Mason Marchment scores 2 power-play goals, Kirill Marchenko adds 1 as Blue Jackets beat Kings 3-1

Andrei Kuzmenko scored and Anton Forsberg made 27 saves as the Kings were held under three goals for the sixth straight game.

Columbus was without defenseman Zach Werenski, who is day-to-day with a lower body injury sustained blocking a shot against Anaheim on Saturday. Werenski leads the Blue Jackets in goals, assists and points, and his 14 goals is tied with Washington’s Jakob Chychrun for most in the NHL by a defenseman.

However, newcomer Marchment made up for it, scoring twice in the first period and giving him three goals in two games since being acquired from Seattle on Friday. He opened the scoring 4:07 into the game with a wrist shot off Forsberg’s blocker, before making it 2-0 with 23.5 remaining when Boone Jenner’s shot took a double deflection and went in off Marchment’s shoulder.

Kuzmenko got the Kings on the scoreboard with 1:19 remaining in the second, but Marchenko added a third power-play tally for the Blue Jackets with 5:46 remaining in the third. The three goals with the man-advantage was a season high, and it was the third time the Blue Jackets had multiple power-play goals.

Los Angeles was playing for the first time since trading third-line center Phillip Danault to Montreal on Friday, but newly-promoted bottom six centers Alex Turcotte and Samuel Helenius struggled to make a consistent impact with frequent penalties creating a choppy game flow.

Up Next

Blue Jackets: Host the New York Islanders on Sunday.

Kings: Host Seattle on Tuesday.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl