The Columbus Blue Jackets earned a point on Mar. 10 after Kirill Marchenko scored a late power-play goal to force overtime, but ultimately lost 5-4 to the Los Angeles Kings at Nationwide Arena.
The game was closely contested, with both teams exchanging leads throughout. Adrian Kempe scored his second goal of the night at 2:34 of overtime, securing the win for Los Angeles. Kempe’s overtime tally marked his 11th career overtime goal, tying Jeff Carter for the most in Kings franchise history. “I just tried to get lost a little bit, and then as soon as ‘Bread’ looked up, I tried to get a couple steps and then just fire as hard as I could, didn’t even look,” Kempe said.
Marchenko had tied the game for Columbus with less than two minutes left in regulation. Conor Garland contributed two goals for the Blue Jackets, while Denton Mateychuk added a goal and an assist. The Blue Jackets extended their point streak to six games and are now 13-2-3 since Rick Bowness became head coach on Jan. 12. “We’re scoring four goals, we should be winning games,” Bowness said. “To give up five back to back is really disappointing. That’s not who we are.”
For Los Angeles, Brian Dumoulin recorded a goal and two assists; Artemi Panarin and Scott Laughton each had a goal and an assist. Anze Kopitar registered an assist to extend his point streak to four games.
The matchup was originally scheduled for Jan. 26 but was postponed due to Winter Storm Fern’s heavy snowfall.
Looking ahead, Columbus remains close in the playoff race, trailing Boston by two points for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
