PREVIEW: Blue Jackets host Kings on Star Wars Night

The reality is the task that greeted the Blue Jackets on Thursday night was about as tough as it gets in the NHL.

Carolina has developed a reputation as one of the hardest teams to play against in the NHL because of their speed, constant pressure and dedication to creating the type of chaos that can leave an opposing team’s head spinning.

Facing the Hurricanes in the best of times is a tall order, but doing so on the second half of a back-to-back makes the ask even harder.

Columbus handled the storm, so to speak, by taking a 2-0 lead through one period in Raleigh, but eventually the surge overwhelmed the Blue Jackets. Carolina scored five times in the second period and pulled away to a 7-4 win that was not very emblematic of the way the Blue Jackets have played of late.

They had given up just 10 goals in the previous seven games, but Carolina’s pressure in a tough situation at the end of a road trip that featured four games in six days was too much.

“They don’t allow you to make a lot of plays in the offensive zone and even the neutral zone,” Jack Johnson said afterward. “We managed it well in the first and third, but you can’t have a second period like that and expect good things against a good team.”

But as a wise man (Jedi?) once said, “Do or do not. There is no try.” The result at the end of the night was the Blue Jackets left North Carolina with zero points, and there are certain ares of their game they can clean up. If there was any particular frustration with the effort, it was that the Blue Jackets lost their structure a bit at times and allowed Carolina to create in transition, a no-no against a team as fast and talented as the Hurricanes.

If there was a saving grace, though, it was that the Blue Jackets didn’t go down without a fight, scoring two goals of their own to turn a 5-2 deficit into a 5-4 game though two periods. Columbus couldn’t get over the hump in the third period, but the team at least showed the fighting spirit that has been common throughout the season.

“We were reeling a little bit, but the group hung in there, and obviously we kept plugging away,” head coach Dean Evason said. “We just couldn’t find a way at the end.”

The good news is the team got a little rest Friday with an off day, and the Blue Jackets return to Nationwide Arena tonight to face the Kings. The comforts of home have been evident throughout this season but particularly as the campaign has gone on, as Columbus has earned points in 18 of the last 21 games (15-3-3) in their own barn.

Know The Dark Side: Los Angeles Kings

Head coach: Jim Hiller (Second season)

Team stats: Goals per game: 2.91 (18th) | Scoring defense: 2.44 (2nd) | PP: 16.2 percent (28th) | PK: 82.1 percent (8th)

The narrative: Stanley Cup champions in 2012 and ’14, Los Angeles hasn’t won a playoff series since the latter victory, including three straight first-round exits. A rebuild after the last title has brought the team a bevy of young talent, and the hope is mixing it with some solid veterans can vault the team back into the stratosphere of the NHL’s elite. Los Angeles has finished third in the Pacific Division each of the past three seasons and occupies that same spot coming into tonight’s game.

Team leaders: Adrian Kempe might be the most underrated player in the league, averaging just shy of 35 goals each of the past three seasons and leading the Kings this year with 24 tallies among 44 points. The 28-year-old Swedish wing has scored in eight of the last 10 games. Now in his 19th season, the seemingly ageless Anze Kopitar is still a great player at age 37, placing second on the team with a 12-31-43 line. Alex Laferriere (13-13-26) and Kevin Fiala (15-11-26) follow, while 21-year-old Brandt Clarke leads the defensemen with 24 points.

Playing behind one of the best defensive teams in the league, 2022 Cup winner Darcy Kuemper has had a career renaissance, posting a 14-4-5 record, 2.06 GAA and a .922 save percentage. He’s split time with David Rittich (20 starts, 11-10-0, 2.65 GAA, .884 save percentage).

What’s new: The return of likely Hall of Fame defenseman Drew Doughty is imminent, as the 16-year veteran has not played this season with an ankle injury. Laferriere also has been on the shelf with an upper-body injury, not a good development for a team that has consistently struggled to score goals, including just 11 in the last six games as Los Angeles has posted a 2-4-0 record. On the other side of things, the defense has been strong all season, with the Kings leading the NHL in expected goals against per 60 minutes at 5-on-5 according to MoneyPuck.com.

Trending: Los Angeles won a 5-2 final between the teams Nov. 9, Columbus’ fourth straight loss in the series, but the Blue Jackets have points in the last five matchups (3-0-2) in Nationwide Arena.

Former CBJ: Defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov is in his third season with the Kings and has a 2-14-16 line and plus-11 rating thus far while playing almost 24 minutes a night with Doughty out. His last goal came 29 games ago vs. Columbus.