COLUMBUS, Ohio — This Kings’ loss could easily be distilled into 20 seconds that slipped away. One could also point to pucks they clanked off the posts at Nationwide Arena.
A step-back look, though, would reveal that it was all the nagging, season-long deficiencies that surfaced again Thursday. Their special teams didn’t execute, and they couldn’t get the puck against the hard-charging Columbus Blue Jackets, who turned a one-goal lead into three with two quick strikes to deal the Kings a 4-1 loss.
“It was a 2-1 game but we didn’t bring it today,” Jeff Carter said.