The Los Angeles Kings opened their five-game road trip against the Columbus Blue Jackets as they tried to build off their win over the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night. It was a game that the Kings looked like the better team for most of the night but had to work for seemingly everything and didn't get any lucky breaks.
The Kings would finish this game with more shots (33 to 24) and win more faceoffs (30 to 22) but would never lead. It would be the Blue Jackets who score the first goal and then break the tie in the third before Quinton Byfield tied it up late in the third to send it to overtime.
It was good to see the Kings get at least one point out of this game but it was one that felt like they should have gotten both points with how they played. This is some of the other takeaways from this game.
LA Kings stick with the 12/6 alignment
The Los Angeles Kings were able to get Alex Laferriere back for this game after he missed the last four due to injury. The return of the forward would bump Akil Thomas out of the rotation, who played in his first game since December on Wednesday night against the Florida Panthers.
However, the notable roster decision from this game was the Kings stuck with 12 forwards and 6 defensemen for the second straight game. For most of the season, the Kings have elected to have seven defensemen and only 11 forwards but with the performance against the Panthers, Jim Hiller kept this alignment.
It will be interesting to see how long this lasts and if the eventual return of Drew Doughty changes anything for the Kings.