The Blue Jackets lost in overtime to the LA Kings yesterday afternoon, missing out on another attainable point in the standings. They had every chance to win this one, but made one too many errors in the end.
This game was trouble right from the beginning. The Kings started former Blue Jacket draft pick Anton Forsberg in goal, which always spells trouble. For some reason, that guy just loves to play his former team.
The pressure built right away. Mason Marchment took an errant high stick right off the opening faceoff, leading to a 4 minute power-play for the Jackets. The moment that penalty was called, I knew it was a bad sign for this team.
They had some very good looks, but Forsberg denied each and every one of them. The moment the power-play was over with the game still scoreless, I knew the Blue Jackets were in trouble. The way this game went for the rest of the first period was no surprise at all.
If you have been a Blue Jackets fan for very long, you know the way these games go. So, of course the LA Kings scored soon after the power-play. Naturally, Artemi Panarin made it 2-0 a little while later, because of course he would.
But the Blue Jackets battled back and made it a game, even getting into the third period with a tie hockey game. Conor Garland scored a pair of goals, while Denton Mateychuk solved Forsberg with his kryptonite: a backhanded puck that slid right through him from a bad angle.
That set up an exciting third period, with the Kings dominating the first half and taking the lead, before the Jackets clawed back into it with a late tying goal on the power-play. Then, overtime struck. Which is where all of their hard work went to waste, resulting in the Kings cruising to a 5-4 win.
Three things that stood out...
1. The overtime was very predictable, and that's a problem. Before the overtime started, I verbally said to a family member: they are going to lose the faceoff, and with Panarin on the ice, they will never touch the puck.
They got a point. With the way faceoffs have gone in this one, and what we know about #10 with time and space, getting that second point may be tough. #CBJ
— Union and Blue (@UnionAndBlue) March 9, 2026
I have scarcely been more right about anything in my life-until I was right again a few moments later. The Blue Jackets did lose the opening faceoff. The Kings did maintain control of the puck for nearly the entire duration of the 3 on 3.
Truth be told, the Blue Jackets were never even in this overtime period. Their coverage issues are exacerbated in the open ice, and it's an area that Rick Bowness has yet to help them dial their game in. They paid the price for it last night.
The only time they touched the puck was when Ivan Provorov, at the end of his shift, intercepted it and then inexplicably backhanded it to the neutral zone and gave it back to the Kings. When he did that, I said aloud: "that's it". Again, I was right. The Kings scored the winner right after.
The only word I can find to describe that overtime: brutal.
2. They gave up 5 goals to one of the worst offensive teams in the league. The Kings entered yesterday's game with the 31st ranked offense in the NHL. They left the game having leap-frogged two teams, jumping up to 29th.
Let's face it: the Blue Jackets were awful in their own end. Too soft, too passive. That's been the case in almost every game since the Olympic break. This is the biggest thing Bowness and his staff need to correct. He basically said it himself after the game:
#CBJ head coach Rick Bowness postgame: "We're scoring four goals, we should be winning games. You give up five in the back-to-back, that's really disappointing. That's not who we are."
— Jeff Svoboda (@JacketsInsider) March 10, 2026
Worse, their goaltending isn't bailing them out any longer. We talked about Elvis Merzlikins yesterday. Now we have to talk about Jet Greaves. When they needed him to bail them out against the Kings, he was unable to do so. They both have to be better. This team won't win many games if they can't get some saves.
3. No fire or emotion. I'm going to call these guys out in a big way here. When Erik Gudbranson was cross-checked into the ribs and left the game, why didn't anybody do anything about it?
Why was Artemi Panarin allowed to skate around for the rest of this game without someone in his hip pocket, making his life miserable? Where was the backlash when Joel Edmundson challenged Adam Fantilli and Mason Marchment in the third period?
We are still waiting for this "all for one, one for all" mentality that Bowness has asked his team to bring. I don't care what the score is, sometimes you have to manufacture some intensity into the game. Yesterday, I thought this team took a lot of crap from the Kings, with no real pushback. That's a great way to lose a hockey game.
Hopefully the Blue Jackets can find their game tonight in Tampa Bay. We'll see.