Blue Jackets

AT COLUMBUS Time: 4 PST. On the air: TV: FS West; Radio: 1150. Where: Nationwide Arena. Records: Kings 26-27-9, Blue Jackets 31-26-6. Record vs. Blue Jackets: 2-1. Update: This is the Kings' last game before the trading deadline of noon PST Wednesday. What will they do? Probably not much. Defenseman Tom Preissing was put on waivers Monday and forward Oscar Moller was recalled from Manchester (N.H.) of the American Hockey League, where he had been sent for conditioning.

They tried to patch it together in the absence of defensemen Matt Greene and Willie Mitchell, acquiring one young defenseman in February and a veteran defenseman April 1. Others received expanded responsibility with the Kings, and, at times, flourished. Still, with the playoffs looming, the best replacement for Greene was always going to be Greene, of course. (Unfortunately, that won't work with Mitchell, whose future remains murky.) Greene, who had back surgery to repair a herniated disc, played in his first game since Jan. 19, and it was a measured success.

They tried to patch it together in the absence of defensemen Matt Greene and Willie Mitchell, acquiring one young defenseman in February and a veteran defenseman April 1. Others received expanded responsibility with the Kings, and, at times, flourished. Still, with the playoffs looming, the best replacement for Greene was always going to be Greene, of course. (Unfortunately, that won't work with Mitchell, whose future remains murky.) Greene, who had back surgery to repair a herniated disc, played in his first game since Jan. 19, and it was a measured success.

Kings Coach Darryl Sutter has tried tough love (criticism in the media), no love (banishment from the lineup) and more love (playing on a line with Jeff Carter and Mike Richards.) So now how should he handle Dustin Penner? Penner has two goals in 29 games this season. If you examine a wider sample, he has 9 goals in 94 games since the start of last season. But those aren't the numbers that offer hope, promise and a coach and impatient fan base reason for optimism. Remember, Penner also had 11 points - including three goals - in 20 playoff games during the Kings' run to the Stanley Cup. Sutter seems inclined to use his playbook from last season.

It won't go down as one of the greatest games ever played by the Columbus Blue Jackets. It may be remembered as one of the most important. Manny Malhotra had two goals and an assist, scoring the go-ahead goal midway through the third period Tuesday night to lead the Blue Jackets past the Kings, 5-4. "The most important thing, and I think what we're happiest about in this room, is that we're playing good hockey," Malhotra said.

The Columbus Blue Jackets carved out a slice of NHL history Wednesday, naming Jarmo Kekalainen their new general manager. The 46-year-old Finn is the first European to be a GM in the NHL. Kekalainen didn't grow up wanting to make trades or find ways to manage the salary cup. But he was realistic enough to know what would secure his future in hockey. “I think when I realized I wasn't good enough to pursue the playing career,” he said of his 55-game NHL playing career. ““Second-best choice would be to use my brains.” A proud and excited Kekalainen was on a conference call Wednesday morning.

The Ducks can go into the new year telling themselves they merely ran into a hot goaltender Wednesday. They have too much talent to continue the meandering path they've followed this season. They can stand there like Kevin Bacon in "Animal House" screaming, "Remain calm, all is well." But another dose of reality was served to them in a 2-0 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday. It left the Ducks sixth in the Western Conference, with eight teams below them within six points.

The Columbus Blue Jackets, seeking an experienced hand to develop their young players, hired veteran Ken Hitchcock as head coach Wednesday. Hitchcock, fired this season by the Philadelphia Flyers, was to be formally introduced as the team's fifth head coach at a news conference today. Team President and General Manager Doug MacLean announced Hitchcock's hiring shortly before the team took the ice in a 4-3 shootout loss at home against the St. Louis Blues.

The Columbus Blue Jackets fired Dave King on Tuesday, severing ties with the only coach the team has had since entering the league in 2000. At 14-20-4-2, the Blue Jackets have the second-worst record in the Western Conference. King was in the last year of a three-year contract. President and General Manager Doug MacLean will be the team's interim coach. * Minnesota Wild goaltender Manny Fernandez is expected to sit out a month because of a sprained left knee....

Manny Malhotra scored in the 11th shootout round to give the Columbus Blue Jackets a 5-4 victory over the host Calgary Flames on Friday night. After Columbus goaltender Pascal Leclaire stopped Chuck Kobasew's shot, Malhotra sent a hard wrist shot between Jamie McLennan's leg pads. It was the second-longest shootout this season. The New York Rangers beat Philadelphia in the 13th round on Oct. 7.

The Ducks are just five games away from the playoffs. A three-game losing streak with a four-game trip to Canada starting Friday does not qualify as momentum. Wednesday, the playoff-motivated Columbus Blue Jackets beat the playoff-qualified Ducks, 3-2, in overtime at Honda Center, heightening the home team's angst over how prepared it is for the postseason. BOX SCORE: Columbus 3, Ducks 2 (OT) "We're not playing complete," Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau said.

— This wasn't as big a crash-and-burn exercise as after the last time the Ducks beat the Chicago Blackhawks earlier in March. At least Anaheim salvaged a point from an often spotty showing Sunday at Nationwide Arena as the resurgent Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Ducks, 2-1, in overtime. Center Mark Letestu, who set up the Blue Jackets' first goal, scored the winner with one minute left in overtime, beating goalie Jonas Hiller stick side with a shot from the left circle. Granted, it was going to be tough to come back to reality after Friday's energizing win, one with a playoff-like atmosphere, by the Ducks at Chicago.

Now, it's all about avoiding the Chicago Letdown. After their last victory against the Blackhawks, the Ducks promptly went into an emotional tailspin, losing their next four games, dotted with poor performances in the first period. They finally got a correction with a significant win against the Blackhawks in Chicago on Friday night. Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller downplayed the meaning of being 3-0 against the Blackhawks. The Ducks won, 2-1, on Friday in a game crackling with playoff-type intensity.

It figured that two last-place teams that have struggled to score goals would stay true to form when they faced each other Friday. The only surprise is that the defending Stanley Cup champion Kings were one of those bottom feeders. Still seeking an offensive rhythm and a place in the top eight in the West, the Kings on Friday took a small step forward with a 2-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets before an announced sellout crowd at Staples Center. Backup goaltender Jonathan Bernier, starting two games in a row for the first time since January 2011, stopped 12 shots and lost his shutout with 2:35 left in the third, on a backhander by Nick Foligno.

The Columbus Blue Jackets carved out a slice of NHL history Wednesday, naming Jarmo Kekalainen their new general manager. The 46-year-old Finn is the first European to be a GM in the NHL. Kekalainen didn't grow up wanting to make trades or find ways to manage the salary cup. But he was realistic enough to know what would secure his future in hockey. “I think when I realized I wasn't good enough to pursue the playing career,” he said of his 55-game NHL playing career. ““Second-best choice would be to use my brains.” A proud and excited Kekalainen was on a conference call Wednesday morning.

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Facing the possibility of supplemental discipline, Columbus Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky will have a hearing with the NHL on Wednesday. The development, first reported by the Columbus Dispatch, is a result of his hit on Kings defenseman Rob Scuderi in Tuesday night's game. Dubinsky received a five-minute major for boarding and automatic game misconduct. Scuderi told The Times after the game that he felt it was kind of "open season" on some defensemen.

The Chicago Blackhawks and goalie Nikolai Khabibulin got their timing back in a 3-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday night at Chicago. Kyle Calder ended a tie with a third-period goal and Khabibulin made 33 saves -- including a stop of a second-period penalty shot -- as Chicago ended a three-game losing streak. Khabibulin started despite being pulled in the Blackhawks' two previous games, both losses to Detroit.

Espen Knutsen had his first three-goal game and added an assist as the Columbus Blue Jackets beat the San Jose Sharks, 6-2, Thursday night at Columbus, Ohio. The Blue Jackets began the game with 96 goals scored, fewest in the league. They finished with their highest scoring game of the season.

The Jacksonville Jaguars have found a way to shake off the stench of a 2-14 season. Unveil a new logo. Yep, that will take care of everything. The team showed off its new logo Wednesday, pointing out several changes they made to the old logo: 1. The ear curves out more. 2. The eye is colored blue. 3. White fur has been added to the bottom half of the face. Can a winning season be far behind now? ALSO: Oksana Baiul sues NBC for $5 million Kings' 4-2 win over Blue Jackets gets physical NHL to hold hearing on Brandon Dubinsky 's hit on Rob Scuderi    

COLUMBUS, Ohio - This one featured one anti-hero (Jeff Carter), two old foes (Mike Richards and Brandon Dubinsky) and one defenseman with one bad-looking right eye (Rob Scuderi.) What might have seemed like a garden-variety game on a Tuesday night in February, a 4-2 win by the Kings over the Columbus Blue Jackets, was anything but at Nationwide Arena. The Kings won their third game of the season, sparked by three assists from Justin Williams and goals from Anze Kopitar, Carter, defenseman Slava Voynov and Richards, who had his first of the season, an insurance goal, in the third period.