Who is favoured, Columbus Blue Jackets or Los Angeles Kings?

Los Angeles Kings, at 50.5% in PuckCast's preseason forecast. That is a rating-based forecast; the full model read, with goalies, rest and form, publishes within seven days of puck drop.

What is a preseason forecast?

A win probability from each team's regressed preseason rating and home ice, the same ratings behind the 2026-27 projected standings. Those ratings are calibrated at the season level, for standings and playoff odds; this single-game percentage is a plain rating formula and has not been graded on its own yet. It is deliberately unsure about any single game, and the confidence grade says how far it leans.

When does the real prediction publish?

Inside the seven-day window before the game. The model re-scores it on every refresh until puck drop, with the confirmed starting goalies, and this page shows that read instead of the forecast.

Columbus Blue Jackets at Los Angeles Kings, Fri, Mar 5: prediction and odds forecast

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2026-27 forecast · Fri, Mar 5, 10:00 PM ET

Columbus Blue JacketsCBJ

96 proj. pts · 47.6% playoffs

Elvis Merzlikins · 0.883 SV%

Cvs10:00 PM ET

Los Angeles KingsLAK

A preseason forecast from each team's regressed rating and home ice, the ratings behind the projected standings. The full model read, with the starting goalies, rest and form, publishes within seven days of the game and replaces this page’s numbers. How the model works

The read

Preseason ratings · last season’s record

at 5v5 last season the two were level on expected goals (51.7% to 51.9%); LAK's power play ran at 17.1% against a CBJ kill at 76.0%.

In goal, neither team has named a starter. Last season Elvis Merzlikins (CBJ) saved -21.9 goals above expected to Darcy Kuemper's -22.9, on save percentages of 0.883 and 0.891.

None of that is the model read. This is a rating-and-home-ice forecast; the full prediction — confirmed goalies, rest and form, priced against the market — publishes inside the seven days before puck drop and replaces these numbers. Los Angeles Kings over Columbus Blue Jackets is where it starts, not where it ends.

In goal

goalie board

No starter is named this far out. These are each side’s projected starters on the current roster, with last season’s numbers.

CBJ

Elvis Merzlikins

SV%: 0.883
GSAx: -21.9
GAA: 3.40
Record: 14-11-3

30 games, 2025-26

LAK

Darcy Kuemper

SV%: 0.891
GSAx: -22.9
GAA: 2.78
Record: 19-14-15

50 games, 2025-26

CBJ	Metric	LAK
51.9%	xGF% (5v5)	51.7%
50.5%	Shot share	50.5%
3.0	Goals for / game	2.6
3.1	Goals against / game	2.9
18.9%	Power play	17.1%
76.0%	Penalty kill	75.3%
50.6%	Faceoffs	49.8%

Who drives it

2026-27 projected points

Columbus Blue Jackets

Player	Pos	G	A	Pts
Zach Werenski	D	18	49	67
Kirill Marchenko	R	25	33	58
Sean Monahan	C	18	28	45
Kent Johnson	C	14	23	37

Los Angeles Kings

Player	Pos	G	A	Pts
Artemi Panarin	L	25	47	72

Date	Game	Pick	Score	Result
2026-03-09	LAK @ CBJ	CBJ	LAK 5–4 CBJ	Missed
2025-12-22	CBJ @ LAK	LAK	CBJ 3–1 LAK	Missed

Team	Proj. points	Playoff odds
Columbus Blue Jackets	96	47.6%
Los Angeles Kings	90	44.3%

Every pick is free. The Edge is the rest.

The read

In goal

Last season, side by side

Who drives it

Schedule around it

Last season, head to head

Season outlook