diff --git a/test/e2e/kubectl.go b/test/e2e/kubectl.go
index 07419f41841..dad906a8407 100644
--- a/test/e2e/kubectl.go
+++ b/test/e2e/kubectl.go
@@ -511,11 +511,11 @@ var _ = KubeDescribe("Kubectl client", func() {
 
 		It("should support port-forward", func() {
 			By("forwarding the container port to a local port")
-			cmd, listenPort := runPortForward(ns, simplePodName, simplePodPort)
-			defer tryKill(cmd)
+			cmd := runPortForward(ns, simplePodName, simplePodPort)
+			defer cmd.Stop()
 
 			By("curling local port output")
-			localAddr := fmt.Sprintf("http://localhost:%d", listenPort)
+			localAddr := fmt.Sprintf("http://localhost:%d", cmd.port)
 			body, err := curl(localAddr)
 			Logf("got: %s", body)
 			if err != nil {
diff --git a/test/e2e/portforward.go b/test/e2e/portforward.go
index dcd95f06d98..b1f55aacdc1 100644
--- a/test/e2e/portforward.go
+++ b/test/e2e/portforward.go
@@ -24,8 +24,11 @@ import (
 	"regexp"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
+	"syscall"
+	"time"
 
 	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/api"
+	"k8s.io/kubernetes/pkg/util/wait"
 
 	. "github.com/onsi/ginkgo"
 )
@@ -77,18 +80,53 @@ func pfPod(expectedClientData, chunks, chunkSize, chunkIntervalMillis string) *a
 	}
 }
 
-func runPortForward(ns, podName string, port int) (*exec.Cmd, int) {
+type portForwardCommand struct {
+	cmd  *exec.Cmd
+	port int
+}
+
+// Stop attempts to gracefully stop `kubectl port-forward`, only killing it if necessary.
+// This helps avoid spdy goroutine leaks in the Kubelet.
+func (c *portForwardCommand) Stop() {
+	// SIGINT signals that kubectl port-forward should gracefully terminate
+	if err := c.cmd.Process.Signal(syscall.SIGINT); err != nil {
+		Logf("error sending SIGINT to kubectl port-forward: %v", err)
+	}
+
+	// try to wait for a clean exit
+	done := make(chan error)
+	go func() {
+		done <- c.cmd.Wait()
+	}()
+
+	expired := time.NewTimer(wait.ForeverTestTimeout)
+	defer expired.Stop()
+
+	select {
+	case err := <-done:
+		if err == nil {
+			// success
+			return
+		}
+		Logf("error waiting for kubectl port-forward to exit: %v", err)
+	case <-expired.C:
+		Logf("timed out waiting for kubectl port-forward to exit")
+	}
+
+	Logf("trying to forcibly kill kubectl port-forward")
+	tryKill(c.cmd)
+}
+
+func runPortForward(ns, podName string, port int) *portForwardCommand {
 	cmd := kubectlCmd("port-forward", fmt.Sprintf("--namespace=%v", ns), podName, fmt.Sprintf(":%d", port))
 	// This is somewhat ugly but is the only way to retrieve the port that was picked
 	// by the port-forward command. We don't want to hard code the port as we have no
 	// way of guaranteeing we can pick one that isn't in use, particularly on Jenkins.
 	Logf("starting port-forward command and streaming output")
-	stdout, stderr, err := startCmdAndStreamOutput(cmd)
+	_, stderr, err := startCmdAndStreamOutput(cmd)
 	if err != nil {
 		Failf("Failed to start port-forward command: %v", err)
 	}
-	defer stdout.Close()
-	defer stderr.Close()
 
 	buf := make([]byte, 128)
 	var n int
@@ -107,7 +145,10 @@ func runPortForward(ns, podName string, port int) (*exec.Cmd, int) {
 		Failf("Error converting %s to an int: %v", match[1], err)
 	}
 
-	return cmd, listenPort
+	return &portForwardCommand{
+		cmd:  cmd,
+		port: listenPort,
+	}
 }
 
 var _ = KubeDescribe("Port forwarding", func() {
@@ -125,13 +166,13 @@ var _ = KubeDescribe("Port forwarding", func() {
 			}
 
 			By("Running 'kubectl port-forward'")
-			cmd, listenPort := runPortForward(framework.Namespace.Name, pod.Name, 80)
-			defer tryKill(cmd)
+			cmd := runPortForward(framework.Namespace.Name, pod.Name, 80)
+			defer cmd.Stop()
 
 			By("Dialing the local port")
-			conn, err := net.Dial("tcp", fmt.Sprintf("127.0.0.1:%d", listenPort))
+			conn, err := net.Dial("tcp", fmt.Sprintf("127.0.0.1:%d", cmd.port))
 			if err != nil {
-				Failf("Couldn't connect to port %d: %v", listenPort, err)
+				Failf("Couldn't connect to port %d: %v", cmd.port, err)
 			}
 
 			By("Closing the connection to the local port")
@@ -164,17 +205,17 @@ var _ = KubeDescribe("Port forwarding", func() {
 			}
 
 			By("Running 'kubectl port-forward'")
-			cmd, listenPort := runPortForward(framework.Namespace.Name, pod.Name, 80)
-			defer tryKill(cmd)
+			cmd := runPortForward(framework.Namespace.Name, pod.Name, 80)
+			defer cmd.Stop()
 
 			By("Dialing the local port")
-			addr, err := net.ResolveTCPAddr("tcp", fmt.Sprintf("127.0.0.1:%d", listenPort))
+			addr, err := net.ResolveTCPAddr("tcp", fmt.Sprintf("127.0.0.1:%d", cmd.port))
 			if err != nil {
 				Failf("Error resolving tcp addr: %v", err)
 			}
 			conn, err := net.DialTCP("tcp", nil, addr)
 			if err != nil {
-				Failf("Couldn't connect to port %d: %v", listenPort, err)
+				Failf("Couldn't connect to port %d: %v", cmd.port, err)
 			}
 			defer func() {
 				By("Closing the connection to the local port")
@@ -226,13 +267,13 @@ var _ = KubeDescribe("Port forwarding", func() {
 			}
 
 			By("Running 'kubectl port-forward'")
-			cmd, listenPort := runPortForward(framework.Namespace.Name, pod.Name, 80)
-			defer tryKill(cmd)
+			cmd := runPortForward(framework.Namespace.Name, pod.Name, 80)
+			defer cmd.Stop()
 
 			By("Dialing the local port")
-			conn, err := net.Dial("tcp", fmt.Sprintf("127.0.0.1:%d", listenPort))
+			conn, err := net.Dial("tcp", fmt.Sprintf("127.0.0.1:%d", cmd.port))
 			if err != nil {
-				Failf("Couldn't connect to port %d: %v", listenPort, err)
+				Failf("Couldn't connect to port %d: %v", cmd.port, err)
 			}
 			defer func() {
 				By("Closing the connection to the local port")