Thursday skate update

Based on today’s morning skate, the Kings seem to be staying with the same lineup (other than Jonathan Bernier in goal), with Davis Drewiske, Brad Richardson and Kevin Westgarth as the healthy scratches. And, just to follow up on the previous item, the Columbus Blue Jackets are on their best run of the season. They’ve won a season-best three consecutive games, beating Colorado once and Phoenix twice, by a combined margin of 10-4. Darryl Sutter certainly took note of those Columbus wins, and probably noted that Blue Jackets goalie Steve Mason, after a rough run in February, has stopped 91 of 95 shots in the last four games. The Blue Jackets, far out of the Western Conference playoff race, have nothing to lose at this point.

SUTTER: “They just beat three teams that we didn’t beat, Phoenix twice and Colorado. I don’t think there has to be much of a message. It’s clearly about one game at a time, and they have a different mindset than we do. They’re trying to play the role of spoiler, and as a team and as individuals, they’re trying to play the role of proving something, because they have a lot of young guys that are trying to show what their identity is to everybody. And we’re in a different situation, where we’re fighting for a playoff spot. There’s two totally different mindsets. We can’t let their strong mindset right now get in the way of ours.’’