The Los Angeles Kings once again are hitting the road, this time with five games over eight days. This road trip starts in Columbus and the Kings are expected to get a key player back for this game with Alex Laferriere expected to make his return.
Based on practice yesterday, the Kings are expected to have Laferriere play alongside Kevin Fiala and Phillip Danault. This is notable because Fiala finished their last game on the top line with Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe. It would end up resulting in a goal and I thought it was a group the Kings should give an extended look to however it appears Jim Hiller wants to put Alex Turcotte back in that spot.
It is also worth noting that for this game the Kings are expected to stick with the 12/6 roster alignment according to Zach Dooley. This is something they typically haven't done but did against the Panthers and appear to be committed to it for at least this game.
Final Score Prediction: Los Angeles Kings 4, Columbus Blue Jackets 3
The Columbus Blue Jackets are one of the highest scoring teams in the NHL as they are tied for sixth in the league with an average of 3.31 goals per game. However, they are a team that gives up a lot of goals with the fifth worst goals against average of 3.37.
The reason the Kings can win this game is that they are the inverse as they are an excellent defensive team that limits opponents scoring chances with the second lowest goals against average of 2.44. I like their chances of shutting down the Blue Jackets offense but have enough with their forwards to take advantage of a struggling defense.
This is going to be a big test for the Kings over the next week but they should be able to start this road trip with a win.