What we learned from the Kings’ 3-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets

The Kings powered through an earlier, tough stretch, featuring three games in four days, beating Nashville at home, losing to Chicago on Monday and winning at St. Louis on Tuesday. Apparently, the fourth game in six days was too much.

A few more takeaways after the Kings’ four game-winning streak at home came to a halt on Thursday night at Staples Center:

Age isn’t mellowing goalie Jonathan Quick

At some point, the Kings’ Quick will scrap with the other goaltender in a game. It seems like a matter of time, almost inevitable, really.

He settled for a brief tussle with the Blue Jackets’ Scott Hartnell late in the first period, earning a slashing penalty.

“He’s a competitor,” Kings defenseman Jake Muzzin said. “He’s got a lot of fire in him. He wants to win. Sometimes emotions come out like that.”

Failure to establish momentum in second period

There were so many stops and starts in the second period because of the fights and near-fights and scrums after the whistle. The sequence of events didn’t help either team.

Hartnell said to reporters in the Blue Jackets’ dressing room afterward that it felt like a game from the ’80s, with all the “chirping after the whistles.”

The Kings had problems adjusting and regaining their focus.

“It’s part of the game,” Muzzin said. “There’s going to be games like that, and you’ve got to stay focused, stay in it, find ways to keep the momentum going. Our guys did an awesome job tonight fighting.

“We should have built off that a little more than we did.”

Shots on goal paint an incomplete picture

Preventing a team from recording a single shot on goal in a period is certainly noteworthy. The Blue Jackets didn’t have a shot in the second period, the first in franchise history.

Still, the Kings couldn’t take advantage. They trailed, 2-1, after one period, and that was the score after two periods. They outshot the Blue Jackets, 23-8, after 40 minutes.

“When you hold a team to eight shots in the first two periods, and you’re still down, I think you’re not doing a good enough job in the scoring areas,” Kings left wing Milan Lucic said.