If weird hockey is your thing, you got your money's worth tonight.
And for all the aspiring goaltenders out there, turn away.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLUE JACKETS | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| KINGS | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
The Blue Jackets and Kings played a perfectly ugly, entertaining game at Nationwide Arena with Los Angeles winning by a 6-4 final.
Good news: the Blue Jackets' opening goal was a power play goal, a Nick Foligno tally that snapped their 0-for-18 skid with the man advantage. Artemi Panarin, who always draws attention, slid a pass to Foligno off the rush and the Columbus captain beat Jonathan Quick on the stick side.
Anze Kopitar came right back and tied it for Los Angeles, and minutes later, the Kings took a 2-1 lead on a goal before Oliver Bjorkstrand tied it up 2-2. In a span of 2:17, four goals were scored and they were, you guessed it, weird.
The Kings scored the first two goals of the second period, including a Jake Muzzin goal 40 seconds in. Before the period ended, the Blue Jackets drew even at 4-4 on Sonny Milano's team-leading fifth goal of the season, a crafty backhander from the slot that tucked under the crossbar.
Bad news: the third period was not a memorable one for the Blue Jackets, who blew a coverage in their own zone on Kopitar's go-ahead goal with 2:14 left in regulation. After nothing doing with the extra attacker, Brown added his second of the game (an empty netter) to ice it with 93 seconds remaining.
Injury Update
Boone Jenner (back) made his season debut for the Blue Jackets after missing all of training camp and the preseason. He played 15:22 and was break-even (19-19) in 5-on-5 shot attempts.
Next Up
The Blue Jackets (5-3-0) wrap up this four-game home stand with two games next week. They're off until Wednesday when they face the Buffalo Sabres on "Rivalry Night," so that means an 8 p.m. start airing on NBC Sports Network. On Friday, the home stand concludes against the Winnipeg Jets.
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