Blue Jackets stumble early, start road trip with 2-1 loss to Los Angeles Kings

LOS ANGELES — One team needed a victory to stay alive in the playoff race and the other one did not.

The Los Angeles Kings were the team on the prowl, the Blue Jackets weren’t for the first period and the result was a 2-1 victory for the hosts Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena.

Dustin Brown and Phillip Danault scored goals in the first period to build a 2-0 lead for the Kings (40-27-10) and goalie Jonathan Quick made them stand up with a 21-save performance to eke out a much-needed victory.

The Kings, who only have five games remaining, are third in the Pacific Division (90 points) and needed to win to increase their lead over the Vegas Golden Knights — who are fourth in that division and lost 4-0 to the Edmonton Oilers.

“The emphasis of this game was going to be a (Kings) team that was desperate and going to come out strong, so it wasn’t a surprise to us,” said Blue Jackets center Sean Kuraly, who scored the lone goal for Columbus. “I guess that’s the frustrating part. We just gave them a couple that probably — not our goalie or anything — but we’d like to have back.”

Kuraly’s goal was the lone offensive highlight for the Blue Jackets (35-34-6), who leaned heavily on goalie Elvis Merzlikins (36 saves) while being outshot 38-22 and struggling to maintain possession most of the first period.

“We didn’t match it, for sure,” Blue Jackets coach Brad Larsen said of the Kings’ early intensity. “That’s all we talked about. You knew they were coming. This was a huge game for them. … They don’t give up much. They’re a real stingy team, so you’ve got to fight for your ice and you knew you were going to get their best. This was pretty much a ‘must-win’ for that team, so I thought we got a little bit better and it was a good experience for us.”

The loss began a three-game road trip for the Jackets, who travel to Anaheim next to face the Ducks on Sunday at Honda Center.

Blue Jackets eliminated from playoff contention

Before the game started, the Blue Jackets were officially ousted from the playoffs by the outcome of game that took place roughly 2,800 miles to the Northeast.

The Washington Capitals’ 8-4 victory in Montreal did the trick and finally delivered the knockout punch even the Jackets saw coming weeks ago. It wasn’t an outcome they accepted easily, staving off elimination for much longer than nearly every preseason prognosticator expected from one of the NHL’s youngest teams.

That’s not a triumph or victory, but can easily be seen as evidence the Jackets’ plan to “reset” themselves for long-term success may not take as long as many expect.

Sean Kuraly, Carson Meyer combine for memorable Blue Jackets goal

The Kings dominated the first two periods and led 2-0 after the opening 20 minutes.

The Jackets showed more pushback starting the second, including Kuraly’s goal to cut the Los Angeles lead to 2-1 just 53 seconds into the period. It was his 13th goal, pushing his season total up by five over the previous high of eight in 2018-19 for the Boston Bruins, but that’s not what made it special.

It’s who sent Kuraly a pass for the tap-in that made it memorable. The feed was from rookie forward Carson Meyer, whom Kuraly has known for years because of their common origins growing up in the Columbus area.

Both are alums of the Ohio AAA Blue Jackets Tier I developmental program and began their collegiate careers at Miami, where Meyer played two seasons before transferring to Ohio State. Both grew up fans of the Blue Jackets, attending games at Nationwide Arena as kids.

"It's really cool," said Meyer, who's five years younger than Kuraly. "He was a role model for me for years, growing up, and been somebody who's always given me advice and somebody to look up to ... and now, a chance to be teammates with him and linemates. To help set up his goal, it's a pretty cool moment for me."

Kuraly’s return from a COVID-19 infection is what led to the opportunity for one former AAA Blue Jacket to set up another, after Larsen placed the veteran center on a fourth line with Meyer at right wing. Watching them combine with Gustav Nyquist for the goal, even one scored late at night back in Columbus, had to be special for all connected to the local youth program.

Blue Jackets' Elvis Merzlikins continues to shoulder heavy workload in net

This was Merzlikins’ 11th straight start, 21st appearance in the past 23 games and another challenging matchup from the mental and physical standpoints.

Merzlikins set his NHL career-high for appearances Mar. 1 against the New Jersey Devils, playing his 34th game almost seven full weeks ago, and Larsen has said it’s his net to finish out the season. That means the Jackets’ top goalie will likely make another seven consecutive starts before getting some down time, and even that will be short-lived once it arrives.

Merzlikins, who turned 28 on Wednesday, will also play for Latvia at the world championships May 13-29 in Finland — which he chose not to do last summer while vacationing with his wife, Aleksandra, while she was pregnant with their first child.

It will be the heaviest workload Merzlikins has ever shouldered and he’s holding up fine so far. What’s the secret?

“I just stopped caring,” Merzlikins said. “(I’m) having fun. That’s all (it is). Every day is a hockey game (almost). After this, I’m going to go to world championships and I’m pretty sure I’m going to play there, all games, as well. So, we’ll see. It was a learning process for me. It is a learning process for me, especially with all the back-to-back games.”

Merzlikins was expected to start Sunday in Anaheim too, handling his third set of games played on back-to-back days during his starting streak.

“I’m feeling pretty good,” he said, after stopping 33 consecutive shots following Danault’s goal in the first to put the Kings up 2-0. “I like how I feel. I like that I make mistakes, because I can learn from them, but, yeah, if you ask me if it’s easy? No, of course (not), but I get paid to do that and I get pretty (well) for doing that, so I have to do it and I’m happy to do it.”

Los Angeles Kings forward Dustin Brown continues to torment Blue Jackets with key goal

The sight of Kings forward Dustin Brown chugging along with the puck on his stick is not something that has historically turned out all that well for the Blue Jackets.

In fact, Brown having the puck anywhere near the Columbus net often turns out poorly. Brown had 10 goals, 19 assists and 29 points in 44 career games against Columbus coming into this game and finished it by tacking on another goal in the first period.

This one opened the scoring just 1:41 into the game for Brown’s ninth goal overall and second of the season against the Blue Jackets. It was a snipe from the right faceoff circle to cap a 2-on-1, beating Merzlikins to the far side, and made Columbus pay for an egregious error when Patrik Laine and Jake Bean collided in their own zone.

Brown’s first of the season against the Blue Jackets, scored early in the third period Mar. 4 in Columbus, was even bigger. That one beat Merzlikins from long distance on the left wing to pull the Kings within 3-2 and spark a 4-3 comeback victory in overtime.

If there’s anything to be learned from the Jackets’ two games against the Kings this year, it’s that keeping the puck away from Brown should be near the top of their game-day checklist.

He doesn’t miss very often whenever he sees the Jackets’ logo.

Blue Jackets’ Elvis Merzlikins excited to play for Latvia in world championships

Thanks to the pandemic, his decision not to play for Latvia at the world championships last June in his hometown of Riga plus the birth of his son keeping him out of an Olympic qualifying tournament, Merzlikins hasn’t worn the Latvian uniform since the 2019 world championships in Slovakia.

That’s a three-year stretch he’s eager to end this spring in Finland.

“I’m super happy,” said Merzlikins, who preceded his NHL arrival by leading Latvia to a surprising survival in a tough pool of teams at the 2018 worlds in Denmark. “(If) I’m honest, I miss my team. I miss my boys. It’s always nice to get back with them and play, especially the guys who I grew up in Latvia (with), playing hockey when we were kids and then on national team to defend our country. For me, it’s the most important thing.”

Merzlikins said he was with Latvia in spirit last summer during both tournaments he missed, including the world championships that were held in Riga, his hometown, while he and Aleksandra vacationed in the Bahamas.

“It was hard not being there,” Merzlikins said. “I had my other reasons, family reasons, to not go there. So, it was a good decision, I think, but on the other side … it was a while that I (didn’t wear) that jersey and I’m really missing it and really looking forward to wearing it.”

The Blue Jackets said it

“I said we’re not going to give up. I mean, we’re going to play until the last game. Whatever our situation is, we are not going to give up. We’re not just going to go and just skate around and shoot some pucks, you know? We are not a beer league team. We are a professional hockey team and we like to fight, we like to compete, and again, it’s a learning process for us.” — Merzlikins

“I did see him in the slot, but I was trying to put it off of Jonathan Quick's back and score myself. But it worked out. I should've known he was going to the net anyways. He always is.” — Meyer on assisting Kuraly's goal

bhedger@dispatch.com

@BrianHedger

Get more Columbus Blue Jackets news by listening to our podcasts

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Blue Jackets allow early goals, fall to Los Angeles Kings