Battle of Los Angeles – December 4 at Los Angeles Kings – It’s a given that teams often look to measure themselves against the Stanley Cup Champions. While the two teams will have played each other twice by this point in the season, this will be the Jackets’ first game in enemy territory at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. It’s a much tougher battle when you’re playing a team under their freshly-hung championship banner.



There’s also the inevitable head-to-head comparison of Jack Johnson and Jeff Carter, each playing against their former team. The trade proved beneficial to both clubs. Following the deal on February 23, 2011, Columbus went 11-11-0 (.500) — a notable improvement when you consider that the team was 18-35-7 (.359) before the trade. Los Angeles went 13-5-3 (.690); prior to that they were 27-22-12 (.541). Oh, and they also happened to win the Stanley Cup, with Carter tying for the playoff lead in goal scoring with eight.



The two teams split the season series last year 2-2. The Blue Jackets are 20-21-1-2 all time vs. the Kings.