PREVIEW: Jackets end California swing against Ducks

Going into Tuesday night's game at Los Angeles, the Blue Jackets talked of trying to string wins together and coming home form California with momentum.

Instead, to paraphrase Led Zeppelin, the Jackets are going through California with an aching in their heart after taking a 5-1 loss to the Kings. It was an opportunity for Columbus to win consecutive games for the first time since Black Friday, but instead it ended with another frustrating setback. 

"That's something we want to get better at," captain Boone Jenner said. "We need to follow up a win with another win, with another good effort. It wasn't enough tonight."

Indeed, much of the frustration came from the fact the Blue Jackets were unable to get to the hard areas while allowing the Kings too many good looks at the net. While it was another game the Jackets lost the special teams battle -- they've been outscored 12-2 on the power play the last seven games -- the bigger issue in the eyes of the captain was that the team couldn't sustain any momentum up and down the lineup. 

"We just didn't play hard enough or good enough to get the win," Jenner said. "It's a stingy team and you have to work for our chances, and we didn't do that enough. We know what kind of style they play, a heavy game. it's hard to get chances. They're gonna work for what they get. When you know that going in, it's on us to be better there. We just have to ramp it up if we want to get wins in this league."

Indeed, the size and experience level of the Kings was a big part of the difference in the game to head coach Pascal Vincent. 

"I think their physical maturity was quite evident," Vincent said. "That's a real good team that can sustain O-zone play because they're strong physically, their forwards are big, they can protect the puck and then the other team is on their heels because of that. I thought that was a major component of the game tonight."

Things could be a little different tonight, though, as the Blue Jackets move to Orange County to take on a team in a similar situation as them. 

Know The Foe: Anaheim Ducks

Head coach: Greg Cronin (First season)  

Team stats: Goals per game: 2.58 (29th) | Scoring defense: 3.51 (27th) | PP: 19.8 percent (19th) | PK: 76.2 percent (25th)  

The narrative: Anaheim is deep into a rebuild and on its way to a sixth straight season without playoff hockey, but you can see a strong core being built there. Trevor Zegras, Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish and Pavel Mintyukov are all 22 or younger and have become NHL regulars, while the team’s midseason trade to acquire Cutter Gauthier adds another top-five pick to the mix. There’s more on the way, too, so while times are tough in Anaheim right now, the future could be very bright.

Team leaders: Veteran Frank Vatrano is having a charmed season, as the longtime grinder was the Ducks All-Star representative thanks to a season that already includes a career-high 26 goals among his team-leading 44 points. Troy Terry follows with a 16-26-42 line and Adam Henrique has a mark of 16-20-36. At age 21, McTavish has 15 goals among his 36 points, while CBJ killer Cam Fowler (10-10-20 in 25 career games) is the top scoring defenseman with 27 points.

In net, veteran John Gibson has served as the No. 1 on the season and is 12-19-1 with a 3.07 GAA and .900 save percentage, while Lukas Dostal is 8-14-1 with a 3.73 GAA and .897 save percentage.

What's new: The Ducks were a surprising 9-6-0 at the start of the season, but the bottom has fallen out since, with Anaheim going 11-27-2 since Nov. 15. The team has been outscored 150-96 in that span and has won consecutive games only twice in that span. Back-to-back wins are on the table, though, as the Ducks beat Buffalo on Presidents’ Day to cap a 2-2-0 road trip out east. On the injury front, Zegras has been limited to 20 games on the year and is out with a broken ankle.

Trending: Anaheim beat Columbus in Nationwide Arena on Oct. 24, taking a 3-2 overtime win on Vatrano’s goal. The Ducks have now won five straight in the series (CBJ is 0-3-2) and Columbus has won just two of the last eight at the Honda Center.

Former CBJ: Assistant coach Newell Brown was an assistant on the inaugural CBJ team and coached in Columbus through January 2004.

Roster Report  

Projected Lineup (subject to change)          

Johnny Gaudreau – Boone Jenner – Jack Roslovic 
Yegor Chinakhov – Dmitri Voronkov – Kirill Marchenko 
Kent Johnson – Cole Sillinger – Justin Danforth 
Alexandre Texier – Sean Kuraly – Mathieu Olivier 
Zach Werenski – Adam Boqvist 
Ivan Provorov – Damon Severson  
Jake Bean – Erik Gudbranson 
Daniil Tarasov 
Elvis Merzlikins

Scratches: Adam Fantilli (calf laceration, out eight weeks as of Jan. 31), Emil Bemstrom, Andrew Peeke

Injured reserve: None

Roster Report: The Blue Jackets used this skater lineup last night in Los Angeles, so we’ll have to see if any changes are afoot during pregame interviews.

3 Stats to Know 

• Johnny Gaudreau has assists in six of the last seven games (0-8-8) and nine of his past 12 (0-12-12)., though his six-game point streak ended in LA.
• Boone Jenner has four goals and an assist in the last four games since returning from the NHL All-Star Game and now leads the Blue Jackets with 17 goals. 
• Milestone watch: Adam Boqvist is two games from 200 for his NHL career (23-60-83, 198 GP). ... Jenner is four games away from becoming the first player in CBJ history to play 700 games (187-165-352, 696 GP). ... Zach Werenski is five assists from 200 for his NHL career (81-195-276, 458 GP).

Who’s Hot  

Johnny Gaudreau has recorded 3-19-22 in the last 24 games. ... Dmitri Voronkov has seven goals in the last 11 games and is among NHL rookie leaders in goals (14, third) and points (27, tied for third). ... Yegor Chinakhov has collected a 3-4-7 line in his last seven contests played and has totaled 12-9-21 over his last 25 games. ... With two assists in San Jose, Erik Gudbranson has set career highs in helpers (14) and points (17). ... The team’s rookie stat line of 27-36-63 is first in the NHL in goals and third in points.

This Day in CBJ History

Feb. 21, 2003: The Blue Jackets set a franchise record for penalty minutes in a game with 70 while suffering a 6-0 loss at San Jose. Jody Shelley collects 29 of them, David Ling receives a 10-minute misconduct and Jamie Allison also receives a fighting major in the historic showing.

Feb. 21, 2009: Another franchise record is set as Columbus allows just 13 shots on goal but suffers a 5-2 loss to Anaheim in Nationwide Arena. Five different Ducks score as Steve Mason makes just eight saves.

Feb. 21, 2012: Jeff Carter registers the 21st hat trick in club history and his second of the season with three goals in a 6-3 win over San Jose at Nationwide Arena.