PREVIEW: Blue Jackets face Kings in last game before holiday break

Saturday’s 4-3 loss at Anaheim felt like the season in a nutshell for the Blue Jackets.

Columbus did enough good things to win but also made just enough mistakes to lose. The Blue Jackets battled their way back from an early 2-0 hole to tie the score in the third period, but got hemmed in their own zone for more than 50 seconds leading up to Anaheim’s game-winning goal with 3:29 to play.

Instead of at least getting the game to overtime and notching a critical point, the Blue Jackets lost in regulation for the fifth time in six games, and head coach Dean Evason was left to rue another opportunity to get points go by the wayside thanks to the late goal.

“It’s frustrating, right?” Evason said postgame. “You get to that point. We just watched (it), we turned the puck over four times before that goal goes in the net. Four times, we have it on our tape and we don’t do the good thing to get it out. That’s the hard part is positionally we’re good, we’re in the right spot, we’re structurally fine. We just have opportunities to get that thing out of our zone and we don’t.

“So I agree, we played well, but it’s not well enough. It’s just not good enough. There has to be some accountability and some obviously consistency, certainly at the end of hockey games and composure at the end of hockey games to get us hopefully that two points that we want to get.”

That’s been a familiar theme for the Blue Jackets throughout this season, with good performances and chances to win or at least earn points canceled out by mistakes at critical times. Add it all up and Columbus sits in last place in the Metropolitan Division and seven points behind the playoff line heading into tonight.

“It’s unfortunate for sure,” defenseman Damon Severson said. “It seems like every little thing that can come back to bite us sometimes does. Obviously we’re playing against elite players and elite teams, as we are as well, so it’s just unfortunate we’re in a little bit of a funk right now. We just have to find a way to get out of it.”

The good news is that Columbus caught what appears to be a break by the fact that All-Star defenseman Zach Werenski avoided serious injury when he blocked a shot with his lower leg late in Saturday’s game and had to crawl back to the team bench in pain.

He’s officially listed as day-to-day, and the hope is he’ll be able to play tonight against Los Angeles in the Blue Jackets’ last game before the holiday break. Whether he’s on the ice or not, tonight should be a challenge in that while the Kings aren’t a high-flying outfit like Anaheim, they are a veteran squad that is one of the tougher teams to play against in the league.

“They’re a stingy team, so we all have to be on our game and making plays and executing,” new CBJ forward Mason Marchment said. “They like to sit on top of you, so you have to make plays through them and not turn the puck over too much and play a heavy game.”

Scratches: F Zach Aston-Reese, F Miles Wood (injury), D Jake Christiansen

Injured reserve/Non-Roster: F Brendan Gaunce (personal), F Mathieu Olivier (upper body injury), D Erik Gudbranson (upper body injury)

Roster Report: The Blue Jackets didn’t practice Sunday but they got good news with the fact Werenski’s injury wasn’t worse than it appeared when he blocked a shot late in Saturday night’s game. He’s day-to-day and might be able to go tonight against the Kings, while Wood’s status after missing Saturday’s game also remains to be seen.

This Day in CBJ History

Dec. 22, 2011: Jeff Carter notches a hat trick in the first period, but Nashville rallies from a 5-2 deficit to post a 6-5 victory in Bridgestone Arena. Martin Erat’s goal with nine seconds remaining breaks the tie.

Dec. 22, 2016: Scott Hartnell’s hat trick highlights a memorable evening in Nationwide Arena, as Columbus wins its 11th straight game by downing Pittsburgh by a 7-1 score. The Blue Jackets score four goals in the first 6:24 of the third period to blow open the game, as Cam Atkinson, Boone Jenner, William Karlsson and Brandon Saad join Hartnell on the scoresheet.

The Numbers Game

With another goal Saturday, Zach Werenski became just the second CBJ defenseman to post five tallies in a three-game span – he was the first in 2019-20 – and the first NHL blueliner to do so since Erik Karlsson with San Jose in 2022. ... He is tied for first among NHL defensemen in goals (14) and second in points (40), first in shots on goal (132), second in average ice time (26:48) and is first in multipoint games (14). He has points in 16 of the last 19 games (10-19-29, tied for fourth in NHL in that span) and an 11-game home point streak (7-13-20). ... Blue Jackets defensemen have scored 28 goals this season, tied with Washington for the most in the NHL. … Mason Marchment became the 26th player to score in his Blue Jackets debut Saturday. ... Adam Fantilli has scored 36 goals in 2025, fourth most ever by a CBJ player in a calendar year behind just Rick Nash (43 in 2009, and 39 in 2006) and Cam Atkinson (42 in 2018). ... Kent Johnson has five assists in the last five games. ... Miles Wood is one goal away from 100 in his NHL career. ... Werenski is four assists shy of becoming the first CBJ player to notch 300 career helpers, while Jenner is three points away from becoming the fourth player in team history with 400 points after Nash (547), Werenski (422) and Atkinson (402).

Know The Foe: Los Angeles Kings

Head coach: Jim Hiller (Third season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 2.56 (29th) | Scoring defense: 2.50 (T-2nd) | PP: 14.6 percent (30th) | PK: 79.8 percent (19th)

The narrative: The Kings have made the playoffs four straight seasons but lost in the first round in all four, and this year’s squad is in the postseason mix yet again. One of the NHL’s oldest squads, Los Angeles has found it hard to get over the hump while battling the likes of Edmonton and Vegas in the Pacific Division the past few years, and this year’s team may need a shakeup to get where it wants to go.

Scoring leaders: One of the NHL’s most consistent performers over the past few seasons, Adrian Kempe leads the way with team-high totals in goals (13), assists (17) and points (30). Kevin Fiala has a 12-11-23 line to make him the only other player with at least 10 goals and 20 points, as offense has been a struggle for the Kings this year. Quinton Byfield (4-15-19) and Anze Kopitar (6-11-17 in his final season) follow, while Brandt Clarke leads the defense with 15 points (five goals, 10 assists).

In net: Darcy Kuemper has started a team-best 23 games but went on injured reserve with an upper body injury earlier this week. Anton Forsberg is the only other goalie to play this season, going 5-4-3 in 12 games with a 2.69 GAA and .901 save percentage. NHL veteran Pheonix Copley was added to the roster to replace Kuemper.

What's new: The Kings shook things up Friday with a trade that sent struggling center Phillip Danault back to Montreal in exchange for a second-round draft pick, and LA enters in a bit of a funk with a 3-4-2 record in the month of December. In a weird quirk of the NHL schedule, the Kings haven’t played since Thursday, a 2-1 win at Tampa Bay. The goal-scoring struggles have reached a crescendo of late, as the Kings are 1-2-2 in the last five and have a combined eight goals in that span.

Trending: The Blue Jackets have lost four straight and seven of eight in the City of Angels, including last season’s 5-2 setback Nov. 9. Columbus did counter that with a 3-2 overtime win against the Kings at Nationwide Arena in the ensuing matchup Jan. 25.

Former CBJ: Forsberg signed a two-year deal with the Kings this offseason after five years in Ottawa.