Blue Jackets visit LA Kings tonight at 10:30

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS VS. LOS ANGELES KINGS

TV:  Bally Sports Ohio           Jeff Rimer (play-by-play), Jody Shelley (analyst), Dave Maetzold (reporter)              
Radio:  97.1 The Fan              Bob McElligott (play-by-play), Dylan Tyrer (host)

THE MATCHUP

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS

2021-22 Record: 35-33-6, 76 pts. (6th, Metropolitan Division)

Goals:  3.19 Goals-For/3.68 Goals-Against… Shots:  30.1 Shots-For/35.4 Shots-Against

Power Play:  17.4 percent (25th, NHL)… Penalty Kill:  78.6 percent (19th, NHL)

Penalty Minutes:  7.7 PIM (5th, NHL)… Overtime Record (Shootout):  11-4-2 (4-2)

LOS ANGELES KINGS

2021-22 Record: 39-27-10, 88 pts. (3rd, Pacific Division)

Goals:  2.84 Goals-For/2.91 Goals-Against… Shots:  35.0 Shots-For/28.7 Shots-Against

Power Play:  16.5 percent (27th, NHL)… Penalty Kill:  76.4 percent (22nd, NHL)

Penalty Minutes:  7.5 (3rd, NHL)… Overtime Record (Shootout):  9-6-4 (4-4)

Players to Watch:  Anze Kopitar leads club in assists and points with 18-44-62 in 76 games this season and has totaled 17-19-36 in 40 career games vs. CBJ… Rookie D Sean Durzi hs collected 3-23-26 in 58 games this season, ranking second among club blueliners in goals, assists and points… G Jonathan Quick owns a 18-13-9 record with a 2.72 GAA, .906 SV% and two shutouts in 41 contests in 2021-22 and is 17-8-0 with a 2.27 GAA and .910 SV% in 25 career games vs. the Blue Jackets.

ALL-TIME SERIES

Results:  Columbus has gone 26-29-7 in 62 all-time meetings, including 10-18-3 on the road… Of Note: The clubs did not meet in 2020-21… The Blue Jackets have earned points in four-straight games in the series (3-0-1) since Dec. 13, 2018… The club has earned points in three of the last five road games (2-2-1)… The winning team has scored four-plus goals in six of the last seven meetings… Columbus has recorded four of the nine shutouts in the all-time series, including the most recent by Curtis Sanford on Jan. 7, 2012 (31 saves in 1-0 W at LA)… Each team has recorded two penalty shots… The Kings have posted four of the six hat tricks all-time after Viktor Arvidsson notched one in the most recent meeting on March 4.

This Season (CBJ, 0-0-1)

Mar. 4, 2022 – LAK 4, at CBJ 3 (OT)

Apr. 16, 2022 – at Los Angeles (10:30 p.m. ET)

CBJ TEAM NOTES

Columbus has won two-straight and improved to 3-1-1 in its last five games with a 5-1 victory over Montreal on Wednesday… CBJ kick off their annual California road trip with a back-to-back set at Los Angeles on Saturday and Anaheim on Sunday before finishing at San Jose on Tuesday… The team is 17-12-5 (39 pts) in its last 34 games since Jan. 27 and ranks ninth in the NHL in goals-per-game (3.47 avg) over that stretch… CBJ have scored three or more goals (incl. SO goals) in 44 of their 74 games this season (32-9-3)… The club is also 29-4-1 when scoring four-plus goals in a game in 2021-22, including posting five goals in each of the last two games… CBJ rank fifth in the League in win percentage after regulation (11-4-2; .647)… The Blue Jackets have trailed in 22 of their 34 victories this season, including eight of their last 11 wins.  The 22 comeback victories are tied for the fourth-most in the NHL, trailing only Florida (26), the NY Rangers (26) and Tampa Bay (23), and are a new single season record in franchise history (20; 2005-06, 2018-19)… CBJ boast six 40-point producers and three 50-point players on the team… The Blue Jackets rank fifth-T in the NHL in goals (39) and 13th-T in points (162) by defensemen.  The club’s defensemen have combined for 6-28-34 in the last 16 outings, posting two-plus points in 12 of those contests… The Jackets have killed off 17-of-18 opponent power play attempts over the last five games (94.4 pct.)… Columbus has tied a franchise record set in the inaugural season in 2000-01 with 10 players making their NHL debut in 2021-22 after F Kent Johnson and D Nick Blankenburg made their League debuts on Wednesday (also Chinakhov, Christiansen, Danforth, Fix-Wolansky, Hofmann, Meyer, Sillinger, Tarasov).

CBJ PLAYER NOTES

RW Oliver Bjorkstrand has set a new single-season career high in goals and points with 24-26-50 in 72 appearances this season.  The forward has also posted 8-7-15 in his last 22 games and 12-10-22 in the last 31 outings… F Justin Danforth has tallied goals in four of the last seven contests… D Vladislav Gavrikov has recorded 2-4-6 in his last nine outings and has already set career highs in goals (tied, 2019-20), assists and points with 5-26-31 in 72 contests…  C Sean Kuraly ranks 16th in the NHL with 216 hits.  He has set a single-season career high in goals and points with 12-16-28 in 72 games… LW Patrik Laine, who is second-T in the NHL in overtime goals (three), is seventh-T in the League in goals since Jan. 27 with 20-21-41 in 34 contests, including notching his third three-point outing of the campaign on Wednesday (1-2-3)… LW Gus Nyquist has collected two assists in each of the past two outings and has 3-7-10 in the last 12 games and 4-11-15 in his past 19 outings… D Andrew Peeke ranks fifth in the NHL in blocked shots this season with 155… C Jack Roslovic has recorded multiple goals in each of the past two contests (5-1-6).  He has recorded 9-9-18, while averaging 17:30 of ice time in his last 24 outings since Feb. 24… C Cole Sillinger has tallied goals in two consecutive games and has 2-2-4 in his last four games… RW Jakub Voracek collected two assists on Wednesday and has 4-23-27 in his last 31 appearances since Jan. 31.  He leads the club in assists (49, 4th-most in single season in CBJ history).  His .69 assists-per-game, meanwhile, are second-highest average in a single season in franchise-history… D Zach Werenski tied his single-game career high with three assists on Saturday and has recorded points in nine of his last 13 games played (2-10-12).  He ranks ninth-T in the NHL among blueliners in scoring since Jan. 23 with 5-21-24 in 29 outings.  The 24-year-old has also tied his single-season career highs in assists and points with 11-36-47 in 65 contests this season (11-36-47 in 78 GP in rookie campaign in 2016-17).

MILESTONES

•     D Vladislav Gavrikov is four games from 200 for his NHL career (12-50-62, 196 GP).

•     C Sean Kuraly is four points from 100 for his NHL career (36-60-96, 342 GP).

•     LW Gus Nyquist is six points from 400 for his NHL career (163-231-394, 644 GP).

•     RW Jakub Voracek is eight points from 800 for his NHL career (221-571-792, 1,039 GP).

OhioHEALTH INJURY REPORT

•     G Daniil Tarasov (hip; Injured Reserve on Jan. 4) is out indefinitely

•     C Alexandre Texier (fractured finger; Injured Reserve on Jan. 26) is expected to miss 4 weeks

•     C Boone Jenner (lower back; Injured Reserve on Mar. 11) is week-to-week

•     G Joonas Korpisalo (hip) is out indefinitely

•     D Yegor Chinakhov (upper body; First game missed Apr. 4) is day-to-day

•     C Sean Kuraly (lower body; First game missed Apr. 13) is day-to-day

TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 313

COURTESY CBJ COMMUNICATIONS

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