Blue Jackets at Kings
THE STORY: The Los Angeles Kings have been solid during their five-game homestand - and they'll face a Columbus Blue Jackets team on Saturday afternoon that has made a habit of making home teams look good. The Blue Jackets come into this one with the second-fewest road victories in the NHL, having gone 4-13-2 in 19 games away from Columbus. With the season looking very much lost for the Blue Jackets, team captain Rick Nash has said he would consider waving his no-trade clause if the team decides to pursue a deal. Nash, who has been with the club since being made the first overall pick in 2002, says his preference is to remain in Columbus, but added that he wouldn't use his no-trade clause to handcuff the team if it opted to go in a different direction. The Kings are very much in the playoff hunt after recording five of a possible six points through the first three games of its homestand.
TV: 4 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Ohio, Fox Sports West
ABOUT THE BLUE JACKETS (10-24-5): Nash has said this is the most difficult season he has had to endure with the Blue Jackets - and for a team that has just one playoff appearance in franchise history, that's saying something. Columbus kicked off a four-game road trip Thursday with a hard-fought 2-1 loss in San Jose. The trek will take the Blue Jackets to Anaheim and Chicago before they return for a four-game homestand beginning Friday against Phoenix.
ABOUT THE KINGS (20-14-7): While it may not be entirely fair to blame the Kings' prior struggled on former head coach Terry Murray, it's hard to argue with what Darryl Sutter has done since taking over eight games ago. The Kings are 5-0-3 in his tenure, including a thrilling 1-0 overtime win over the visiting Coyotes last time out. Los Angeles has struggled mightily to generate offense, averaging a paltry 1.7 goals over its last 15 games.
OVERTIME:
1. Los Angeles has won four straight head-to-head meetings and seven of the last eight overall.
2. Columbus is 1-7-1 in its last nine games and hasn't scored a power-play goal since Dec. 22, when it struck four times with the man advantage but still lost 6-5 to Nashville.
3. Nash has 15 goals and 14 assists in 31 career games against the Kings.