The Winnipeg Jets have won a hockey game for the first time in 27 days.
Mark Scheifele scored twice, while Vlad Namestnikov, Nino Niederreiter and Jonathan Toews snapped lengthy scoring droughts as the Jets picked up a 5-1 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Friday.
The home win was the Jets' first win in 12 games, and nearly a full calendar month.
Namestnikov scored his first goal in 30 games, Toews put home his first goal in 27 games, while Niederreiter picked up his first point in 18 games.
“It was fun, the building was going too," goaltender Eric Comrie said post-game.
"They had the wave going, they had everything going tonight. It was great. We played like kids again tonight. We had a lot of fun. We got back to just enjoying the game we love to play.”
For the second-straight evening, the Jets got off to another hot start. After coming out guns a blazing to the tune of a three-goal first period on Thursday vs. Edmonton, Winnipeg put another two pucks in the net in the opening frame on Friday night.
Despite the strong start, Thursday's first period tallies were all the Jets could muster, ultimately falling 4-3 to the Oilers on a third period collapse.
Winnipeg managed to flip the script on Friday.
The Jets put up a two-spot in the opening game vs. the Kings, before scoring another three in the middle stanza.
Comrie got the start in goal for the second test of the back-to-back and turned aside 23 of the 24 pucks sent his way. Darcy Kuemper allowed five goals before taking a seat for the third period.
“Obviously a big one," head coach Scott Arniel said of Comrie's showing. "Coming off a tough game the last game played, just looking at the workload he’s had to face, it’s been a grind for him. He had to make some big stops, that breakaway stop was large. He looked big and did a great job with his rebound control.”
Namestnikov opened the story 1:31 into the game, as he redirected a Logan Stanley point shot for the early 1-0 lead.
"Yeah, it's a long time coming," Namestnikov laughed. "It's just relief. And you want to score so bad, and it doesn't go in for however long it was. It's hard and kind of drains you mentally, but you got to keep going. I'm just glad it went in."
Cole Koepke made it 2-0 on a nifty passing play from Tanner Pearson and Dylan Samberg before the period came to a close.
The Jets also maintained a four-shot lead through 20 minutes of play.
Toews got his fourth of the season in the second period, tapping home a Colin Miller point shot just over two minutes into the frame.
Two goals then made their way into the nets off the skates of Quinton Byfield. He found his seventh of the season by directing the puck past Comrie off his foot midway through the frame.
But then with Winnipeg on a power play, Scheifele banked a pass attempt off Byfield's skate into the Kings' net for his first of the game.
Scheifele put home his second with just 43 seconds remaining in the frame, firing home a one-timer off a setup from linemates Cole Perfetti and Gabe Vilardi. The goal ultimately was Kuemper's final shot faced, as Anton Forsberg led the Kings out of the tunnel for the third period.
The Jets killed off each of their three penalties, including a Logan Stanley cross check in the third period, as they shut down the Kings for their first win of 2026.
“I think they deserved it more than we deserved it," Comrie said of the team's fan support.
"We’ve been putting them through some tough times and they’ve been sticking with us. It’s unbelievable to see their support tonight. There’s not a lot of fan bases that would do that. A lot of fan bases would turn on their team after what we’ve gone through lately, but they’ve stayed right with us the whole time. It’s been special to see that. They are the best fans in the NHL for a reason.”
Next up for Winnipeg is game No. 4 of the five-game homestand. The Jets get a day off on Saturday before hosting the New Jersey Devils on Sunday afternoon. The New York Islanders will then roll into town to close out the stretch with a 7:00 PM central showdown on Tuesday.
