The Winnipeg Jets have worked their way back into a tie for first-place in the Central Division.
Welcome back, Gabe.
On Wednesday night, Gabriel Vilardi put on a show in his return to Los Angeles as a member of the Winnipeg Jets.
Some expected theatrics in the form of fisticuffs as retribution for the injury he suffered in the teams' first meeting this season.
Others figured it might be another dud of a game after the Jets fell apart against the last-place San Jose Sharks the night prior.
But no one expected what became a career night for the prized possession that came to Winnipeg as the key cog in the Pierre-Luc Dubois offseason blockbuster.
"It was weird. I didn't know where to go, obviously. First time on this side," Vilardi said of finding his way to the visitors' room on Wednesday.
"It was really weird coming out for warmups but then once the game starts, it's hockey. It was a slow start but we were able to rebound and get the win."
Vilardi scored the Jets' fourth goal of the game and assisted on the first three, en route to a career-high, four-point night, as the Jets picked up win No. 17 on the season, by way of a 5-2 final.
“The feeling is great, obviously," Nikolaj Ehlers said postgame. "We wanted to do something good on this road trip, and we did. Even though we lost last night’s game, we still played a pretty good game. So to into Denver and L.A. and take four points, that’s pretty good. We’re happy.”
But considering the way the Jets finished Tuesday's game in San Jose, the team did little to start Wednesday's game any better than things went the night prior.
Los Angeles jumped out to an early lead before doubling up 2-0 before the opening frame came to a close. The Kings actually came within an inch of a third goal, hitting the crossbar on another great scoring opportunity.
With the Jets returning to a more traditional 12/6 forward/defence split on Wednesday, Winnipeg also welcomed Connor Hellebuyck back to the fold.
The team's No. 1 backstop entered the game on a roll, but appeared rather rusty in the opening frame. The Kings scored an early power play marker with Nate Schmidt in the box for cross-checking.
Anze Kopitar picked up his own rebound and jammed home the loose puck while defenceman Dylan Samberg lay helplessly on the ice after being cross-checked himself, in front of the Jets' net.
"The penalties, it is what it is," Ehlers lamented. "I’m not going to stand here and say something to that. There is going to be a game, it can be the next game, it could be in five games, where it’s going to go our way. That’s just the way it is."
Then, moments after hitting the crossbar, L.A. struck again. It was Alex Laferriere who scored on an impossible angle to make it 2-0. He actually shot the puck from behind the goal line and banked the puck off Hellebuyck's head and into the net. Dubois picked up the lone assist on the play.
Los Angeles led the Jets 2-0 and held an 11-6 lead on the shot chart through 20 minutes.
"Yeah, we could have found a lot of excuses after going down 2-0," Mark Scheifele said. "But you know we just battled back, played the right way, did some great things. Some big shot blocks, some really good plays there, some big saves by Bucky. You know it's a big win."
But things changed rather quickly in the second period.
Enter Gabe Vilardi.
Making his return to Los Angeles after 420 games as a King, he helped start the offence for Winnipeg in the middle stanza.
“I was here and now I’m gone," Vilardi said. "It’s the same for everyone. I was drafted here, my time here playing here was amazing, but at the end of the day, they didn’t want me. So, it doesn’t end anything.”
Carrying the puck the length of the ice, Vilardi slipped the disc to Nikolaj Ehlers, who wired a wrist shot through Cam Talbot and into the net, cutting the home team's lead in half.
Then, the duo teamed up once again, as Mark Scheifele found Vilardi, who head-manned a perfect feed to a streaking Ehlers. The speedster made no mistake putting his second of the game, and ninth of the season past Talbot, knotting the game at twos.
An offensive outburst led to a lead change, as Ehlers once again put a shot on net after some heavy offensive zone pressure. With five minutes remaining, Vilardi poked at the Ehlers rebound, which skirted to Scheifele, who banked home his 10th of the season.
Then, with nearly a full period remaining, Vilardi fired a beautiful backhander over the shoulder of Talbot, putting the cherry on the top of an outstanding homecoming.
"He was fantastic. He was unbelievable," Scheifele added.
"He made a lot of really nice plays. That backhand (goal) was pretty phenomenal. A lot of good passes, a lot of little things that he did all over the ice that a lot of people wouldn't notice. So he was fantastic tonight."
Scheifele added his second of the game into the empty net with one second remaining, as Ehlers picked up his fourth point as the lone assist man.
Hellebuyck shut the door on everything after the first period, turning aside 30 shots, as he picked up win No. 14 on the season, moving the Jets back into a tie for first-place in the Central Division with Colorado, which also has a matching 17-9-2 record through 28 games.
Winnipeg returns home on Saturday for a test against that very same Avalanche team, before hosting Montreal, Detroit and Boston over the coming week. The first three games can be found live on Sportsnet.
