Scouting the Blue Jackets

This is the fourth and final meeting of the season between the Kings and the Columbus Blue Jackets. It follows the Kings’ 2-1 victory on Dec. 15 at Columbus, the Blue Jackets’ 1-0 victoryon Jan. 7 in Los Angeles and the Kings’ 3-2 victory on Feb. 1 in Los Angeles. All three games were one-goal games, and there hasn’t been much scoring overall, as the Kings have outscored the Blue Jackets by a combined margin of 5-4. The Blue Jackets, after a three-game losing streak, now have a season-best three-game winning streak, but will be without defenseman Fedor Tyutin (broken hand) and center Derek MacKenzie (concussion symptoms). The team called up winger Maksim Mayorov, on an emergency basis, to replace MacKenzie. Columbus is led by winger Rick Nash, who was not moved at the trade deadline and has 24 goals in 66 games, including three goals in the four games since the deadline passed. For the latest on the Blue Jackets, check out the coverage from The Columbus Dispatch, followed by the possible lineups for the Kings and the Blue Jackets…

The Columbus Dispatch’s Blue Jackets coverage

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KINGS LINEUP
Dustin Brown-Anze Kopitar-Justin Williams
Dwight King-Mike Richards-Jeff Carter
Dustin Penner-Jarret Stoll-Trevor Lewis
Kyle Clifford-Colin Fraser-Jordan Nolan

Rob Scuderi-Drew Doughty
Willie Mitchell-Slava Voynov
Alec Martinez-Matt Greene

Jonathan Bernier
Jonathan Quick

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BLUE JACKETS LINEUP
R.J. Umberger-Derick Brassard-Rick Nash
Vaclav Prospal-Mark Letestu-Cam Atkinson
Colton Gillies-Darryl Boyce-Derek Dorsett
Maksim Mayorov-Ryan Johansen-Ryan Russell

Jack Johnson-James Wisniewski
Brett Lebda-John Moore
Aaron Johnson-Nikita Nikitin

Steve Mason
Curtis Sanford