Los Angeles Kings at Columbus Blue Jackets: game preview
Los AngelesKings2026-27: 0-2-1 · 1 pts · 2025-26: 35-27-20 · 90 pts · 20that
ColumbusBlue Jackets2026-27: 1-1-0 · 2 pts · 2025-26: 40-30-12 · 92 pts · 17thTwo points apart last season
Los Angeles finished last season 20th in the league on 90 points. Columbus finished 17th on 92.
Game-day prices arrive with the afternoon snapshot, about 4:30 PM ET on the day of the game.
Meeting number 76
Across 75 completed games, Los Angeles lead the head-to-head 43-23-9.
Last 5 meetings
See all: Last 5 meetings →The table on each 2025-26 meeting night
League rank after that night's games; a longer bar is a higher place. On 22 Dec 2025, Los Angeles were 20th in the league and Columbus 24th. By 9 Mar 2026 it was 22nd and 12th.
Los Angeles out-attempted Columbus 124 to 113
Every attempt from the last meetings, both teams shooting right.
Los Angeles Kings
Columbus Blue Jackets
Los Angeles have created the better chances, last 10 games
Shot quality both ways: expected goals weigh every unblocked attempt by its chance of scoring. Finishing above zero means more goals than the chances.
This season: 3 games for Los Angeles, 2 for Columbus. Small sample: early-season xG moves a lot from night to night.
Last 10 games: 10 games for Los Angeles, 10 for Columbus.
2025-26: 82 games for Los Angeles, 82 for Columbus.
Power play and penalty kill, season and series
This season's rates first, then 2025-26 and the last meetings between the two. Power-play chances are counted from the penalty log with coincidental minors cancelled; faceoffs are each club's wins over draws taken.
All bars share one scale · 0–100%SeasonLast meetings
Los Angeles
Small sampleColumbus
Small sampleSkaters to watch
Each club's top three forwards and defencemen by points this season, with 2025-26 one tap away.
Who has stopped this matchup
Save percentage in the last meetings by goalie. Starters are confirmed on game day.
Expected starter after their game on 17 Dec: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.
Expected starter after their game on 17 Dec: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.
Los Angeles crease
LAK · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 16 Dec
No appearances against Columbus in the last meetings.
Columbus crease
CBJ · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 16 Dec
No appearances against Los Angeles in the last meetings.
Scoring rates point to about 6.2 goals
No total is posted yet: it arrives with the game-day prices. Until then, the scoring rates and the recent meetings set the range.
Goals in the last 5 meetings
Bar length is total goals, coloured by the winner.
Scoring rates
Los Angeles3.005.002.743.01
Columbus3.503.503.093.09Goals for and against per game. The estimate averages each team’s scoring with the other’s goals allowed, and leans on 2025-26 until a team has played 20 games.
3 on the injury lists
Los Angeles · injuries
Columbus · injuries
No players listed.
Latest moves
See all: Latest moves →Placed D Otto Salin on the injured non-roster list. Loaned G Erik Portillo to Ontario (AHL).
Waived for the purpose of assignment to Abbotsford (AHL) Fs Martin Chromia, Cole Guttman, Lane Pederson and Francesco Pinelli and D Joe Hicketts. Loaned Fs Aatu Jamsen and Koehn Ziemmer, Ds Angus Booth, Kirill Kirsanov and Jared Woolley to Ontario. Placed F Jan Jenik and D Jakub Dvorak on injured reserve.
Signed F Elton Hermansson to a three-year, entry-level contract.
Placed LW Mikael Pyyhtia on waivers.
Placed D Ivan Provorov on injured reserve.
Assigned G Pheonix Copley to Cleveland (AHL).
Los Angeles · 2026 draft
See all: Los Angeles · 2026 draft →Columbus · 2026 draft
See all: Columbus · 2026 draft →
Updated after every final