If he's in the lineup, Jenner will draw a tough opponent for his first game back. The Kings have yet to lose in regulation, and sit atop the Pacific Conference standings with 11 points.
Los Angeles did lose a major piece of its lineup, however, when second-line center Jeff Carter - a former Blue Jacket - sustained a laceration to his left leg that required surgery Thursday. Carter is out indefinitely, and the Kings signed veteran Brooks Laich to a one-year contract to take his roster spot.
The Jackets, meanwhile, are looking to rebound from a frustrating 2-0 loss Thursday to the Tampa Bay Lightning. They finished with a commanding 43-21 edge in shots, outshooting Tampa Bay 33-8 over the final two periods, but couldn't get the puck past goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy.
The loss ended a four-game winning streak for Columbus, which hopes to generate better scoring opportunities regardless of shot totals.
"I looked at the tape this morning, and I think I was fooled," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said after practice Friday at Nationwide Arena. "I think it's very important that our team isn't fooled. We weren't good. You've got to play the right way. We're going to show them video and then we're going to get ready for our next game."
Sergei Bobrovsky is expected to make his second straight start in net for Columbus, which has finished with more shots on net in six of its first seven games - including the past four in a row.
SERIES RECORD
2017-18 Season: (0-0-0). The teams play once more this season, Mar. 1 in Los Angeles.
All-time: 23-26-5; 14-10-3 at Nationwide Arena
"BY THE NUMBERS"
EYES ON: THE KINGS
EYES ON: THE BLUE JACKETS
FUN FACT
Kings forward Dustin Brown is two hits away from 3,000 for his career. Since hits became an official stat in the 2002-03 season, Brown's 2,998 hits are most in the NHL. The closest active player is Washington Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik (2,623). It should be noted that stats weren't kept in 2003-04, but if it had been, it would probably just increase his lead.
QUOTABLES
"We know we're a good power-play line, so we just try to do the right things. Obviously, right now [we're not getting] the bounces or goals that we want, so we've just got to work harder and make it happen." - Blue Jackets center Alex Wennberg on the lack of power-play goals the past six games.
"We weren't in the blue [paint], we had no rebound chances. Shots on goal were lopsided, but chances were basically even in the game, so I mean, I was fooled. I thought we played a really good second period. We did not play the right way, and that's the most important thing, is we've got to make sure we define how we play. We've got to evaluate how we play, no matter if we won the game, lost the game, shots on goal, shots against … all that stuff. It's how you play the game. To me, it was not a good game for us." - Tortorella on the Blue Jackets' loss to the Lightning on Thursday.
"We're excited that he's out there with us [in practice]. He just brings his tenacious style of play. That's one thing about Boone. He drags guys into the fight with him with the way he plays. He's a reckless player, and that's a compliment that he can play that bang, crash style, but also has the skill to go along with it." - Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno on forward Boone Jenner.
PROJECTED LINEUPS
KINGS
Alex Iafallo - Anze Kopitar - Dustin Brown
Tanner Pearson - Nick Shore - Tyler Toffoli
Andy Andreoff - Brooks Laich - Justin Auger
Michael Cammalleri - Adrian Kempe - Trevor Lewis
Derek Forbort - Drew Doughty
Jake Muzzin - Oscar Fantenberg
Alec Martinez - Christian Folin
Jonathan Quick
Darcy Kuemper
Out: Kurtis MacDermid, Nic Dowd
Injured reserve: Marian Gaborik (lower body), Kyle Clifford (upper body)
BLUE JACKETS
Artemi Panarin - Alexander Wennberg - Cam Atkinson
Boone Jenner - Nick Foligno - Oliver Bjorkstrand
Pierre-Luc Dubois - Brandon Dubinsky - Josh Anderson
Sonny Milano - Lukas Sedlak - Matt Calvert
Zach Werenski - Seth Jones
Jack Johnson - David Savard
Ryan Murray - Markus Nutivaara
Sergei Bobrovsky
Joonas Korpisalo
Out:Zac Dalpe,Scott Harrington, Jordan Schroeder (conditioning assignment)
Injured reserve:Gabriel Carlsson (upper body)
NOTE: This is how the Jackets skated during practice Friday. Tortorella said Jenner was officially still day-to-day, and didn't say whether he would be in the lineup.
