kings vs blue jackets is back on the schedule on March 9, 2026, with the Kings opening a five-game road trip in Columbus. The game was originally set for January 26 but was moved to today because of severe weather in Ohio. The immediate focus is simple and urgent: the Kings are trying to bounce back from a 4-3 loss to the Canadiens while Columbus comes in scorching over the last two months.
Road trip begins in Columbus after severe weather reshuffle
At 8: 00 a. m. ET on March 9, the central detail around this matchup is timing: this is the rescheduled date for a game that could not be played on January 26 due to severe weather in Ohio. For the Kings, it also marks the start of a five-game swing away from home, with Columbus first up.
The Kings did not hold a morning skate ahead of the afternoon start time, leaving some day-of clarity unresolved. One of the key unanswered items remains the starting goaltender for the opener, with the expectation that Darcy Kuemper and Anton Forsberg will split a trip-opening back-to-back. If Kuemper starts, his lifetime record against Columbus is 4-4-2 with a. 935 save percentage and a 2. 10 goals-against average. If Forsberg gets the nod, he carries a 4-4-0 record with a. 925 save percentage and a 2. 51 goals-against average against his former club.
The Kings have 13 forwards, seven defensemen, and two goaltenders available on the trip. If changes are made from Saturday’s group, forward Mathieu Joseph and defenseman Jacob Moverare are available to enter the lineup.
Kings Vs Blue Jackets: Form check, key names, and the “crunch time” storyline
The urgency on the Kings’ side comes straight out of Saturday’s 4-3 defeat against Montreal, a result that dropped their record to 1-2-0 since the coaching change that put Interim Head Coach D. J. Smith in charge. The game included a late swing: Montreal scored two goals in 49 seconds late in the third period, flipping the outcome after what the Kings saw as a strong process.
That process is at the heart of the day’s “crunch time” storyline. In all situations against Montreal, the Kings set a season high with 26 high-danger chances and generated 46 scoring chances, tied for their most in a game this season. They also posted a season high with 69 unblocked shot attempts, and—outside of a Thursday win over the Islanders that was influenced by empty-net sequences—Saturday represented a season high in expected goals for.
On the Columbus side, the numbers are blunt: no NHL team has been hotter over the last two months, with Columbus leading the league at a. 789 points percentage and a 14-3-2 record in that span. Individual threats are also clear from the most recent head-to-head touchpoints. Forward Mason Marchment scored twice when the teams met in December, shortly after he was acquired in a trade from Seattle. Since joining Columbus, Marchment has 11 goals and 19 points in 20 games, ranking second on the team in goals over that stretch. Columbus also has a new face in the mix: forward Conor Garland made his Columbus debut against Utah on Saturday after being acquired in a trade from Vancouver earlier in the week.
For the Kings, defenseman Drew Doughty brings a notable head-to-head streak into the afternoon: he enters the game riding a five-game point streak against Columbus dating back to the 2021-22 season, including an assist when the teams met in Los Angeles in December. In his career against Columbus, Doughty has 24 assists and 33 points—his highest totals against any Eastern Conference opponent in both categories.
Immediate reactions and what’s next as puck drop nears
Interim Head Coach D. J. Smith is still in the early stretch of his tenure, with the Kings carrying a 1-2-0 record since the change, and Saturday’s underlying chance creation standing out as a point of emphasis heading into this opener. The next developments to watch are immediate and practical: the Kings’ starter in net, whether Joseph or Moverare is inserted into the lineup, and how quickly the Kings can convert their recent volume of chances into goals against a Columbus team that has been the league’s most successful over the last two months.
As of 8: 00 a. m. ET on March 9, the headline reality remains that kings vs blue jackets is not only a rescheduled game—it is the first pressure test of a road trip, with the Kings searching for a clean response and Columbus arriving with momentum.
