Kings at Blue Jackets
The Los Angeles Kings are off to their best six-game start in history and are the only NHL team without a regulation loss, but they have a major injury concern heading into their longest road trip of the season. The Kings will be without center Jeff Carter indefinitely when they begin a six-game trek against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.
Carter underwent a surgical procedure to repair damage to his lower left leg after he was cut by the skate of Montreal's Jeff Petry in Wednesday's 5-1 victory. “Well, it’s a big challenge,” Los Angeles coach John Stevens told reporters regarding the injury. “You’ve got a veteran guy that’s one of the captains of your team and plays in all situations. He’s one of the most dominant centermen in the league. He’s a huge part of our team, but it’s the next man up now." The Blue Jackets had their four-game winning streak snapped with a 4-0 loss to Tampa Bay on Thursday, which also marked their first home defeat. Saturday's matchup is the second contest of a four-game homestand for Columbus, which split its last four meetings with the Kings - three of which went beyond regulation.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FSN West (Los Angeles), FSN Ohio (Columbus)
ABOUT THE KINGS (5-0-1): Carter's absence will require scoring from other players, and Los Angeles got just that on Wednesday as the trio of Adrian Kempe, Mike Cammalleri and Trevor Lewis erupted for 10 points - including Kempe's first career hat trick. "It’s been one of those things where we’ve been working on it together a little bit here over the past couple weeks," Cammalleri told reporters. "Sometimes when you get a little bit of a result, it adds to the conviction." Goaltender Jonathan Quick has yielded eight goals in his first five starts.
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (5-2-0): Columbus scored on its first power-play chance in the season opener but has come up empty in 18 subsequent opportunities, failing on all three tries against Tampa Bay. “That has to get going for us - let’s not mince words here,” captain Nick Foligno told reporters. “That needs to be a big part of our success. ... We can’t panic, but there has to be a sense of urgency right now to be a difference-maker on our power play.” Boone Jenner (back) was activated from injured reserve and could make his season debut versus the Kings.
OVERTIME
1. Kings C and leading scorer Anze Kopitar has recorded 14 goals and 30 points in 33 career games against Columbus.
2. Blue Jackets G Sergei Bobrovsky is 2-4-2 with a 2.36 goals-against average versus the Kings.
3. Los Angeles is 5-for-9 on the power play over the last three games after an 0-for-16 start to the season.