Kings vs. Blue Jackets
Columbus, OH – The Los Angeles Kings haven’t had a problem scoring recently. Improved special teams play could make them even harder to stop.
On Thursday night, the Kings look to win five straight on the road for the first time in nearly a year when they face a Columbus Blue Jackets team that is looking to match its longest home winning streak of the season.
Oddsmakers from Online sports book Sportsbook.com have made the Kings –115 money line favorites for Thursday’s game against the Blue Jackets. Current NHL Public Betting Information shows that 62% of more than 730 bets for this game have been placed on the Kings.
Los Angeles (30-19-3) is converting 18.3 percent of its power-play opportunities, but went 27 straight chances without a man-advantage goal prior to Drew Doughty’s first-period tally in Tuesday’s 5-3 victory over Toronto.
"The offensive-zone time, moving the puck around and establishing some momentum off of power plays, even if not scoring off of them, has been pretty effective, I think, in the last couple games," coach Terry Murray told the Kings’ official Web site.
Even without much production on the power play, Los Angeles is averaging 3.2 goals while winning five of six.
The Kings will likely need Anze Kopitar to continue his strong work on special teams as they face a Columbus team that’s killed 11 straight power plays in its last three games.
Kopitar, who has a team-high 22 power-play points, has six goals and six assists in his last nine games against the Blue Jackets. Kopitar and Alexander Frolov each scored twice in a 6-2 victory over visiting Columbus (21-25-9) on Oct. 25, helping the Kings snap a three-game slide in the series.
That matchup was marred by an incident between Kings defenseman Rob Scuderi and then-Blue Jackets forward Jason Chimera. With Los Angeles leading 2-0 in the first period, Scuderi went low on a check and flipped Chimera face-first to the ice.
Chimera received a 10-minute misconduct after trying to get at the Kings’ bench. He was traded to Washington on Dec. 28.
The Blue Jackets might be thinking about payback for Scuderi’s questionable hit, but with a number of teams ahead of them in the Western Conference playoff race, a victory is far more important at this point.
The play of reigning Calder Trophy winner Steve Mason will likely help determine if Columbus will make consecutive postseason appearances for the first time. Mason, who was 2-10-2 with a 3.43 goals-against average from Dec. 1-Jan. 16, has won two of his last three starts, including a 29-save performance in Tuesday’s 3-2 win over Nashville.
"(Mason) can win games, like tonight, by himself," said Blue Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock, whose team will try to win three straight at Nationwide Arena since its first three home games this season.
Mason is 2-0-0 with a 2.50 GAA in his last two home starts versus Los Angeles.
Jonathan Quick, who is 5-1-0 with a 2.60 GAA in his last six starts, probably will start for Los Angeles, which is trying to win five straight on the road for the first time since Feb. 3-18. Quick is 0-2-0 with a 4.06 GAA in his last two starts in Columbus.
Blue Jackets captain Rick Nash has two goals and four assists in the last four matchups against the Kings. He leads the team with 24 goals and 50 points, and is tied with Kristian Huselius with a club-best 26 assists.
Posted: 1/27/2010 11:25PM ET