The NHL has officially postponed Monday night’s matchup between the Los Angeles Kings and Columbus Blue Jackets, pushing the game to March 9 due to a massive winter storm sweeping across much of the Midwest, Northeast, and parts of Ontario. With treacherous conditions surrounding several NHL arenas, the league made the call to prioritize safety - this being the first game postponed as a direct result of the storm.
For fans who had tickets to the original game, there’s some good news: those tickets will still be honored for the rescheduled date.
The Kings and Jackets last met just over a month ago in L.A., where Columbus came out on top with a 3-1 win. That night, goaltender Jet Greaves stood tall with 23 saves, and winger Mason Marchment lit the lamp twice to lead the way. It was one of those games where Columbus executed their game plan to perfection - tight defensively, opportunistic offensively, and anchored by solid goaltending.
Now, with the game shifted to March 9, both teams will have to tweak their schedules. For Columbus, the change turns what was originally a three-game homestand into a four-game stretch. The Jackets were set to be idle on March 8 and 9 after hosting Utah on the 7th, but now they’ll face a bit of a grind - three games in four nights, capped with a trip down to Tampa Bay to face the Lightning on March 10.
The Kings, meanwhile, get an earlier start to a road trip that was supposed to begin in Boston on the 10th. Instead, they’ll now play in Columbus on the 9th, making it a back-to-back with travel.
They host Montreal on the 7th, then hit the road for back-to-back games on the 9th and 10th. The silver lining?
They’ll get a breather with two days off before their next stop on Long Island on the 13th.
Both teams are grinding their way through the playoff chase, and every point matters. The Kings, sitting at 21-16-13, are just outside the playoff picture thanks to a tiebreaker - they’re right there, but need to find some consistency to stay in the mix.
Columbus, at 24-20-7, is seven points behind Boston for the second wild card in the East. But the more realistic target might be the Metropolitan Division’s third spot, where they trail the New York Islanders by just four points.
So while the storm may have delayed this game, the stakes only get higher when these two teams meet again in March. Playoff races have a way of making every rescheduled game feel like a must-win - and for both the Kings and Jackets, that just might be the case.