Kings, Blue Jackets' New Acquisitions Make Immediate Impact

The Los Angeles Kings and Columbus Blue Jackets saw a positive impact after the trade deadline.

Mar 7, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; Los Angeles Kings center Scott Laughton (21) skates to the bench after scoring his first NHL goal during the second period against the Montréal Canadiens at Crypto.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: William Liang-Imagn Images | William Liang-Imagn Images

The Columbus Blue Jackets and Los Angeles Kings faced off on the afternoon of March 9 in a game that was rescheduled following a winter storm on the East Coast. This game came just three days after the NHL's March 6 trade deadline, which saw a lot of change in the league.

Prior to the Olympic Break, the Kings added forward Artemi Panarin to their roster in a blockbuster trade with the New York Rangers. At the trade deadline, the Kings acquired forward Scott Laughton from the Toronto Maple Leafs. While Panarin is more of the "superstar" type, Laughton adds a level of depth that will benefit the Kings for the remainder of the regular season and into the playoffs, should the team make it.

During the matinee with the Blue Jackets, both Panarin and Laughton scored one goal each to get the Kings started. Laughton's goal came at the 6:46 mark in the first period, followed by Panarin at the 14:48 mark in the period. Laughton also tallied an assist on a goal from Brian Dumoulin at 10:07 in the third period.

In Panarin's seven games as a King, he has scored two goals and assisted on five. Prior to joining the Kings, he had scored 19 goals and 38 assists in 52 games with the Rangers during the 2025-26 season.

While this was only Laughton's second game as a King, he's already scored two goals and assisted on two. Prior to the deadline, Laughton scored eight goals and four assists over 43 games with the Maple Leafs.

Blue Jackets' New Additions Also Make Impact

The Blue Jackets have had similar luck with their trade deadline acquisition from the Vancouver Canucks in forward Conor Garland. Garland had spent the past five seasons with the Canucks prior to getting the call that he would be heading to Columbus. During the 2025-26 season with the Canucks he scored seven goals and 19 assists over 50 games.

Mar 9, 2026; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Conor Garland (83) scores on a wrist shot against the Los Angeles Kings during the second period at Nationwide Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images | Russell LaBounty-Imagn Images

In the game, Garland scored two goals against the Kings, which brought his total goals up to three in his new threads. He is known to be a bit of a pest on the ice and has been playing on the second line right-wing position with the Blue Jackets so far.

Earlier in the season, the Blue Jackets acquired forward Mason Marchment from the Seattle Kraken, who has also had a positive impact on the team. With the Blue Jackets so far, he has scored 11 goals and eight assists over 20 games.

The matinee went into overtime after a regulation score of 4-4; the Kings' Adrian Kempe scored the game-winning goal for a final score of 5-4, sending the Kings back home with two more points.

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