The Kings are in Columbus, which can mean only one thing: Boos for Jeff Carter

Things you can count on during a Kings trip here:

• Center Jeff Carter getting booed. Yes, still. Even though his Blue Jackets tenure was more like a walk-on role, wrapping when he was traded to the Kings in 2012, during his only season with Columbus.

• Then there’s the cannon at Nationwide Arena, the loud explosion of noise when Columbus scores. Even when you think you are braced for it, well, you are not.

The Kings hope to minimize the cannon noise when they open a six-game trip Tuesday night at Columbus, before heading to Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto.

Last season, the December trip was slightly different but problematic nonetheless. It was five games and also featured visits to Buffalo, Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto, and finished at St. Louis. The lone victory came at Ottawa on a trip that was emblematic of a weary-looking, lost season.

Now there appears to be an increasing sense of confidence among newcomers to the organization as well as some of the younger players. The Kings have won four straight, all at Staples Center, and left wing Milan Lucic, one of the newcomers to the franchise, said they need to transfer that feeling to the road.

“We took care of business on this four-game homestand. You want to build off that, the feeling that you created,” said Lucic, who has scored three goals in his last two games. “Winning these important ones at home, you want to bring that mentality on the road. That workmanlike mentality. That road mode — whatever you want to call it.

“We went .500 on the last one. This day and age, .500 usually isn’t good enough.”

Kings center Anze Kopitar said the approach won’t be much different, even with 10 of the next 11 games on the road

“It’s not going to change a whole lot,” Kopitar said. “We all know what we’ve got to do on the road to be successful. Obviously on the road you don’t get the last changes and the matchup you want. The onus is on the guys to go out and compete and outplay the guy across from you.”

Kings Coach Darryl Sutter said the Kings were better late on the last trip than they were at times during the four-game homestand, all victories.

“Hopefully we can correct some our mistakes from the last two games and have a good road trip now,” he said.

NEXT UP

KINGS AT COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS

When: Tuesday, 4 p.m. PST.

On the air: TV: FS West; Radio: 790.

Update: The Blue Jackets seemed to get a brief bump, an infusion of enthusiasm, at the start of the John Tortorella coaching era. Of late, they have been inconsistent but are coming off one of their most complete performances of the season, a 4-1 win at Philadelphia on Saturday. Former Kings defenseman Jack Johnson is three games from a big career milestone: 600 NHL games. He played his first 343 games with the Kings.

lisa.dillman@latimes.com

Twitter: @reallisa