Game Preview: Kings, Blue Jackets Face Off From Los Angeles For First Time In Two Years

LOS ANGELES KINGS

39–27–10 (88 points; .579%)

10:30 P.M. – SATURDAY, APRIL 16TH CRYPTO.COM ARENA LOS ANGELES, CA

Bally Sports Ohio ESPN+ (Out of Network)

Get a nap in, if you can, because the Columbus Blue Jackets are set for their latest puck drop in over two years Saturday night when they travel to Los Angeles for a battle against the Kings.

The 10:30 p.m. start time is the latest since January 9th, 2020 against the San Jose Sharks — a team the Blue Jackets face (in another late start) later in the week. 

Of the 18 skaters expected in the lineup for Columbus in the game, seven of them has never played in Los Angeles. Four more have just one game from the Staples Center Crypto.com Arena under their belt. Saturday will be a good chance for the young (and getting younger seemingly every game) Blue Jackets to give themselves a road test against a good team. 

RE: KINGS

Perhaps the Blue Jackets' best chance to play spoiler for the opposition comes Saturday. The Kings are currently in third place in the pacific division — good enough to automatically qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs if they started today. But they (with one extra game played) are just one point ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights, who would not be in the postseason if the season were to end come to a close with the standings as they currently are. 

In other words: every game is important, and for the non-contending Blue Jackets, this game is assuredly viewed as a must win for Los Angeles. They've struggled as of late, winning just once in their last five games and giving up nine games in their most recent game, a 9-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche back on Wednesday.

For the Kings, they'll rely heavily on two players: forwards Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe. Kopitar's 62 points is 26% more than any other player on Los Angeles. He's the only King with 50 points on the season (Kempe is at 49), and over a third of those (six goals, 15 assists) have come on the power play. Goal-scoring has been all Kempe this year; his 33 goals is ten more than anyone else on the team has. 

STORYLINES

• FIRST SECOND IMPRESSION
  You can't make a second first impression, but you sure can make a first second impression. Kent Johnson looked good, all things considered, in his NHL debut Wednesday. But it was his Wolverine teammate, Nick Blankenburg, who picked up his first career point and Third Star of the Game honors in his first-ever NHL game. What will Blankenburg and Johnson do for their encore? 
   
• ROSLOVIC TO THE MOON
  A dozen goals in his first 71 games, and then five in his last two to put his season total up to 17. Jack Roslovic is certainly putting together a strong finish to an up-and-down season. His last three games has yielded an average of 22 minutes and 39 seconds of time on ice, and they are the three games in which he's seen the most time on ice. Can the Columbus native continue to make a case that he deserves the minutes increase he's seen as of late? 

PROJECTED LINES*

*SUBJECT TO CHANGE