Game 63: Blue Jackets 5, Kings 4

Well, the Kings actually scored first. Too bad, they ran into a hungry Columbus team who have learned how to rally the troops when needed.

This was a matchup of Calder contenders:  Blue Jackets goalie Steve Mason and the Kings' Drew Doughty. And not that I'm biased, but I'd have to say this match was lost by Mason. Notice I didn't say won by Doughnuts.

Because there were nine goals combined between the two teams. And even though he wound up only being on the ice for one of Columbus' 5 goals, he was also only on for Ted (Don't Call Me Teddy) Purcell's goal. Granted, he led all skaters in TOI, but he didn't exactly annouce his presence with authority.

Mason only faced 25 shots, and let in 4 of them. You call that Calder material?!? Well, probably...

So now, the cries that the Kings go back on the road and now silenced, and the team limps home after going 1-for-5 on the road.

• AP: Malhotra, Torres help Blue Jackets edge Kings

Jarret Stoll had a goal and an assist for the Kings, and Edward Purcell, Anze Kopitar and Oscar Moller each scored in a span of 1:55 of the second period to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead.

• Yahoo: Team report

The good news for the Kings? They scored four goals in a game for the first time in almost two weeks. The Kings had scored a combined four regulation goals in their last four games. The bad news? Obviously it’s that they allowed five goals, an unfortunate plateau they have reached three times in their last nine games.

• LAKings.com: Royal road report: Kopitar keeps wearing out Jackets

Eleven different Kings tallied points in the game, with Jarret Stoll the lone King with multiple-points, scoring 1-1=2. It was just the Kings seventh regulation loss of the season when scoring first, 22-7- 3 and Los Angeles is now 13-3-2 when Kopitar scores a goal.

They said it

“At the end of the day, their best players made the plays to win the game. That’s what it comes down to in a critical situation. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. Their best players stepped up and got it done.”—Kings coach Terry Murray

Looking through purple-hued goggles

• The Throne Room: Fading away

What gets me, what’s making me eat my heart out of my chest, giving me an upset stomach and keeping me awake nights is that it’s been shown to us that the Kings are capable of so much better. We’ve beaten some pretty damn good hockey teams on the road this season. We’ve also managed to play abysmally against some not so great hockey teams. In the end that will probably be the difference between getting in the playoffs and not for this team. Inconsistency is one of the hallmarks of a young and developing hockey team, and we’ve seen plenty of that. In reality there are a lot of positives I could focus on with the team this season, but it’s so disappointing to see things coming unraveled right now that it’s hard for someone who bleeds black and purple to see the forest for the trees perhaps. I want the playoffs, and I want them now. I think about what a huge boost it would be for the team and it’s fans, even if they end up Cannon Fodder for San Jose or Detroit in round one (especially since Anaheim doesn’t look like a good bet to get in at this point either).

• The Royal Half: A seller's market

My Chance of Seeing Post-Season Hockey for the First Time in 7 years, 0

• Purple Crushed Velvet: Season over.

After losing to Chicago on Sunday and then losing again tonight to Columbus, the Kings season is over. Done. Fini. When I can't get excited about watching a game, I just know it's over. And to make matters worse, Jason LaBarbera is Mr. March in the Kings calendar; I'm going to have to replace him with someone else...probably Frolov.

From across the aisle, the Columbus view

• The Columbus Dispatch: Weary, wild winners

"I knew how tough this game would be," Jackets coach Ken Hitchcock said. "I know how I feel personally and the players felt 10 times worse, but we gutted it out and it was a huge two points."

• Puck-rakers: Game 64

It was a breathtaking couple minutes there in the second period. For a time, the Kings looked exactly like the Jackets do when the Jackets are going well, except the Kings are younger and they have Anze Kopitar. It was Kopitar who scored the middle goal in the three-goal barrage, on a knuckling shot that handcuffed Steve Mason and rolled up and over Mason’s arm. The Kings’ next goal, scored by Oscar Moller amid yet another fire drill, came 29 seconds later, at 14:14. It gave the Kings a 4-3 lead.

Peeping the dailies