Kings With Another 4 Goal Period, Beat Blue Jackets 4-1

An Eventful First 20:

The Kings found themselves in some trouble early. Just 15 seconds into the game Adrian Kempe went off for an elbowing penalty.

There wasn't much force in the hit from Kempe, but he got his elbow up and caught the Blue Jackets player high.

The Kings were able to kill the penalty though and were able to begin establishing momentum. 

The Kings' second line, and particularly Viktor Arvidsson, were flying in the first. 

Arvidsson had a big chance and nearly beat Danill Tarasov with the Jason Spezza classic, fake slap shot short-side move. But Tarasov matched him while falling back. 

Arvidsson also set up Phil Danault on a two-on-one but Tarasov again shut the door. 

Drew Doughty made a crucial play on a two-on-one the other way. Denying Patrik Laine's cross ice feed that would have given Kirill Marchenko a lot of net to shoot at.

The Kings' fourth line had a great period. Outshooting the Jackets 6-1 and out-chancing them 3-0 in the first.

It was an end-to-end, rush focused period but neither team could find the net.

The Kings outshot the Jackets 15-9.

Kings Offense Explodes in the Second:

After failing to beat Tarasov in the first, the Kings found a way to solve him in the second frame.

Doughty started the scoring with a highlight reel effort just under five minutes into the period.

Doughty dangled a forward at the blue line, walked up the middle and beat another defender before putting a shot on net. His first attempt was saved, but he batted in his own rebound to put the Kings up 1-0.

Vintage Doughty.

The Kings kept the style meter cranked up just a few minutes later. With Quinton Byfield deflecting a Mikey Anderson pass between his legs to a wide open Anze Kopitar back door. 

After a solid first period, Arvidsson decided to get in on the action. One-timing a Trevor Moore feed past Tarasov.

The Kings poured it on a minute later with another great individual effort. 

This time, Carl Grundstrom came in on a two-on-one and had his pass broken up. Grundstrom then went into the corner and won two board battles before coming off the wall and beating Tarasov over the shoulder short side.

The Grundstrom goal ended Tarasov's night with Michael Hutchinson — who the Blue Jackets acquired for Jonathan Quick.

Kings Shut it Down

Despite going down 4-0 in the second, the Blue Jackets didn't go down without a fight.

They got on the board early in the period. With sniper Kirill Marchenko wiring a wrist shot past Copley to break the shutout.

They quickly got a power play and had a chance to really get back into the game.

The Kings were able to kill the penalty though and were able to shut the game down after that.

The Kings became extremely rigid with their 1-3-1 system, clogging the neutral zone and shutting down any chances for the Blue Jackets.

It's the same thing they did Tuesday to the Islanders.

The Kings cruised through the rest of the game and limited the Blue Jackets to zero high danger chances in the third.

The Kings dominated this game. They allowed just four high danger chances against and 1.3 expected goals. 

They're now 7-0-1 in their last eight games, one point behind the Vegas Golden Knights atop the Pacific Division. 

They continue their homestand Saturday against the Vancouver Canucks.