goal to put the Jets in front.
Kane's second goal of the contest 2:22 into the third period put Winnipeg ahead, 3-1. With the Jets on a 5-on-4 advantage, the puck found Kane in the middle of the Kings' zone and his wrister took a deflection before sneaking past Quick.
Setoguchi found the back of the net at the 5:19 mark on a wrap-around goal for a 4-1 margin. Kane and Jokinen registered assists on Seto's first tally of the season.
LA scored to cut the deficit to 4-2 with 9:00 left in the third. Immediately following Jacob Trouba's tripping penalty, Anze Kopitar won possession off the face-off for the Kings. Richards and Jake Muzzin swung the puck around to Carter, whose shot beat Pavelec.
A late power-play led to the Kings' third goal. As the man advantage was winding down, Matt Frattin let off a blistering shot that hit the goalpost and deflected right to Williams, who wristed it into the unoccupied portion of the net.
The Kings benched Scrivens late for the extra attacker, leaving an empty net for Little, who launched a shot from near mid-ice following a take-away by Andrew Ladd.
"First thing you can't do is start panicking," said Jets coach Claude Noel. "Obviously when it gets to 4-1 you want to start playing the right way, but if you get into penalty trouble, you're going to have some problems."
Game Notes
The Kings lost only three times in regulation in 26 contests after scoring first last season ... Kane now has five goals in four career games against the Kings ... The Jets converted just 1-of-9 on the power-play.
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