3/9 Preview – Crunch Time In Columbus + Wright on NHL Adjustment, Smith on Byfield, Tough Assignment To Start

TODAY’S MATCHUP: The Kings begin a five-game roadtrip today in Columbus, as they take on the Blue Jackets. Today’s game was originally scheduled for January 26, but was moved to today due to severe weather in Ohio.

HEAD-TO-HEAD: Defenseman Drew Doughty enters today’s game riding a five-game point streak against Columbus dating back to the 2021-22 season, including an assist when these teams met in Los Angeles back in December. Doughty has 24 assists and 33 points throughout his career against Columbus, his highest totals against any Eastern Conference opponent in both categories.

KINGS VITALS: With an afternoon start time, the Kings did not hold a morning skate in advance of today’s game.

Unclear on today’s starting goaltender, though I would expect Darcy Kuemper and Anton Forsberg to split the trip-opening back-to-back. Should Kuemper start today, he has a lifetime record of 4-4-2 against the Blue Jackets, along with a .935 save percentage and a 2.10 goals-against average. Should Forsberg, a Columbus draft pick, get the nod, he has a 4-4-0 record with a .925 save percentage and a 2.51 goals-against average against his former club.

For reference, here is how the Kings lined up on Saturday versus Montreal –

Today’s @LAKings Line Rushes –

Panarin – Kopitar – Kempe
Moore – Byfield – Laferriere
Turcotte – Laughton – Wright
Malott – Helenius – Ward

Anderson – Doughty
Edmundson – Clarke
Dumoulin – Ceci

Kuemper
Forsberg

— Zach Dooley (@DooleyLAK) March 7, 2026

The Kings have 13 forwards, 7 defensemen and two goaltenders available and on this trip. Should they look to make any changes to the group above, forward Mathieu Joseph and defenseman Jacob Moverare are available to check into the lineup for today’s game.

BLUE JACKETS VITALS: No team in the NHL has been hotter than Columbus, which leads the NHL with a .789 points percentage over the last two months, a record of 14-3-2 record over that span.

Per the Columbus team account, here’s how today’s opposition lined up last time out –

things we like to see ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/IcknugmeS6

— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) March 7, 2026

Columbus forward Mason Marchment scored twice when the Kings and Blue Jackets squared off in December, shortly after he was acquired via trade from Seattle. Marchment has 11 goals and 19 points in 20 games since he joined the Columbus organization, ranking second on the team in goals in that span. Forward Conor Garland made his Columbus debut against Utah on Saturday, after he was acquired via trade from Vancouver earlier in the week.

Storyline Of The Day – Crunch Time
A few statistics from Saturday’s game against Montreal.

Per Natural Stat Trick, in all situations, the Kings set a season high with 26 high-danger chances. They had 46 scoring chances, tied for the most in a game this season. Outside of Thursday’s win over the Islanders, where they had a lopsided number due to the amount of shots they took against an empty net, Saturday was also a season-high for expected goals for in a game. In total, the Kings had 69 unblocked shot attempts against Montreal, which was, you guessed it, a nice season high.

These are all really good things, a continuation of some of the good things we have been seeing from the team since Interim Head Coach D.J. Smith took the helm. And yet, as the Kings hit the road, they do so off a 4-3 defeat against the Canadiens, dropping the record to 1-2-0 since the coaching change was made. Montreal scored two goals in 49 seconds late in the third period, undoing all of the good things the Kings did until that point.

The change in the way the team has played is obvious. If the change was made two months ago, a game like Saturday’s against Montreal would be very encouraging early into a new coaching regime. The Kings did so many things well in that game and deserved the win. But expected goals aren’t goals. Deserved wins aren’t wins. Ultimately, Saturday’s strong showing goes down most simply put as a missed opportunity. The Kings would have moved within one point of a playoff spot if they took care of business against the Canadiens. They’d be playing tonight to move into a wild card position. They got help elsewhere around the league and they should have made that jump. But they didn’t win. Now, they enter the final 20 games no closer than they were at the start of a six-game homestand coming out of the Olympic break.

After the defeat, forward Alex Laferriere was asked about losing in that fashion and he spoke about a loss that hurts. About a two points that he knew the Kings needed. He said the right things, understanding that there are no do-overs, that the Kings have to try and take the positives from a game in which they played well and try and carry them onto the road. But there’s no mistaking what Saturday’s game was. It was a missed opportunity, simple as that.

We’re not at the point in the season where there are true must-win games. Saturday’s defeat didn’t mathematically end the season. Though, when you’re three points out, you’re playing at home and you have a 3-2 lead in the third period of a game you have thoroughly controlled until that point, it just felt like a must win. The Kings had to find a way to get that game over the line but they walked away empty handed, without even a loser point to show for it. That stings.

Still, it’s been a breath of fresh air to watch the Kings over the last week. At the very least, the excitement is back. For as bad as the ending was, the Kings were fun to watch play and they’ve been fun to watch over these three games. Have not seen any signs thus far that we won’t see that same effort and work ethic from the group as they hit the road. But with the way the organization approached the trade deadline, while they did move a couple of players for draft capital, they did not fire sale, meaning they didn’t choose to seriously amass assets for the future. The goal is still to make the playoffs and that goal is within reach. Just a further reach today than it should have been.

Saturday’s game was a lot of good things. But it was not a step towards the playoffs and that’s disappointing. Coming out today, tomorrow and throughout this trip and playing the same game we saw at home would be a good thing for the Kings. That’ll put them in a position to win, showing us a lot of the things we’ve been clamoring for until that point. Good thing for all of us too, because it’s an enjoyable brand of hockey.

For a team in this position, though, playing that way alone that won’t be enough. The Kings need to win the games they dominate. There will be off nights, as there are for any team, so the ones where you’re on, you’ve got to win. As they hit the road, which has felt more like home this season anyways, a margin for error that was already thin is now that much thinner. Not a moment left to waste.

3 To Watch For –
– Quinton Byfield returned to the Kings lineup on Saturday against Montreal, after he missed two games with an upper-body injury. He played 21:26, so there was no easing him back in.

It was Byfield’s first game in the lineup since Smith took over behind the bench as the Interim Head Coach. Certainly been an up-and-down season for Byfield. What does Smith want to see from him over these final 20 games?

“There’s another guy that can really skate and I’m going to push him to forecheck, be physical on the forecheck, hitting guys and getting to the net,” Smith said. “I think that can help him take his game to the next level, is getting some ugly goals and making it hard on the defense. When you just walk by Q, he’s a big dude. When you [play the Kings], you’ve got to feel our speed, but you’ve also got to get hit. I think he’s a guy that can really do that for us.”

Think that quote is encouraging.

Byfield’s combination of size and speed is shared by few other players around the NHL. But he hasn’t put the full package of tools together as often as I think everyone, himself included, would like to see. It’s in there, though, and Smith preaches an up-tempo style with tons of physicality. 55 is one to watch as to how he perhaps elevates his game under those principles.

– Wrote yesterday about Scott Laughton and how he felt his line fit in on night one, with Alex Turcotte and Jared Wright. He liked the speed and direct nature that both players brought, something that Interim Head Coach D.J. Smith echoed.

“That line was real fast, Turc and Wright, they really skate,” Smith said. “I thought they were really good.”

Wright is an example of why maybe NHL Edge data needs to add a few new statistics to measure skating ability. You watch Wright play and you can instantly tell he is often the fastest player on the ice. Yet, in his three games with the Kings, he hasn’t recorded a single speed burst of 22 MPH. Maybe we haven’t seen the long-course skating enough just yet. But those numbers do not measure the way he moves on the ice.

Wright’s burst and acceleration to top speed is elite. His skating has been NHL quality since he played NCAA hockey and that’s typically the biggest thing that younger players mention when the reach the NHL, the pace. For a player who doesn’t have that problem, what is the biggest adjustment for him?

“I thought the pace was good, but in the NHL, their sticks are so good, it’s amazing,” Wright said. “Sometimes, you think you’ve got a step, but they’re just so good with their sticks, they can really shut you down. That’s probably the biggest thing I took away from it, just how good, positionally, defensemen are in the NHL and how good they are with their sticks.”

What separates Wright from speed demons past is his awareness. Sometimes, he still needs the playing to catch up to the skating, but that will come with time and development. There’s more than a one-dimensional burner in there and his engine runs longer than some players who skate like he does. A lot to like there. As he learns the ins and outs of the NHL game, there’s an exciting prospect. He’s a unique player with a bright future in the role that he plays. Could definitely see penalty-killing minutes in his future/ Looking forward to seeing how he continues to impact games here as the Kings hit the road.

– Lastly, this is just the second time since I’ve been with the Kings that they’ve played a game on Eastern time without a day off first to adjust. Today’s game was supposed to be played in January, though the game was ultimately pushed back due to severe weather in Columbus.

The change certainly impacts the Kings substantially more than the Blue Jackets, who are in the midst of a homestand, though both teams play tomorrow as well, in different cities. The only other time this happened was also in Columbus ironically enough. The Kings looked out of sorts for 40 minutes, going down 3-0, before rallying to find an improbable 4-3 overtime win.

I don’t say that to make an excuse, but this is a much harder game than a typical trip opener. There’s a reason this wasn’t scheduled. But the Kings can’t afford to let it impact them, as much as it could. With 20 games remaining, there isn’t time for a scheduled loss. Kings have to find a way to battle through it.

With that being said, I think the 4 PM puck drop helps a bit. My understanding is that the time was chosen to give both teams an easier back-to-back, with travel, the following day. You can essentially play this like an afternoon game. It’s a 1 PM puck drop and there’s a lot of familiarity with that. The Kings did not skate this morning, so it’s basically like a weekend matinee. I think mentally, the Kings are trying to treat this game, schedule wise, like they’re playing at 1 PM Pacific, not 4 PM Eastern. They’ll get two days after tomorrow’s game in Boston and should be fine by that point. But it’s a challenging start this afternoon, one that they will need to overcome.

Kings and Blue Jackets. 1 PM hockey on a Monday. That’s just strange, isn’t it? Interesting way to begin the trip, but a big one on tap for the Kings this afternoon in Ohio.